Now as a marketing professional it's my job to keep up with marketing trends, gimmicks, technology... Candidly, I haven't plunged into Google+ and based on loose perception, it rates low on the craze scale but according to one Google analyst, they have several million users. We'll have to wait and see for proven case studies for its impact.

But a newcomer social technology, Pinterest, has received immediate positive buzz. Fellow bloggers have embraced it.

Recently, HitWise, a web tracking firm, named it one of the Top 10 social networks on the Internet. Small business owners that can't afford traditional marketing, are smart to delve into social media.
 
So, here's a quick Pinterest lesson.

Pin: A "pin" is an image, which usually includes a web link, that you tack to your boards.
Boards: A "board" is where all your pins live, and you can create as many boards as you want.  For example, you would create a board titled, "Things to Cook," and pin all your recipe ideas there.

Re-Pinning: If you see a pin that you like, all you have to do is click the "re-pin" button and it will automatically go onto the board that you choose.

Basically, once you pin something, it pops up on the feed for everyone to see.  So then, a stranger could re-pin one of your ideas, and so on. That's how everything gets spread around.

You can "follow" your friends' boards, or just follow strangers who pin things that you find interesting.  You don't have to request someone or approve the people who follow you.

There is also a search bar, so you can find exactly what you are looking for. So if you wanted to find "spring fashion 2012," just type it in, and all the pins that correspond with that topic will pop up.

If you are trying to see a product, if you type a price into the description, it will automatically pop up as a banner across the picture.

And the beauty like other social media, it's free.  Share your success story about Pinterest