The Power of the Pinterest Board
Image Courtesy: Pinterest
I’m not a person who would be considered laid-back, zen, or whatever you’d like to call it. For as long as I can remember, I have been someone who thrives off of structure and organization. Even though I’m not a total drill sergeant when it comes to a vacation itinerary, I still like to have everything categorized, labeled, color-coded, and so on. I refer to my morning and nightly cleaning routines as opening and closing shifts, and I actually enjoy cleaning more than I’d be willing to admit.
In my mind, most social media platforms have always had a clunky, unorganized feel to their layouts (I’m looking at you, Instagram). Despite being able to adapt to the changes easily and having a solid understanding of the meaning behind social media’s structure and algorithm, I’ve always looked at these platforms and mentally categorized them as being outright messy. Before I offer anything of real substance to you, I want to take a moment to pick on the recent changes made to Instagram’s user interface.
Image Courtesy: Pinterest
As someone who once had over two-thousand posts (mainly pictures of One Direction) and spent my middle school years scrolling through the endless content Instagram had to offer, to say I’m disappointed in what it has become would be an understatement. With the rise of competing platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat, Instagram has overcompensated and sent itself into a downward spiral. On the off-chance that I open the app for longer than five minutes, I’m met with random posts from people I’ve never even spoken to flooding my homepage. Although our profile pages have stayed more or less the same, the explore feature is an absolute nightmare. It’s a jumbled mess of anything and everything, kind of like a kitchen sink cookie, except it’s absolutely dreadful. If you somehow have an Instagram explore page with content you enjoy looking at, you truly are an outlier.
It goes without saying that the shopping features make the app feel less authentic, since the majority of user’s ‘recommended’ content is comprised of advertisements for clothing brands, skincare products, and pretty much everything else you can think of. As a matter of fact, I’m looking at Instagram’s shopping section on my phone right now, and something about it is causing me unnecessary stress.
If you continue to be an avid lover of all things Instagram, I applaud you. Unfortunately, that will never be me again, and I’ve moved on to platforms that I find more suitable for me. Mentioning my affinity for things that are clean and concise was no mistake- it’s actually why I decided to put my thoughts into words and share the one social media platform that doesn’t feel like a landfill of unwanted content.
Enter Pinterest.
I’ll admit, I’ve been using Pinterest for years now, but I failed to realize the app’s potential until recently. The developers have truly mastered the art of creating a platform that is useful in almost every scenario possible. If you want to find inspiration for home decor, Pinterest is there. If you’re looking for an extremely specific outfit that Victoria Beckham wore in the 90s, Pinterest has you covered. If you’re in the mood to spontaneously adopt an artsy hobby, Pinterest is the place for you.
To me, it feels like the app has been underestimated for far too long, and it deserves a moment in the spotlight. Being able to create categories for my pins and even include subcategories under those general labels is something that actually brings me that zen we were talking about earlier. Honestly, I’ve never felt relaxed when using social media until I did a deep dive into what Pinterest has to offer. I have carefully cultivated a handful of boards, ranging from clothing to home decoration to graphic design inspiration. It’s everything that I like all in one place.
Image Courtesy: Twitter
I’ve started using Pinterest far more than any other app on my phone, and I’ve never felt more organized. The algorithm is always sure to deliver relevant content to users, and the app’s structure is nothing short of a masterpiece. It competes with TikTok and Instagram in very subtle ways such as the recent addition of slideshows and an increased presence of video content. These adaptations feel anything but forced, and they allow Pinterest to remain competitive in the social media market. Additionally, Pinterest has never taken the approach of force-feeding content to its users, which is what makes the app so enjoyable. If you don’t like something, there’s a good chance that Pinterest won’t show it to you again.
In an era defined by our social media presence, I think it's best to ditch the concerns of likes and comments, and find something that you'll actually enjoy. At the end of the day, if you're anything like me, Pinterest is the perfect place for you.
Strike Out,
Writer: Lexi Fernandez
Tallahassee