I have a new obsession, and its name is Pinterest! This new sharing website takes Tumblr and stumbleupon.com and organizes your thoughts and interests into a personal bulletin board. You simply pin something you come across online, or repin what other people are posting. It’s addicting, it’s creative, and it’s time consuming.

The site being relatively new, it still requires an invite to begin sharing. While it may not be very hard to get an invite, the fact that you have to even go through this process adds exclusivity to the product that is reminiscent of the old Facebook settings and the more recent Google+ beginnings. Once “in”, you discover a world of images and ideas that are chaotically presented like a bulletin board you would find in one’s dorm. Images are randomly “pinned” and then organized through the use of keywords and categorized pinboards.

This new vehicle is almost like a personal and virtual magazine to share with thousands of followers. It isn’t just about sharing your ideas with a limited group of friends like on Facebook. You have access to everyone’s posts. By following someone on Pinterest, you are getting an in-depth look at what they are drawn to and what they are thinking.

As it is a new website, there are a few bugs that need to be worked out. For instance, the only source of notifications is through your e-mail, which can get very annoying and add clutter to your inbox.  Another feature that is commonly forgotten when posting is that most of these images actually lead to another blog or website with more information on the topic. While it is a very image-based vehicle, it can lead you to some great sources of similar information. If Pinterest can increase the awareness of this function, it could compete with the large-scale sharing websites. Additionally, the numbers are never up to date. You get an e-mail that someone new is following you, and it might not show up for a few days on your profile.  But hey, everyone has their issues and this guy has a lot of time to work the kinks out.

Probably the most substantial contribution Pinterest has made is its “Pin it” toolbar button. After adding the button to your bookmarks, you can pin images from your favorite websites to your toolbar without ever leaving the website. The more original pins you have like this, the more you will get repinned by other users.

It is one of the more fun social media websites out there because it doesn’t just stop at your friend’s updates for the day. You can go further and stay on for hours, finding new posts on virtually every interest you may find. But beware: it is EXTREMELY addicting. Pinterest will probably be the new choice procrastination tool in 2012. Mark my words.

But while you are on there, make sure to check out JB’s page! http://pinterest.com/jbchicago/