If you’re like me you’re A.D.D.I.C.T.E.D. to Pinterest. If you’re not like me – what’s wrong with you? Seriously, if you haven’t heard of Pinterest or you’re holding out because you like to be a late adopter to make sure it’s tried and true, your wait is over. Don’t trust me? Check it out for yourself here. Here. AND…HERE.

Forgive my drug dealing intro, but it had to be done. Now all of you should be blissfully hooked on the amazing plethora of visual stimulation that is Pinterest. And if you’re new (even a recent convert from my shameless peddling) or a power user, there are a few things that remain the same for all of us.

1.) Descriptions: Love them. Hate them. Use them for essay worthy details (seriously if this is you, please stop). Use them well my friends, because they are for the greater good. And that greater good is the downfall of Google (I kid. I kid. I ♥ Google mucho – promise)! But seriously the descriptions are KEY in Pinterest’s search logic – at least for now. So here are a few things to keep in mind:

– # and @ Symbols: (AKA What? I copied Twitter!? Yes. Yes you did. But’s it’s cool, Facebook did it first.) Most of you know you can use Hashtags (#) to coin a term or #brandallthingsinlife. What you might not know (because every article on how to use Pinterest says to use #) is that unless you’re sharing on Twitter, it’s pretty much a worthless symbol in searching – for now (may help with results slightly – haven’t seen proof of this yet though). The actual key to Pinteresting finds are the terms themselves. On the other hand @ really does let you tag someone in a comment or description. However, unlike Twitter it only let’s you tag those that you follow. So if you have friends you’d rather not have style stamping themselves all over your feed, you’re going to have to Facebook or Tweet them instead.  [Hint: Don’t add a space after the @]

– $ signs post prices as a small banner up in the corner, which most people know. Something you might not already know is that you can then find any of these $ tagged images in the “Gifts” section. [Hint: I predict this will be a MECCA for men looking to get their lady friends gifts. As in, GUYS GET YOURSELF AN ACCOUNT SO YOU CAN BUY ALL THE SHIT AMAZING THINGS WE PIN!]

– Speaking of Facebooking…One thing that’s a little bit annoying, but can’t seem to be helped is that if you share a pin to Facebook while pinning you’re going to end up with “just posted a pin to Pinterest” as the main header, with the witty, cute comment you made as the smallest, least visible component. Also the image itself will be pretty mini. Not sure if there’s a way around this yet or if Pinterest plans to fix it, but if you know how please share in the comments section!

– And because I know it’s tough being so funny and intellectual all the time, if you really must leave a blank description, you can just add a space before pinning. BUT refer to greater good discussion above and really try to use descriptions that will be searchable (in a logical way – i.e., “yum” is probably not a universal term for describing cupcakes, crock pot dinners, and Ryan Gosling…then again…).

– LAST TRICK ON DESCRIPTIONS (ALSO KNOWN AS THE MOST IMPORTANT HENCE THE OVERUSE OF EXCLAMATIONS —>)!!!!!! This just in. If you highlight text on a page before pinning it, the text will magically appear in the description box saving you precious minutes from your life, which you can now use for PINNING! #firstworldproblems

That was a lot on Descriptions but it’s actually one of the most important aspects of Pinterest, since it really helps build out the product (Note to Pinterest – HIRE ME!). On to a few other resourceful pointers:

• Get the Pin It button. I repeat. GET the Pin It button for your Browser(s) AND YOUR PHONE HERE. Actually you pretty much access all the cool stuff there (Website integration with a Pin It or Follow Pinterest button – even the Pinterest logo. They’re that cool.).
• Follow @Pinterest and their blog for development updates and Pinterviews.
• Check out the personalized e-mails they send you with your status among the Pinning Gods and others you might like to follow.
• Don’t forget that search results show up by individual images, boards and people. Often when I’m bored of the images I am getting, I’ll start cruising through the boards that the images I do like belong to. And then the people. AND THEN I’m on a full fledged stalkathon!
• Follow people. Or exercise your voting rights and just say NO to the boards you don’t like by selecting “unfollow”.
• Comment. Add Contributors (Note: They need to follow YOU and be cool with you style stamping all over THEIR feed before you can add them). Pin from ACTUAL websites – yes, I know that requires leaving Pinterest, but the Pin It button is like the little angel on your shoulder that never leaves you.
• http://www.pinterest.com/source/domain.com will show you all the pins pinned from that domain. So you want to see Forbes? http://pinterest.com/source/forbes.com/ You want to see Food Network? http://pinterest.com/source/foodnetwork.com/ Who are we kidding? YOU want to see http://pinterest.com/source/fuckyeahryangosling.tumblr.com/
• Send your comments to the team because sharing is caring
  • Suggestions: hi@pinterest.com
  • Bugs: bugs@pinterest.com
  • Help: help@pinterest.com

And for more random joys of Pinning…

Engaged? Start pinning. I cannot stress enough how amazing Pinterest is at organizing your plans, even figuring out what your style is (because it literally emerges from the pins you start accumulating).

Pregnant? Start pinning. It’s not just a site for crazy people obsessed with white dresses. Promise. There are tons and tons of adorable ideas for babies and expectant parents (even good learning tools), like this…

and this…

and BABBBEEHHH EWOK!

Crafty? Into Photography? Home Decor? 

Have New Year’s resolutions to Get Fit? Or Eat More (obviously a better time)? Oh hey unofficial sponsor of Oreo, Nutella and FUNFETTI. Seriously.

Seriously…

SERIOUSLY!?

***that’s and Oreo. INSIDE FUNFETTI!***

Guys?

Sorry, not for you.

Just kidding there are EVEN categories for you.

And so my fellow Pindicted friends we come to an end. Even though there are still many developments to come from this wonderful little team. And though we sometimes have to fight off suicidal depression during one of their frequent “No Pins Available” teases (though these are getting fewer and far between – Yay Team!). I promise you this does not even begin to touch on the many delicious possibilities of Pinterest. And that is exactly why Pinterest is so glorious. Each pin adds another possibility of something waiting to be created or experienced…

Or at the very least shows you that Oreos and Funfetti can indeed mate – TO CREATE BABY COOKIE GOODNESS!

So with that, there’s just one little last piece of advice. And take it from someone who learned first hand (refer to current search capacity above)…

PIN THAT SH…

What are your favorite tricks or tips for fellow Pinners?

[Sources (to the best of my ability – P.S. Try to source your Pins correctly)]

1.) Success Kid: Let’s not kid each other. This kid is everywhere…; 2.) Burberry Swagger via Tumblr 3.) Baby Rockstar via Baby Swag 4.) BABBBEEHHH EWOK via Imgur 5.) Funfetti Cakeballs via Chef in Training 6.) Funfetti Donuts (AKA Heart Attack) via Cookies & Cups 7.) Funfetti and Oreo’s make sweet, sweet whoopie via Bakers Royale 8.) Ring on It (customized) via YouTube