Liking a pin results in the image being added to the Likes section of a user’s profile but not to their board. Pinterest community members can comment on, “like,” or “repin” a pin. Each pin also includes a user-generated brief description. Pinterest is easy to operate, as users save image links from around the web to their bulletin board. Once a user has opened a free Pinterest account, s/he selects a picture, GIF, or video image with a corresponding web link that is then saved or “pinned” to a virtual folder-essentially a bulletin or “pinboard”-in one of 36 pre-designated categories, of which Health and Fitness and Education are prominent ones (Fig. While image-based, Pinterest does use text in captions, searches are conducted by text or image, and text can appear in images. It further distinguishes itself by its range of categories, which exceeds that of other such sites. Because Pinterest users are mainly focused on finding and collecting other users’ content, Pinterest generates over 5% of website referral traffic, and it is more conducive to use on larger screens. Of the two primary photo-oriented social media giants, Instagram caters to a more social and instantaneous experience and relies only on mobile technology (it has no desktop or web application).

Pinterest, a portmanteau of the words “pin” and “interest,” quickly rose to become the third most popular social media site in a meteoric rise within a year of its official inception. Initially billed as a “pinboard-style image sharing network for people with good taste,” it began as an invitation-only beta site before its 2012 public unveiling.

Pinterest allows users to categorize website links using primarily photos, as well as GIFs and videos, and catalog them for future consideration. This networking web and mobile application, perhaps more accurately tabbed as a social curation or bookmarking site because of its collection and curation features in addition to social media aspects, is based on the sharing of images rather than text. Launched in March 2010, Pinterest offered a new wrinkle in the social media fabric.

Other broadly popular sites such as Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp were part of the ensuing wave of social media platforms. We investigated how Pinterest could work for our radiology education mission and then decided to establish a presence on the site to ascertain if creating our own board would have any practical benefits. Some of the more visually oriented medical specialties (i.e., dermatology, plastic surgery, and radiology) have begun to consider what role, if any, the popular site Pinterest, with more than 250 million monthly users, might play in disseminating healthy messages, reaching patients, and contributing to medical education. It further distinguishes itself by encouraging appreciation/learning over self-promotion and its range of categories exceeds that of other such sites. Because Pinterest users are mainly focused on finding and collecting other users’ content, Pinterest is thought to generate website traffic and is more conducive to use on larger screens. Owned by Facebook, Instagram caters to a more personal experience and mostly relies on mobile technology. Instagram, the other of the two primary photo-oriented social media giants, was launched the same year as Pinterest. Thus, Pinterest allows users to categorize website links using photos, GIFs, and videos, and catalog them for future consideration, saved on a virtual folder or “pinboard.” Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are text-heavy social media platforms that do not allow for significant curating activities.

Launched in 2010, Pinterest (San Francisco, CA, USA) differed from many of the established social media platforms by presenting collection and curation features based on the sharing of images rather than text. The rapid growth of social media over the last decade soon convinced businesses including medical practices and academic medical centers to enter the social media fray-for profit, education, and expanding access.

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