Couldn't have said it better myself:

 

Everything you always wanted to know about Pinterest (but were afraid to ask)

By Lori Randall Stradtman on March 9th, 2012 

 

Ever since the bygone days of the Wild West, folks have always wanted to check out the newcomer in town and hear all the latest gossip before they got better acquainted. These days Pinterest, the fastest drawing social media network in history, has everyone eyeing it with curiosity and just a little trepidation. They wonder if it will settle down — or become another in a long line of drifters who pass through town. Before you take the trouble to get acquainted with this newcomer, allow me to share some insider tips about how to make the most of your Pinterest experience.

I’ll also caution you to keep your eyes and ears open because social networks have a habit of changing things up just as you get comfortable around them. You’ve always got to keep your wits about you.

Are you ready?

The good

• Pinterest is informal, which makes it a great place to unwind and take in the sights.
• Pinterest is a great way to get to know people better by their taste in food, decor and fashion. Now I can bond with people I met at conferences over designer shoes neither of us can afford.
• If you’re looking to appeal to a female audience, you’ve come to the right place. According to AppData, 97% of Pinterest’s Facebook fans are women.
• Some sites have enjoyed a huge traffic increase due to pins (a Pinterest term for pictures) that were shared from their site. According to Shareaholic, Pinterest had over 260 million unique monthly visitors in January. If you position your brand wisely on the network, it can create phenomenal traffic for your site.
• Brands are successful on Pinterest when they feature a tangible product with strong visual appeal and are willing to socialize a bit.
• You get to control your experience based on who you follow. Few self-promoters get followed back on Pinterest for long, so the system is self-policing.

The bad

• Understand that everything you share could go viral. If it does, you probably won’t get credit for the image unless you cleverly watermark in a way that can’t be cropped. When I share my travel pictures, it’s because I want to share my love of Paris, not because I expect to get photo credit.
• All pins start out being linked to a site or uploaded from a computer. But somewhere along the way many of the links get lost as pins get shared, so it’s not a fool-proof way to drive traffic to your site.
• If you decide to sign up, you’ll be presented with a simple “post to Timeline” permission button. Clicking that button posts every single pin you click on to Facebook for your friends, family, and colleagues. You’re a considerate friend; so don’t fall for this innocent looking button anywhere online.
• Some pictures might not be appropriate for the kiddies. I stumbled across some partial nudes on somebody’s fashion board a couple weeks ago.
• Even though it’s in Beta, Pinterest has been caught “link-jacking” pins in order to makeaffiliate income, though the network has said it has discontinued the practice.

So which brands are really rocking Pinterest?

I appreciate Real Simple because its photography is fantastic and its profile description describes benefits for its followers rather than just listing features. Its diverse variety of boards makes good on the promise: “REAL SIMPLE gives creative, practical and inspiring solutions that make life easier.”

Etsy shines because it promotes artwork from artists all across North America and Europe. It is also interesting to follow because its boards, such as Etsy Weddings, Etsy Pets, and Delightful DIY, clearly communicate what it is about and stay tightly defined.

Some lesser known brands include my French acquaintance Valoupette, U.K. based Laura Lahert, and B&B Innkeeper Michael Worm {inspiredbycharm.com} because they sparkle with unusual, refreshing images that inspire.

What do you need to do to make your brand’s Pinterest boards shine?

• Upload easy to understand images. For example, if you want to spotlight a dazzling piece of jewelry, photograph it by itself instead of on a model’s arm in a party dress, walking down a city sidewalk. Focus the viewer’s attention exactly where you want it.
• Categorize your boards thoughtfully. Search engines pick up your board names, so be sure to include SEO-friendly keywords to bring in the extra traffic.
• Emphasize the benefits your brand offers in your description, instead of your brand’s features. In other words, sell the sizzle, not the steak.
• Don’t start following people until you’ve filled out a few boards of your own. Give them something good to follow back!
• Follow people and brands whose images truly excite you. The essence of true social media marketing is having a good time sharing what interests you most. People respond to genuine excitement.
• Log on to the network every day for a few minutes to see what’s fresh, respond to comments, and continue expanding your own inspiring boards.

Correction: AppData’s figure is based on an analysis of Pinterest’s Facebook fans. SmartBrief regrets the error.

This post is by Lori Randall Stradtman, who designs WordPress sites and blogs about social media trends at Social Media Design and Social Media Examiner.

 

Looking for employment?  In the way of taking on a job search while using technology as your ultimate job-searching-tool, More magazine lays out the best tips imaginable in this article (October 2011):

Your New Job Security Starts Here

A stable work future isn’t about finding a lifelong employer. It’s about being able to land the next professional opportunity—which means mastering the digital job hunt

by Virginia Sole-Smith

Here's a stat that will stop you in your tracks: Almost 40 percent of human resources managers believe that résumés will eventually be replaced by user profiles on social-networking sites. “When this transition happens, it’s going to be overnight,” says Christopher Bilotta, president of the executive-search firm Resource Development Company. “Soon you’ll just send a link to your website, where a hiring manager will find everything she wants to know.”

