Maybe This Will Peak Your PINTEREST

You're probably wondering how Pinterest, a fun social media platform used by 175 million users monthly, came to be. It was originally conceptualized in December 2009 by Ben Silbermann, Evan Sharp, and Paul Sciarra; but Ben is the CEO of the company.
Growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, he thought about becoming a doctor (since his parents and sisters are) but decided to go into business. He worked at Google in the IT department until he left since "he wasn't ale to build things." Because of that, he teamed up with his old friend Paul Sciarra in New York, where they came up with a product called "Tote" a catalogue that was on the phone.
The two shied away from Tote and formed Pinterest. "I'd always thought that the things you collect say so much about who you are." Ben says this childhood bug collection is "Pinterest 1.0." Friend of a friend, Evan Sharp, met the duo and actually created the layout for Pinterest.

When the site first launched, Ben sent it to all his friends in California who didn't really get it. Here's the first "pin" on the site in January 2010.

 In May 2010 a woman named Victoria helped organize a program called "Pin it Forward" a chain-letter where bloggers would change pinboards about what home meant to them. Suddenly, Pinterest users started using the site in ways the company wasn't expecting. For instance: a board that had "Things That Look Like the Death Star."

Pinterest's mission is to get people "offline" so they can get out and make/do projects that you find.

Some random statistics:

• 75 million users in the US (in January 2018)
• 100 million users outside the US
• Over 50 BILLION pins "pinned"
• Over 1 billion boards created

The audience:

• 81 % of users are female
• Millenials use Pinterest as much as Instagram
• Median age of a user is less than 40 years old
• 30 % of US social media users are Pinterest users
• 60 % of Pinterest users are from the US
• The average time spent on Pinterest in 14.2 minutes (I'm on double, sometimes triple that)

Though one does not simply write posts for Pinterest, but creating "boards" that could attract followers can make you popular. For instance if boards are fascinating (like say, wedding ideas) then many more followers will come. And if you have enough pins, all of different varieties, then the more likely people will follow that board.

I personally don't go for likes or followers, I just pin things that I enjoy. Here are my boards:

The first one is called British Beatlemania

The second one is Then Humor Me

The third is Songs Stuck in my Head

In total, I have 10 boards but these 3 I pin to the most often. By creating a board with a topic that you like (for instance by Beatles board), you can post things about that topic to view for later. If you follow people either with similar interests, you can see what they post. It's almost like a game of telephone or "She sais she said." #BeatlesPun

Typically people use Pinterest for DIY projects, or wedding ideas, teacher-like ideas, or even inspirational quotes, workouts, recipes. Literally anything you can think of, there's a board for it. I on the other hand look for pictures and song lyrics, memes, jokes, whatever peaks my PINTEREST. (pun intended).

Four Shades of Grae

   Before starting a band, Samantha Mishinski was a manager at Hot Topic for a year and seven months before getting let go. From there a series of other retail jobs ensued, like East Meets West and Godiva, until securing a position at UPS. But playing and writing music was always in the back pocket. "A friend nearby had a piano I would fool around with every time we hung out," said Sam "I fell out of music but about a year ago I picked up a guitar and fell in love with music all over again."
   When a photographer tried to set his friends up on a date, Jack, a bassist and guitarist, met singer and guitarist Sam. As a joke, she asked if he wanted to be in a band (again). Little did they know that joke would turn into something real.
   After going out to a support a local show, the duo met Danny, their current drummer. Much like how John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison all went to the same school, Sam, Jack and Danny all hung out with the same crowd; only at separate times and passively mentioned they were starting a band.
   Danny mentioned he was leaving his band and was offered a spot with Sam and Jack. Jack managed to rope his father into playing bass for the band and "BOOM we were a band." The four musicians banded together and formed Grae, a name that too started as a joke. Grae came after Sam wrote her first song which is essentially about having a different perspective than everyone else; seeing everything in grayscale while everyone else sees things in color.
   The band is still fairly new and with that, no full songs as of yet. One is written but the band wants to get out the whole EP together before scheduling a recording date. Sam records a lot on her own "just vocals and stuff and things we can try out but nothing solid."  Every song has a story behind it. John Lennon wrote "I Am the Walrus" to stop people from overanalyzing Beatles songs. Bob Dylan wrote "Hurricane" about the imprisonment of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. One of the songs the band is working on is inspired by family. "Sometimes they don't agree with your decisions" Sam wrote.
   Sam's family is supportive in their own way. "It was more of a shock to them than anything. I had always wanted to get into singing but never really pursued it mostly because I didn't have the connections." Now she has connections and a band so we'll see where it goes. But what is the ultimate direction for Grae? It's paradoxical; making it "big" would be nice but its satirical, but the music-making process and song-writing are stressful and serious.
   Each member brings their own things to rehearsals, new chords and tunes that plays off one another. Sam writes the lyrics herself and constantly thinks "this is the rawest version of me. Do I want people to hear this side of me? Do I want them to know what is going on inside my head?"
    Yes and no. The writing is the real Sam; but it also isn't. "But that's what it means to be an artist in any field: expressing YOUR truth how you see it and hoping people can accept it."
   When it rains it pours. Sam foresees potential setbacks in the future, one of which may just be the music itself. "We all have different tastes that influences and interests that change the way we play but vibe well together so I hope it will help us put the potential disagreements aside."
   For now, the band just wants to enjoy themselves. Play good music for good people. "Basically if it happens, it happens."