Pinterest: More Than Just My Business

I read this article on Mashable called “Pinterest: 13 Tips and Tricks for Cutting Edge Users”.  Since it is a fairly new social media platform, I am interested in learning more about the best way to use it.

The author gave a lot of good tips for the cutting edge users who want to brand themselves. Then I read, “I keep a folder of Likes for those random Pins I encounter that make me laugh or pique my interest, but to which I wouldn’t dedicate a whole Board. For instance, I don’t have Boards for tattoos or kitties, but I Like them nonetheless.” Has she been looking at my boards?  My kitten board? My tattoo boards?

I went to my board and took a hard look at what was posted on each of those boards, from the butterflies to the butterfly tattoos, the pin up girls and the pin up girl tattoos, and the kittens and the mandalas. Should I delete them? Will they have an ill effect on my professional image? Is the fact that I like tattoos, kittens, a romance novel, and mandalas going to make me less desirable as a speaker, author, and consultant?  I hope not, because I have decided that the things on that board represent the many facets of me.  Not just the professional side of me, but the “me” who loves and lives in the world.

When you are building your Pinterest page, creating boards, and posting all the things that you do, give some thought about how that page will represent you. Many of us have professional Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. We separate our lives from our businesses and we try not to let them cross. In many cases it’s a good thing, especially if we are going to take strong stands on controversial issues. Though as a woman, I want to know the people I am doing business with, not just their professional lives, but something about their lives. Pinterest allows that to happen in an easy-going, friendly, and non-pushy way. Pinterest allows me to see what people value in their life, what they dream of for their future, and what they enjoy in their free time. I hope it does not get taken over by the money makers who only see the business opportunity but remains a balance of both those who enjoy sharing who they are and those who want to elevate their businesses.   I have decided I really don’t want to be the cutting edge user. I just want to be me.

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