For now, you do still need a traditionally formatted PDF résumé, because many HR people are accustomed to seeing them. But you also need to pay attention to what comes up when your name is Googled—and you want to be happy with what a potential employer will see. For many people, establishing a sophisticated online presence will mean pushing well out of their comfort zone. But doing so, particularly if you’re in the job market at the moment—or preparing to be in the near future—is not optional. Here’s how to step up your digital game.

START MAKING VIDEOS
A few years ago, when someone Googled your name, all she saw was text-based results. Today search engines pull video and images, too—which means you need to add some audio-visual elements to your digital résumé to round out the presentation of yourself as a job candidate.

“If you’re the type of person who gets sweaty palms before a big meeting, video can work in your favor because it’s a chance to manage how a potential employer first sees you,” says Catharine Fennell, CEO of VideoBIO. Though you may worry about looking old, a video can put to rest an employer’s fears that you also act old or aren’t in touch with the way business is conducted today. “Filming a video shows that you’re confident, innovative and an early adopter,” Fennell says. “A great video is about making a personal connection with your audience, sharing experience and establishing credibility.”

1. Put a video bio on your website
What it is
A two-minute clip—-essentially, your elevator pitch. “This is where you introduce yourself,” says William Arruda, president of Reach Personal Branding, Inc. “It’s an opportunity to go beyond the one-dimensional résumé and give recruiters a sense of your personality and the skills that make you exceptional.” (Find an example at videobio.com/Kdixson.)

[ more ]

So I downloaded and installed Mac OS Lion on my Macbook Pro and instantly noticed some crazy interactions between the trackpad and screen that were somewhat completely unexpected.  What in the world?  Oh yes.  I was experiencing Lion Gestures, a "must learn" in order to fully utilize all of what Apple's upgraded operating system has to offer.  To help in that effort, take a look at Macworld's YouTube video and be amazed:

Today was the day Google published my very first app. *Woohoo!*  And why is this tidbit newsworthy?  Well, with years of experience in the Computer Science/IT field programming, developing websites, and hardcoding instructions for various electronic devices, building apps just seemed trivial to me.  Why create wimpy little programs to just turn around and give away for free or $.99 a download?  Who wants that?  Lots of folks, apparently, because those "wimpy little programs" are selling like hotcakes.

And so there I went jumping on the bandwagon, clueless about how to start.

Enter what I like to call the "App-Building Cheater Method" via appsbar.com. Starting out, I read all of the fine print to verify the "free-ness" of this service, scouring the FAQ looking for a conveniently buried cost.  None?  Ok, let's do this.  So then I set up an account by creating a username/password, then followed the 4 easy steps posted on the home page. (See image below.) The hardest part in the app-building process was finding the best color scheme to suit my liking, but otherwise, appsbar did all of the behind-the-scenes code generation for me.

Drawbacks?  Yes, you knew there had to be something negative to report.  After all, freebies tend to come with some sort of hang up, and here are just a couple that I found right off the bat:

1. Credits. Appsbar takes credit for building your app by displaying "appsbar adamk" as the developer beneath the app title.  Ok fine, perhaps the completed app is Adam's intellectual property. But still.  I'm not sure I want my clients to know that I didn't generate the underlying code in the app I designed by way of an app-building service.
2. Limited Themes.  Appsbar uses Digi, a code-building wizard, to generate basic app types from which you can select. Unfortunately if your idea falls outside of the type-list, too bad for you.  Appsbar might possibly add suggested types in future updates, but otherwise becoming a registered devloper via the iPhone/iPad Software Development Kit (SDK) might be in your future.  And yes, being the ultimate deep-down geek that I am, I'm already there.

Ever wanted to star alongside Dilbert in one of Scott Adams' tech-office comic strips?  If so, now's your big chance thanks to pixfusion where personalized comic strips are only a few clicks away.  Here's how it works: go to pixfusion.com and click Personalize Now, then select a character (do this first - choose 'Guy' or 'Girl') and a comic strip. Next upload a personal photo of yourself and follow directions to crop your head shot, position mouth and align head. Finally, enter your name and click & drag your head to complete the personalization process. Click Preview to see your creation and voila!  The only downside? Having to pay for the comic if you want to keep a copy of your own. Better yet? Play around and enjoy the free previews.

After learning about privacy breach after privacy breach by way of certain social networking sites that shall remain nameless, a safer new alternative is always a welcome option in my book.  So after reading this article by Alex Wawro of PCWorld Magazine, I am all over giving Diaspora a trial run.  Interested in taking back control of how you share your personal information, photos, likes/dislikes and all things related to your online social self?  Request your invitation at https://www.joindiaspora.com. 

Which Tablet Is Best for You?
http://www.pcworld.com/article/225822/wh...
See what the BlackBerry PlayBook, HP TouchPad, Motorola Xoom, and Samsung Galaxy Tab have that Apple’s iPad doesn’t.

via PCworld

This week marks a huge shift in the way we put on our game faces at the family homestead, namely with 3-D animation.  With all of the marketing hype out there about the much anticipated release of Nintendo's 3-DS handheld game system, we just couldn't wait to put it to the test.  The family and I are still in the testing phase, but so far we must admit this hot little piece of technology does NOT disappoint in any way, shape or aqua blue form.  However, there is one minor complaint: the new stylus storage location.  Things could be so much worse.