"From October 2010 to October 2011 Pinterest grew from just 40,000 users to a whopping 3.2 million."

"Kary Delaria"

"1. Why do you use Pinterest?"

"For me, it’s actually a diversion. When I feel a need to step away from my work routine, I often turn to Pinterest."

"I don’t subscribe to a lot of print publications so for me, it’s the equivalent of flipping through a magazine."

"a visual insight into the more personal/creative side of individuals in my network."

"Pinterest is a social bookmarking of visual items."

"Also, for me, it’s not at all about whether or not some likes or shares something I pin. It’s a network in which I’m just hanging out, casually, observing and getting ideas that feed more of my personal life than my professional (although for me, that’s a line that’s quite blurry all over, too)."

"Yet, here are all these folks spending HOURS on Pinterest? What do you attribute that to?"

"I think this really comes down to the lack of “chatter” happening on Pinterest. And, that the bulk of the content is really more “lifestyle” related. On G+, I see a lot of the same blog posts, and updates, and articles that I see shared on Twitter and Facebook. Pinterest is quiet. It’s full of visual appeal. Eye candy."

"Pinterest is very low-maintenance. Because there’s not a lot of conversation there, there’s no pressure to stop in daily and feed the beast. I can hang out for a few hours and then leave for a few days without concern that my profile will look inactive or that I’ll be ignoring a comment thread or discussion."

"Mariam Shahab"

"At the most granular level, I use Pinterest to collect and organize pictures and links of things and ideas that I like, can relate to or want to learn how to do."

"But in general, I like logging on to Pinterest and admiring the beautiful pins for the boards I follow. It’s like window shopping for all my interests at once!"

"or me, it’s much easier to filter my many interests on Pinterest than on Facebook or Twitter."

"on Pinterest, I can only follow a user’s  boards I’m actually interested in."

"The platform is easy to use and intuitive. There aren’t many bills and whistles to it (and I hope it stays that way)."

"It’s also not a platform where you have to actively take part in. To me, it’s more of a silent community busily repinning."

"Mikinzie Stuart"

"1. Why and how do you use Pinterest?"

"I use Pinterest to curate things that interest me – whether it’s assembling a new outfit, beauty tips, DIY projects, recipes I want to try, or toys I want to buy for my cat."

"I feel like Pinterest isn’t as specifically social as other channels like Twitter or Facebook, or at least it’s social in a different way."

"As I mention in my blog post, it’s like a hybrid of Tumblr and Delicious."

"But I like that it’s not as directly social as other social networking sites."

"Pinterest is great for creative/ visually-oriented minds that like to collect and curate ideas to use IRL (or just for fun)."

"I’ve heard it called visual-scrapbooking which is fairly accurate, except you’re not scrapbooking yourself per se, but rather your interests, which in turn, shares your interests with others."

"Interestingly enough, I see people who I consider “less social” (ie family friends, old high school acquaintances, etc) using Pinterest possibly more than those I know from other networks"

"Kristin Greeley"

"I use Pinterest because it was a way to discover another aspect of social media."

"I use it as a way to pick and choose what I want to see by following specific people, and even more specific, I choose which boards I want to follow from people."

"I have also told friends of mine with what I consider quality taste, so we basically can compare notes."

"Its also a great way to archive things/objects/pages online for future reference."

"To me, twitter is words, Facebook is family, Linked-in is professional, Foursquare is for stalking, Google + is worthless, Instagram is photographs, and Pinterest is a magazine with no words that can appeal to every type of person because you can tailor it to be exactly what you want."

"I also think because Pinterest sends me very specific emails everytime someone repins my pins, or likes my pins it makes the whole website a popularity contest."

"Laura Scholz"

"I’m one of those people who’s been tearing recipes and fashion inspiration out of magazines for years. This gives me a place to catalog everything online AND share with friends."

"Also, I don’t feel like I’m revealing personal information, so I can share with lots of different people. It’s really an online inspiration board–I don’t feel the need to balance personal and professional–it’s all fun."

"You don’t hurt anyone’s feelings if you follow or don’t follow."

"For me, it’s like thumbing through magazines and ripping out all the pages that inspire me–x 1000! It’s a great way to relax and get inspired."

"Lauren Gray"

"it makes you want to be more creative and more fashionable."

"It’s learning a different lifestyle you want."

"I can see my future and things I want to create from this site."

"People are tired of sharing statuses and are looking for something more visual they can share through pictures and other media."

"Plus, I know I spend SO much time just looking at all the amazing places I could visit, at the amazing clothes I would want to wear and at the amazing wedding pictures of a wedding I desire."

