Why Pinterest is the best thing to happen to the web since google

Remember back in the day when T-Rex roamed the Earth and there was a new phenomenon on the horizon called The Internet? We knew it was something pretty awesome, computers all networked together like telephones so people could communicate information digitally, all around the world. But there wasn't a whole lot you could actually do with it. Unless you had a website address scribbled on a piece of paper to type in and visit with a specific purpose in mind, it was pretty useless really.

Then came search engines. Suddenly we become aware of all sorts of websites we'd never have noticed before. Now there's such a thing as "surfing the internet". My brother would sometimes sneak me into his lab at university so I could have the privilege of using this futuristic piece of genius. I'd excitedly sit in front of a google page and try to think of things I like. I'd eventually think of some rock star and google his name. How exciting. Woohoo lots of results...fan pages...how awesome.

Then of course came social networking which revolutionized the net all over again. There's a movie about it, so I needn't elaborate.

I've always enjoyed the ability to bookmark favorite websites in my browser. It's a great way to keep track of tutorials and recipes etc but I always end up with a HUGE  list of sites and it's too much bother to scroll through them. Plus it's frustrating when one computer breaks and I get a new one and lose all my bookmarks.

And fairly recently we've had the joy of google images. It's a great way to browse for inspiration on certain subjects, but not very easy to bookmark them for later perusal. Often I'll right click - save as, but chances are I'll never go look through those images again, especially since I no longer have to scrutinize my hard drive for things to delete to make space like in the olden days (I remember a time my now husband spent a months wages on a piece of hardware and proudly boasted to me, "We'll never run out of hard drive space again - this baby is 4 WHOLE GIGABYTES!!").

I've heard a whole lot of buzz about Pinterest lately and decided to check it out, and I'm glad I did. I'm spending so much time on there now. Pinterest is the best of search, social network, bookmarking and image databasing. It can basically turn the net into whatever you want it to be: An interior decorating magazine, an art gallery, a place for comic relief, homeschooling resource, recipe book. It's basically a giant pinboard of images from around the web, with links to the source of the image (blog post, tutorial or whatever). It also functions as social network site with friends and boards you follow.

Here's a peek into some of the stuff from my pinboards:

Snack ideas:

Mozzerella sticks wrapped in egg roll and fried



Fried apple rings with cinnamon sugar butter


Meringue mushrooms



Home decor ideas

Picture that folds down into a table


Framed scrapbook papers


Make use of wasted space



Homeschool ideas:

DIY Magnetic putty


Edible dna model


Cloud inspector




I'm having so much fun being inspired and seeing eye candy. There are so many clever people out there.


So that's why you need to sign up for Pinterest (and follow Niecey Docherty)

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