Yet ANOTHER Social Platform?

Pintrest is the latest boomlet of social interactivity. Taking cues from previous upstarts, it is semi-closed (a user has to invite you) and it is somewhat random in the slosh of images and "pinned" (read - "likes") items.

Think you get to create your own Oprah like List of Things I Love.

Who uses it? Hard to get a handle so far, but I can tell you that my own anecdotal evidence is it breaks about 70/30 female audience. But how do you put marketed content into the Pintrest stream? Here's a brief primer from PRSA's email today on how writers can use Pintrest.

The platform is vastly different depending on the interface. The best experience, in my opinion, is using the full browser version on desktop. There is an app, but it is the worst -- fewer sorting options and controls. In between is the "m.pintrest" that you get from say an iPad or other mobile.

What's the impact? Why of course there is an infographic straight from Pintrest that is filled with self-important numbers.

But think back to a link from a few days ago about the "surprise" factor of finding news? Now, consider Pintrest as the "surprise" ability to go shopping. A lot of what is on here are products, "pinned" by users. Friends recommending products and wish lists of things they'd like to have.

So, is Pintrest merely the Sears Wish Book for 21st century adults? Maybe. But one statistic in the Pintrest infographic makes it worth watching as the next component to a social media strategy (let's face it kids, geo-locating via FourSquare and SCVNGR just isn't catching on in the mainstream).

Pintrest's traffic is up over 400%, and is driving more social referrals than Google+. That is a major "oh snap" considering the resources, including traditional media ad campaign, that is going into Google+.

Darn those internets. Don't they understand they are suppose to use the Googles and not the upstarts?

Today, Pintrest after a very word-of-mouth roll out has jumped to fifth in referral to sales websites. Closing on Yahoo, not that far behind Twitter. Development that bears watching for all our merch.

Monetate came up with the numbers, and along with the info that traffic is past 10 million for Pintrest, they provide this quick assessment:

Oh, and Pinterest raised $37 million in funding last year and has an unconfirmed valuation of up to $200 million. So, if you haven’t paid much attention to it yet, you might want to start.

If you want to see the whole graphic or grab it for your blog, jump here for Monetate.