I had heard of a site called Pinterest. A place where pictures of food and pictures of animals were substitutes for the real thing. A place where recipes and how-to instructions roamed free. A place where people pinned things upon boards and everyone approved. It sounded savage.
I was thirsty for adventure and so decided to explore Pinterest. Like anyone going somewhere new, I did a little research before embarking.
Women make up an impressive 80 percent of users on Pinterest, and are responsible for an even more astounding 92% everything pinned on the site. I was out of my element.
I used a local outdoor store’s Twitter account as my vessel and set about discovering Pinterest.
I decided to start with a search for a few of the outdoor brands that most outdoor stores would carry. The search brought up a good number of relevant results, although a search for the brand Marmot did lead to many, many pictures of cute and furry animals. They were great, but not what I was looking for. However, for the most part the searches were satisfying. Not only did I find reviews and comparisons for the gear that I was trying to find, but I also found things that were sort of but not entirely related to my search that were real treats. A floating trailer houseboat particularly tickled my fancy. I was beginning to understand.
As climber and camping enthusiast I was naturally inclined to seek out things that pertained to my interests (I get it!). A quick search for “climbing” brought up plenty of useful links to all things climbing related. Articles on training, shoe reviews, interviews with pro climbers, and even just lovely photos in beautiful settings. Another search for “camping” introduced me to new ideas and reminded me of classics. Makeshift grills, Swedish fire torches, unique and unusual ways to carry various spices in little containers… I was finally home.
To get the full Pinterest experience I had to do more than mindlessly search through pictures like a tech-savvy zombie, so I went for a more hands-on approach.
The outdoor store’s Pinterest account which I had hijacked (not really) in true fashion had already established several boards. I realized that boards are essentially like albums on Facebook or just ways to categorize information. I had the boards down, now it was time for the pins.
I tried to think of the most manly post I could think of in order to throw out a lifeline for a future traveler who like myself considered himself out of his element when arriving at Pinterest. A guide on how to cook a steak on an open campfire seemed adequately masculine. A successful post and my first trip to Pinterest had concluded.
Pinterest is extremely intuitive, entertaining, and useful for anyone, male or female.
Day 2: Pinterest for Business. Stay tuned.
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