There were a TON of social media tools released in 2011. For the most part, these new products and platforms came and went. But, Pinterest was an outlier in the social media world, now included in the top 10 list of social networks.

What is Pinterest? According to pinterest.com: “Pinterest is an online pinboard. Organize and share things you love.” It’s a site still in beta, requiring users to request access to an account at this time. Even though it’s in a very early stage, Pinterest has proven to be a huge contendor in the world of social networks, and isn’t going the way of Google Wave in the near future.

So, why is Pinterest hot? Well, mainly because Pinterest just works. It’s fun, fresh content and is a completely new way of sharing/posting content in a really visually appearing manner. And, Pinterest took off because they hit a critical target demographics in social networking: educated, professional women in their 20s-30s. This demographic is hugely active in social networking and are big time influencers for each other and their communities.

Seeing as I’m in the target demographic for Pinterest, I’m all over it. I actually have a self-imposed rule that I’m not allowed to login to Pinterest when I’m working as Duke’s social media manager to stay productive. Coming from someone who spends a good 75-80% of her desk time on social networks or reading about new media, this is quite the testimony for how addictive this site is.

So, if I’m addicted to Pinterest, and so are all of my friends, isn’t there a market for brands there? You bet. Because a lot of content that is shared on Pinterest are recipes, crafts, fashion and interior decorating advice, brands like Better Homes & Gardens are all over it. But there are implications for a place like Duke on Pinterest as well. If you think about it, you can imagine Duke alumni sharing photos of their favorite basketball game, prospective students pinning photos of their acceptance letter and Duke communicators using boards to share tips and advice in marketing and PR.

How do you think Duke should be using this new tool?