Easy Ways to Stay in Touch

Today, family and friends are often scattered all over the globe. But, that doesn't mean we have to forgo closeness! With the cutting edge technology available today, staying in touch is easier (and more fun) than ever before!

Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms on the web today. Make a private “group” page for your family where relatives can post updates, share photographs or talk about events. You can also invite your Facebook friends to "events" such as family reunions or holiday gatherings.

Skype offers free video chat and calling that allows you to both see and hear loved ones no matter their location. If certain family members do not have video chat capabilities, Skype allows you to make regular calls to phones for a fee.

Set aside a regular time each week to chat with your loved ones. Weekends, such as Sunday afternoons, tend to work well. Set your computer calendar or cell phone to remind you each week, and you’ll never miss a time to connect.

Have you heard the online buzz about “Pinterest” and found yourself wondering what exactly it is? Read on to learn about this exciting photo sharing website that is has been rapidly gaining in popularity since its launch in 2010:

An Overview of Pinterest

Pinterest is a social photo sharing website with a pinboard-style format that enables users to create and organize image collections based on specific themes – for example, certain events, interests, holidays, and hobbies. As a Pinterest user, you can browse other people’s photo pinboards, hit “like” on photos you admire, and “re-pin” other people’s images so that they will appear in your own collection. Both Twitter and Facebook have options that allow you to share your Pinterest “pins.” Essentially, Pinterest acts as a personalized media platform in which users’ content can be browsed on the main page.

Background of Pinterest

Development of Pinterest began in December 2009 and started with small test group of invitation-only members. Just nine months after the website was officially launched, it had over 10,000 users, and shortly after that it was named Time Magazine’s August 2011 issue as one of the “50 Best Websites of 2011.” By December of that same year, Pinterest had become one of the largest social networking services on the web, with over ten million visits per week, and shortly after that it was recorded as having 11.7 million unique users, which made it the fastest site in history to break through the ten million unique visitor mark. The popularity of Pinterest has continued to spread at a rapid pace and it is now the third largest social network website in the United States.

Using Pinterest

How do people use Pinterest? In a nutshell, the site is designed so that you can connect with others around the world over imagery that relates to mutual interests. So Pinterest essentially serves two main functions, a personal one and a social one. On the personal front, it provides a forum for the preservation, archiving, organization, and displaying of photos that matter to you, arranged around themes of your choosing – like a virtual version of your own family albums. On the social front, its purpose is that it allows you to share those images with other users and also interact with those users’ photos, connecting with others based on similar interests.

Getting Started With Pinterest

To register a new Pinterest account, you can either receive an invitation from a friend already registered or go to the Pinterest site and directly request an invitation. You can also establish and access a Pinterest account by linking Pinterest to a Twitter or Facebook account – however, it’s important to note that, in order to interact with Pinterest on Facebook, you need to have the new Facebook Timeline format activated. In addition, once you have a Pinterest account, you can get the Pinterest app for iPhone (which was recently updated with exciting new features) and the company now has an iPad app in development. If you’re a non-iPhone user, you can use Pinterest Mobile to access the site from your mobile device.

Other Useful Aspects of Pinterest

Pinterest is designed to help you connect with things and people that interest you. Here’s how it works – on the main Pinterest page, a “pin feed” appears, displaying the chronological activity from the Pinterest boards that you have chosen to follow. To help you find new boards and pins that might compel you, you can visit a “Tastemakers” page that recommends content to you (based on your past pins, etc). There are presently four central sections to browse, under the following titles: everything, videos, popular, and gifts. These categories are in place to help you connect as quickly and conveniently as possible with pins and boards relevant to your taste and interests.

Easy Ways to Stay in Touch

What is Pinterest?

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