I’ve been so excited about particular products in the past (hefty trash bags, dyson vacuums) that I have been suspected of working for the companies that produce them. Last night I entered the wonderful world of Pinterest and though I don’t work for them, I can’t help but share my enthusiasm with you. Partly because it took over my entire night and is thus the only thing that happened to me yesterday, and partly because I have a beautiful plan for it.
Well, it’s not the only thing that happened to me yesterday, but I don’t think making jokes about the holiday HR party for work is the best idea with regards to financial sustainability.
Anyway, here’s the deal. Pinterest is a website that allows you to ‘pin’ your favorite things onto a virtual pinboard (essentially, like a profile page with just pictures and links but no personal information). You can drag a little hot button into your toolbar while you browse and when you see something you like (ZOMG that kitten wearing armor and fighting a dog is sooooo cute!!!111!!!) you can click ‘pin’. It will populate a few images you can use to represent that page/interest (select picture of kitten with mouth wide open, charging dog) and connects a URL to it. So when I go to your Pinterest page, I see a bunch of pictures spread out on the page that link to the original sites and I’m all like oh man, that kitten is so cute. And I click it. And see what you saw.
On the surface, it’s just another way to share things with people on the Interwebz that may or may not give a hoot about the sock bunny tutorial you thought was fantastically awesome or the failblog you read that morning. But (and this is where my genius comes in) when you dig deeper, it’s a way to log all your desires into a wish list that you discreetly make available to family and friends.
Yeah, I’m going there.
Listen, everyone’s having babies and getting engaged and married and such (not necessarily in that order). All of those life events are opportunities to have gifts given to you. Now, I’m in my mid-20’s and at prime marrying/showering/engaging age, but I’m pretty happy and comfortable at the moment and in no rush whatsoever. And by the time I do get around to any of those things, I’ll have already supplied myself with the items that one would deem appropriate for registries and general gift-giving. Since I don’t have a socially acceptable reason to publicize a list of my product lusts, Pinterest can do it for me.
It’s a beautiful plan, folks. Stay with me.
On Pinterest, you can choose what to name the different pages in your profile. That is, you can pin all your craft findings to a page called “ILOVEKRAFTSHAHAHA” and all your armored kittens to one called “Renaissance Cats Unite”. So you make one called “Wish List” or “Product Lust” or “oh em jee buy me things” and pin your favorite products to that page.
Now, Pinterest is an invitation only community right now. So you have to send an email invitation for someone to get a unique link allowing them to create a profile. Which means that you will make yourself a page with your deepest desires on it, and out of the kindness of you heart, invite others to join the community (and also come check out all the things you really want).
No guilt, no pressure, no awkwardness. Just a “hey, by the way if you want to get me something for just being in my mid-20’s, you can check out this page”. Or a “hey if you don’t know what to get me for my birthday, I happen to have a constantly updated wish list available online”. And because the pages are so pretty and well-organized, it’s almost like a treat for that person to browse and look through the things you pinned. Plus they get an invitation to a site they can’t join without your help.
It’s called a win-win, my friends, and it’s fantastic.
So go ahead; put out a request on your social media poison site of choice for a Pinterest invitation. Make your Wish List, and spread the love and joy. You might just find that the gifts you receive this year are beautifully tailored to your interests. Or someone might get confused with which page is which and deliver a fully armored kitten to your doorstep.
Like I said: win – win. ♣
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The Jackie Blog 