This is the third blog in our weekly “Choose Your Own Adventure” series, in which a PC team member chooses to do something new or out of the ordinary in order to inspire them, rejuvenate them or broaden their horizons.  This week’s participant is Allison who takes us with her on a journey through Pinterest.

A real life conversation between AP and a Pinterest-challenged male.

I really don’t think there’s anything more unpredictable than social media. As soon as you’re complacent with status updates, tweets, and check-ins, another patently innovative platform arrives and before you know it, you’re rethinking and reshaping the way you interact in our web 2.0 world. I remember a time in my life when I was caught up on all things tech. Now, I frequently find myself confused (and perhaps a bit scared) by some of the techy things out there. Social media is no exception, but I challenge myself to become a “pro” with all platforms.

What is Pinterest?

Recently, I set out to learn a little more about a content-sharing platform growing rapidly in use and popularity: Pinterest.  For those of you who haven’t been frequenting Facebook recently, Pinterest is a fun, simple way to share interests through image collections. While browsing the web, a user can “pin” any image to a collection (or “board”). The boards, visually appealing by design, can then be shared through a friends system we net generation types have all come to know and love. And interestingly enough, the current user base is 97% female. Yes, you read that right: 97% double x. Thankfully, there probably aren’t many boards themed around monster truck rallies.

My Adventure

My ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ goal was to interact in some way with PC’s recently-made Pinterest page. So far, it’s mostly just inspirational quotes and food-related goodness. Still, we’re proud of it and think you should check it out. We look forward to showing YOU what inspires US, and connecting on a new and exciting level with our biggest fans.In the ongoing spirit of culinary-related challenges – and in an effort to remind myself that I CAN (in fact) prepare dishes fancier than Ramen noodles – I decided to focus my Pinterest-pointed CYOA around some of the delicious recipes posted on our food board. If you’ve been keeping up with our adventures, you know that Gabe rejected food and Michael embraced it. I, on the other hand, wanted to create. And so, after a trip to the local market, I was ready to craft a pair of delectable dishes featured on the site: cranberry-avocado salad and ginger-garlic shrimp.

This is actually ended up being a bit of a bigger feat than I had previously envisioned, because there are SO many delicious ideas on Pinterest and I couldn’t make a decision. Additionally, many of the recipes I craved were dips, treats, desserts of sorts, etc. I wanted a MEAL, and something impressive. While I didn’t end up making beef wellington (let’s not give me too much credit in my cooking skills here) I was quite excited to make my meal. Overall, it was a great success. Both dishes were delicious, but admittedly a lot more time than I’d normally spend on a meal. I peeled and cut my own ginger, in addition to making dressing from scratch (which was amazing, by the way). I spilled dried mustard all over myself and was late in getting to where I was preparing dinner, but all in all, it was a great success and I’d definitely search out Pinterest for inspiration in cooking (among other countless things) in the future.

Let’s be up front here and call a spade a spade: I love social media. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, have an Instagram account and a blog. But Pinterest is quickly becoming my favorite social media platform. In a conversation with Georgette this week, we both agreed that Pinterest seems to be the most positive social networking platform, and it’s refreshing. It’s no soap box for complaining and drama (which we all know certain SM sites can be). Instead, it’s a place for inspiration, where people can show the world what drives them. I love it and encourage you all (even you, boys!) to give it a whirl!