"things we desire to imagine an improvement to our own lives whether it be through a simple craft, a new dress or a place to visit."

"Drew Hawkins"

"I use it as a source of creative inspiration for client work at Engauge and to help visually organize really fun or useful stuff I find online."

"As internet participants, with the rise of platforms like Pinterest and infographic sharing etc, it’s becoming more obvious that people don’t like to read."

"Pinterest offers that story-telling capability using different boards that many other social networks don’t exclusively offer."

"I can only follow the parts of their Pinterest activity that I like, without having to filter through a lot of noise."

"There’s less sharing fatigue."

"Mary Woestehoff"

"1. Why do you use Pinterest?"

"I can add photos that provide some form of inspiration for me (posing or styling for my own photography, a fun color scheme that I want to remember, etc.), save a recipe that I want to try later, or even add my own work for self-promotion."

"It’s considerably harder to run out of new content to look at."

"Julia Prior"

"At first it started as a way to gather Christmas gift ideas, for myself and other people as well as ideas for my friend’s wedding next summer."

"Now I use it to bookmark my favorite websites, infographics, articles, pictures and recipes. It’s much easier than bookmarking the webpage on my browser or saving the link to my desktop."

"It’s fun to see what other people are pinning, especially if you follow people who you only know through other social networks and not in “real life.”"

"when you only know someone in a professional relationship, it’s very interesting to see what their other interests and hobbies are without feeling like you’re prying into their life."

"The cool thing about Pinterest is it’s designed to run in the background."

"There’s a bookmarklet that will pull things from the page you’re currently viewing and let you add it to  one of your boards. It’s a great bookmarking tool."

"Sasha Westin"

"It began as a business outlet for picks and has evolved into a business/personal brand platform for things I want to share."

"Some days I start out at Pinterest, looking to see what others have pinned."

"More often than not, I am shopping online or reading something, am compelled to pin and end up on Pinterest."

"It’s a quiet place – no ads, no tickers, no auto refreshes."

"Jenny Schmitt"

"I use Pinterest as a place to put visual bookmarks of things on the web that interest me. Best phrase I can think of is “visual snacking.”"

"What makes Pinterest so engaging are two elements: personal and visual."

"And that leads me to the second point – it’s primarily “visual snacking” in much the way that Twitter is “information snacking.”"

"it’s a place for you to create visual bookmarks, plan ideas, get ideas or tips and to gain insights into what visually resonates with other people. It’s not so much about interactions as it is about posting, sharing and seeing what others share."

"Sure, you can repin and you can comment, but there is no pressure to “get followers.”"

"Julie Kucinski"

"Because it’s fun and useful and I love looking at and keeping easy track of beautiful things"

"No talk. All rock. Very little conversation. it’s most visuals. Like fffound for the masses"

"Julia Cantor"

"I started using Pinterest as a bookmarking tool to keep track of images to later use in work/client presentations."

"I’ve used Pinterest to help furnish my new apartment; test color palates, find furniture and pillows."

"To share humor with friends – my co-worker, Drew Hawkins, started the Board of Man, which is an effort to prove that Pinterest is useful for more than moodboards for weddings."

"Melissa Lawhorn"

"On Facebook, I only friend people I know personally. On Twitter, I’m more open, but still filter what I say."

"On Pinterest, I pin anything I like and interact with a much wider range of people — everyone from fellow bloggers to fashionistas!"

"In my experience, there isn’t much commenting happening on my pins/with people I follow, so I don’t have the burden of keeping up with conversation on Pinterest."

"Meghan Wilker"

"1. Why and how do you use Pinterest?"

"First, to pin fashion and style inspiration for myself — when I see something I like on a retailer site or a blog, I pin it so I can look at it later before I go shopping."

"I also use it as a tongue-in-cheek wishlist (my Things I Wish You Would Buy For Me board:"

"as a way to share products I really like with other people (the headphones I use for running are one of my most re-pinned"

"Shared boards can be a fun way to collaborate with other people (my cousin added me to a “WTF” board where we pin ridiculous things, just for fun)."

"Sometimes, when I need a 5-minute mental vacation, I visit Pinterest to scroll through what other people have been pinning."

"if a picture is worth a thousand words then a single pin is worth 71.4 tweets!"

"When you compare that to the feeling of overwhelm that many people have when they look at Facebook (Real-time news ticker! News Feed! Pictures! Text! OMG!) or G+ (Gaah!) there’s a real difference."

"People tend to pin things that are remarkable, and actually seeing what they found remarkable is so much more compelling than a tweet that says, “Look at this amazing thing I found.”"