Pinterest has dropped its invitation-only policy, opening up the fast-growing online pinboard to all for the first time.
Pinterest lets users to create themed “pinboards” of content they find around the web. Users are asked to add a Pinterest bookmarklet to their bookmarks bar, and then whenever they see an image they like on the Internet, they can tap the bookmarklet to “pin” the image.
They can then add a comment about the image and determine which pinboard it should be pinned to.
From this week, anyone on the internet will be able to freely sign up for the service. Users can sign up using either their Facebook or Twitter logins, or they can simply use an email address.
Pinterest launched over two years ago, in March 2010, but only really took off early this year as word of mouth spread.
The social network has gained some momentum over the past several months, giving users a more visual way to share their finds among friends. The timing of the open registration is interesting given recent rumors that Apple is eyeing up a purchase of The Fancy, a service not too far removed from Pinterest.
Pinterest is a notable social network for a couple of reasons. First, it’s been embraced by the female sector — Internet tracking firm comScore estimates that 68 percent of Pinterest’s users are women, and that these women drive 85 percent of the traffic on the site.
Second, it’s a more focused social network–instead of just updating people on what’s happening in your life, you’re actually required to curate pinboards and pretty image walls. Thus, Pinterest is often used by interior designers, wedding planners, and other project-oriented users.
Pinterest’s valuation has also soared over the past few months. Earlier this year, the social network was valued at around $1 billion, and more recently Japanese conglomerate Rakuten valued the company at around $1.5 billion after a $100 million round of funding. Rakuten has multiple ecommerce sites scattered around the internet, and the inclusion of the “Pin It” badge on any one of them will be sure to further raise the profile of Pinterest.
“We’re really excited to have the capacity to offer Pinterest to more people and if you’re a Pinner with friends who’ve been waiting on the sidelines, we hope you’ll let them know,” an official Pinterest blog reads.
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