Pinterest: Is It Here To Stay?

Pinterest. Some call it (P)insanity with people constantly “Pinning” about their interests, then there are some still scratching their heads wondering what Pinterest is exactly.

According to Wikipedia, Pinterest is a pinboard-styled social photo sharing website. The service allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections. The site’s mission statement is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.”

Pinterest is undeniably the social networking darling of 2012. The site launched in March 2010 and remains an invite-only network. Despite its exclusivity, Pinterest’s user base soared past the 10-million mark in December, and according to Google DoubleClick, now has 21 million worldwide unique visitors per month. But I still can’t help but wonder if the site is here to stay or if it’s just another trend. what makes Pinterest noteworthy is not just what it does, but who uses it and why.

I thought Pinterest was going to be like De.li.cious, since I heard it was posting links of what you liked, but I was in for a surprise. Okay, I’m used to clean and minimalist sites. When I first saw the Pinterest homepage, I just felt hate surge all over my body. It looked like a jumbled up mess of a women’s magazine. With designer heels, pictures of chic bedrooms, and tons of boldly frosted cupcakes with other cookery items lining the page, I couldn’t concentrate on what I was looking at. This doesn’t surprise me since the vast majority who use Pinterest are 82% women in the U.S. Men use it more through out Europe.

“The cool thing is that [Pinterest] tapped into a community that a lot of other sites have not been able to grasp” – Meghan Peters, Community Manager at Mashable said. “They’ve been able to reach that very casual user who is not necessarily on the computer all of the time.”

Pinterest does have this certain “Allure” to it I will say. I have used it for about two weeks now and . . . I’m hooked. The thing about Pinterest is it’s sort of for everyone. You would think its just another women’s site, but they have a bit of everything. From infographics to memes. Once I surfed through all of the beauty supplies and clothes, I was able to get close with Pinterest and start finding things to group and share that were of my interest. I was surprised of how fast I was drawn in. What sets Pinterest apart from other social networks is that it isn’t about sharing what’s happening to you right now, it’s about sharing and collecting what you like and what you want and what inspires you. One thing I do want to point out is you absolutely will see a lot of women’s clothing, decorated rooms, and desserts, especially on the Popular page.

There is one question remaining. “Is Pinterest Here to Stay?”

With it’s high volume of users, I say yes. It has some kinks that need to be worked, from its revenue source to copyright issues. To me Pinterest doesn’t seem like any other social networking site I have ever come in contact with. Mostly because of it doesn’t “Broadcast” like the others. Its more about the user posting for themselves more than posting for others. I feel like as the site gains more diverse users I feel like it will flourish onto the scene and soon everyone will be sharing their interests.

Unfinished Business of The Literary Kind

I don’t even know how to start this. I haven’t posted in so long I’m sure most of you thought I was either dead or dying in the hospital with a rare disease. Life has gotten the best of me and I have had to dedicate all of my time to school and family. When I get a break I usually spend it sleeping and going out. Blogging got to be a hassle and I just . . . Stopped. I should be deemed the worst blogger ever for just leaving you hanging without any explanation to my whereabouts.

I feel terrible that the blog has gone stale – I have said that before I think . . . – but it just got to where I was writing about things that I knew would spark interest in people because they were trending topics and not actually things I wanted to write and share about. I’m going to change that and I’m going to start writing more short stories and poetry that allow me to let my creative energy flow in the right direction and let me fill the void in my soul that I feel when I don’t feel creative. So less reporting more writing.

Literary News -

I’m going to write a collection of short stories this year along with new poems. I’m going dig up an old story I wrote months back and I’m going to edit and eventually post it.

I’m also going to be working on a “Part II” to my top rated short story “The Columnist” and I have had thoughts of maybe develop it into a weekly short story. Almost like a TV show.  Hopefully I can find the time and energy because that would be an awesome project.

 

Again, I’m sorry that I just kind of left the blog here, abandoned but most certainly not forgotten.  I may not post something this week or the next for that matter, but just know. I’m always coming up with new ideas just waiting to be shared with the world around.

 

 

Writer’s Block and “ACTA”

There comes a moment in time in every young or old writers life.

That moment when you know what you are trying to write but you can’t get the words on the paper (or screen depending on what time period you are from). Not that I’m about to give you a one-thousand word post about to defeat the dreaded writer’s block, but just to let you know I feel your frustration as well. Even when you do get passed it, not being able to get the words out is only half the problem. I feel like it’s almost a struggle to find interesting topics that will appeal to both myself and my readers. I always try to find the most interesting and most current things to blog about but without much luck. I actually just thought of something. I don’t know if you remember or not, but a LONG time ago, around October or November I had told you guys that I was working on a short story and that I was going to post it sometime within that next month? I never posted it. I feel . . . somewhat bad. I will look for the rough draft I typed up and see if it’s still on my computer. Anyways, Have you heard about ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement)? It’s worse than SOPA and PIPA combined! Since I’m horrible at describing things, let’s see how Wikipedia defines it.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a proposed plurilateral agreement for the purpose of establishing international standards for intellectual property rights enforcement. The agreement aims to establish an international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement on the Internet, and would create a governing body outside existing forums, such as the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, or the United Nations.

Supporting and negotiating countries have heralded the agreement as a response to “the increase in global trade of counterfeit goods and pirated copyright protected works”, while opponents have lambasted it for its adverse effects on fundamental civil and digital rights, including freedom of expression and communication privacy. Others, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have condemned it as policy laundering, due to the exclusion of civil society groups, developing countries and the general public from the agreement’s negotiation process.

In January 2012, the European Union and 22 Member States joined the list of signatories, resulting in the emotionally charged resignation of the European Parliament’s rapporteur for ACTA, as well as widespread protests across Poland. – Wikipedia.org

For the internet, this is obviously bad. It’s another bill that is supposed to do something wonderful, but it would ultimately ruin the internet with strict security,extreme laws, and bans on tons of things even taking away your internet privileges. Sounds familiar right? It’s like SOPA and PIPA’s older, much bigger sister who has a horrible steroid and cocaine addiction. The people who write these things just don’t think their plans through. I mean, it’s obvious they don’t realize how the web works. There is a video I found a few weeks back when SOPA was sweeping the globe that will break it down for you. Click here to watch it. There is something we need to realize though. We are still in the early days of the modern internet. Even if this bill doesn’t get passed, I’m sure there will be more like it in the future. Nothing a little protesting can’t fix! Well I have managed to cure my writers block while writing about writer’s block (insert Inception joke here) and inform you on yet another bill that is damaging to our precious internet. Kudos me . . . Kudos.