What is Pinterest?

Pinterest www.pinterest.com is a bookmarking social site like Delicious or Diigo that allows users to create their own pinboard-style image collection of links. Today it is one of the fastest growing social networks online, the third-largest such network behind only Facebook and Twitter. The main advantage of this site is that it enables you to visualize useful links which reflect your interests, hobbies, events, etc. You can also share your links, browse other pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to your own collections or 'like' photos and comment on them. Pinterest's mission is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting" via a global platform of idea sharing. As Pinterest is a social site the major drawback is you can’t hide existing boards because others may have already repinned from your board.

How to set up your account?

To sign up for Pinterest, go to www.pinterest.com, select the button Join Pinterest at the top of the page, fill in the required information - your e-mail, password, language you would like to use, last and first name, etc:

You can also register via Facebook or Twitter. After that you have to choose the specialization of your future pinboard - Education, Travel, Hobby, Shopping, etc.- and write a few words about yourself if you wish.

How to pin with the bookmarklet?

A pin is an image added to Pinterest either from a website or from upload images from your computer. There exists Pin Etiquette you have to look through before you create a pinboard.

If you add a pin from a website:
1. Use the bookmarklet to pin;
2. When you see an image you want to pin, click Pin It on your browser. This will pull up all the images you can pin.

If you upload an image or photo from your computer:
1. you can select the image you want to pin,
2. choose which board the image belongs on,
3. type a description,
4. add some tags to help users search for it,
5. when you're done, click Pin It.

How to comment on a pin?

Each pin added using the bookmarklet links back to the site it came from. You can share the pin to Facebook or Twitter or comment on a pin. There are two ways to comment on a pin:
• Mouse-over a pin in thumbnail view and click the Comment button. Type in your comment and then click the Comment button.
• When viewing a pin in full-size view, you can type a comment in the text box below the image. In this view, you can type @username to mention other users in your comment.

You can also upload Pinterest mobile application on your phone or any mobile device. This is how the mobile interface of the site looks like:

What can you use it for in Language Classroom?

It can be used to create:
• search tasks to develop speaking and writing skills;
• collaborative activities (Repin and Comment functions) to develop writing skills;
• brain-storming activities to develop speaking skills;
• Hotlist tasks;
• e-portfolios for web projects;
• web project resources;
• visualized webliographies and lists of useful links.