Pinterest has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms in recent years. Many people don’t understand how Pinterest works, or even see a point to using it. Here, I will explain the purpose of Pinterest and how it can improve your life.

To start, Pinterest is slightly similar to Tumblr. On the site, people post pictures of things that they make, many of which are decoration ideas or recipes. Other posts contain pictures of dream homes with gorgeous bathrooms and fancy kitchens. While these inspire some only to to fantasizes of such dwellings, others try to make them a reality with the help of Pinterest categories like “Home Decor” or “Do It Yourself.” Pinterest can turn your spark of inspiration into a flame and show you new ways to make your house unique.

Pinterest is also similar to Tumblr in that it provides a way for people to express themselves through categories that pertain to quotes and humor. People do their best to make their pages representative of who they are, making Pinterest a very personal website.

So what do users do with all of these pictures? The Pinterest interface includes interactive “boards” that you can create, give unique titles and add photos to. For example, if you find a picture of a delicious cupcake, you could “pin” it and then add it to a board that you have created. This board could simply be titled “Food” or something more creative, such as “Yummy!” Everything is completely in your hands.

If you like a post, but it is not worthy to be pinned to one of your boards, you can simply “like” a pin. Your Pinterest page is set up in a way that allows you to view what you like separately from your boards. It is important to note that past “likes” are harder to locate than pins. While boards are organized to let you refer back to old pins, finding an old “like” requires you to scroll through your entire “like history” until it is located.

Like other social media sites, Pinterest encourages you to get more engaged by following other users and to gain followers yourself. On the site’s main page, you can see what users you follow have pinned as well as choose which pins you also like. Pinterest also allows you to send pins to your friends.

The best part of Pinterest? It is absolutely free. This website is made to inspire people, and we can all use a little inspiration here and there. Happy pinning!

Rachel Arlin can be reached at [email protected].