Review: Pingraphy lets you schedule your future Pinterest pins, get stats

Pingraphy Pingraphy is an essential service for Pinterest users who need to post at all hours of the day.

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Social media is popular, but needs to be taken in small doses. Nobody wants to be bombarded with lots and lots of status updates and photos all at the same time. When posting your items to a social media site, it is good practice to spread everything out over a 24-hour period. Services such as TweetDeck help us do this for Twitter, but Pinterest is a different matter. But unless you are the world's biggest insomniac, you are going to need a service such as Pingraphy to help you out.

Pingraphy is a Web service that enables you to log into your Pinterest account and schedule images to automatically be posted on a set schedule in the future. There is even a bookmarklet you can use which, when clicked, will pull all of the images from a webpage and then send them to Pingraphy for you.

Once your image has been uploaded, select the date and time you wish it to go out.

But first, you need to log into Pingraphy using your Pinterest credentials. Unfortunately this involves giving Pingraphy your password. As of this writing, there is no way to sign in with a permissions system which can be revoked later, similar to Google Accounts or Facebook. So you have to decide if you are comfortable giving out your Pinterest password.

This is where one of the drawbacks of Pingraphy becomes readily apparent. There is no function to revoke the website's access to your Pingraphy account, which means the only way to block Pingraphy is to change your Pinterest password.

The dashboard gives you an excellent overview of which pins are scheduled to go out and when, as well as which ones have recently been published.

Assuming you are OK with revealing your password and you have logged in, you will then be invited to drag the bookmarklet up to your browser toolbar. When clicked on a webpage, the bookmarklet will pull all of the images into a clickable list and you can choose which ones you want to be scheduled to get pinned in your Pinterest account.

Also, as part of the setup, you are provided with a calendar and sliders so you can specify the exact date and time the first pin should go out. You then specify your timezone and the interval (in minutes) between each pin going out. So theoretically you could schedule pins days, weeks, even months ahead if you want to. Perfect if you are going on holiday or if there will be an event which will necessitate you being away from the computer for extended periods.

Pingraphy provides you with statistics which will show you which of your pins were the most popular, the most shared and the most liked.

The dashboard gives you a nice overview of all the scheduled pins, so you can see at a glance what is due to go out, and what has gone out recently. From here, you can also click on "track", which allows you to see which of your pins were the most popular, how many times they were repinned and liked, and how many comments were received. These numbers are displayed in table format for easy viewing.

Using these numbers, you can see right away which kinds of images generally do well and which ones don't, enabling you to fine-tune your social media policy, which is important if you rely on social media to do your job more efficiently.

Apart from the inability to revoke the website's access to your Pinterest account and a bug in the bookmarklet which overrides the timezone settings (the latter of which is a very minor thing), Pingraphy is definitely a service you should consider if you are looking for this kind of thing, given that it seems to be the only service right now which schedules Pinterest updates in advance.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can use the latest version of this Web-based software.

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Preview App: Stepwells Is a Live Scrolling Pinterest of Web Services

 At least one other web app we saw at the SXSW Interactive Startup Spotlight resembled Pinterest, but given how hot the photo-sharing startup is, it came as no surprise to see a second imitator. Stepwells doesn’t mimic the use of Pinterest exactly, but there are definitely some similarities that can be drawn in terms of aesthetics, particularly with Stepwells’ clean rectangular boxes with ample white space.

But what exactly does the web app do? Basically, it creates a live collage of the web services you choose to add to a dashboard within your browser. It’s handy because it lets you bypass URLs, credentials, navigation and search after you’ve bookmarked these sites. Want to stay updated with a particular topic—for instance, “South by Southwest”? You can post boxes that extract data about SXSW across different sites—so the app crawls and slurps up related Pinterest pins, Tumblr posts, tweets, Instagram pictures, etc. and deposits them onto your dashboard environment, which scrolls laterally from screen to screen. Each box can also refresh at regular intervals that you determine. You bookmark the site or topic on Stepwells using a custom browser extension.

Another potential use for the app: Add all your frequently visited sites to the dashboard so you no longer have to open multiple tabs when you get to your desk in the morning. (Or rather, when you get back home—since surely you only peruse work-related sites at the office.) The web app eventually plans to migrate to your phone and tablet, so you can seamlessly jump into your dashboard even after you leave your computer station. Each time you visit Stepwells, you also get notifications for updates within your separate bookmarked items.

Stepwells is in closed beta right now, and quite far from finished. We tried the app ourselves through a special account and at certain points, the bookmark function froze and we couldn’t add the sites of our choosing. But since the service is planning to launch by mid of next year, there’s still plenty of time for the startup to iron out the kinks. If you’re curious about this new service, you can take a peek at the read-only dashboard the startup demoed at SXSWi here.

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Trails Web App Combines a Little Bit of Pinterest, Quora

Trails is a little tricky to explain. The site, in alpha version for now, was one of the web apps we saw being demoed at SXSWi’s Startup Spotlight. It looks like Pinterest, but functions very differently. Essentially, Trails lets you curate bookmarks which are filed under topics or used as answers to questions others have asked, and these “trails” take the form of pins spread out on your web browser.

Each Trail initially has a topic or a question that acts as the main item “pinned” to the browser spread. “How do I learn to make a website?”, for instance, or “Easy Eats in Downtown Austin.”  When you click into a Trail, you’ll see all the bookmarks by a curator, collected across different places on the web—they can be sites, videos, images, lists, etc. These either serve as the answers to the initial question asked, or act as a collection of items catalogued under the cover topic. Curators also have the ability create a “path” using these bookmarks, defining the particular order their audience will see the web items they’ve collected. 

Trails has high aspirations, including eventually building a database of respected curators who will act as authorities on certain topics, and the ability for regular people—with continued use of the app—to increase their influence on others. But do we really need another bookmarking website, even if the premise is slightly different from what we’ve seen before? Only time will tell if Trails will catch on to a crowd of adopters and make it out into the mainstream.

If you’re still confused and would like to try Trails yourself, you can check out the Alpha site the team is using to demo the app at the conference: http://trails.by/sxsw.

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How to Use Pinterest: Step-by-Step Guide

Like the hottest clubs in town, you can’t just join Pinterest. Since it’s currently in beta, interested Pinners will have to secure an invite. This might be easier said than done, however. 

When we attempted to snag an invite by clicking the “request an invite” button and entering our email address, we received an email informing us that we successfully landed on the waiting list with no word on how soon we’d gain access behind Pinterest’s velvet rope.

We eventually gained admission from Ben and the Pinterest Team.

However curious visitors can score an invite from friends already using the service.

 

Once you receive your invite, click on the included link. A new page will open inviting you to join Pinterest using Facebook Connect or your Twitter account.

From there, enter your screen name, email, and password in the corresponding fields and click the Create Account button.

To complete your profile, mouse over the tab with your screen name in the upper navigation bar.

On your Pinterest page, you’ll see a list of all your boards with your profile details and recent activity in the left column. Hit the Edit Button to access your Profile Details page.

On the Profile Details page you can make changes including name, location and a short bio.You can also upload a picture and link your Pinterest accounts to your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Facebook users can also add Pinterest to their Facebook Timeline status updates by checking the Timeline box in their Profile Settings.

So now you’re on Pinterest, what’s next? You can either spend countless hours checking out all the varied, interesting pins other users have posted or you can create a profile, find friends to follow and create a board and post some pins of your own.

Pinterest displays some of its most recent and interesting pins on the homepage. Users can simply scroll down to see what the site has to offer. Mousing over an image will provide a few options including Repin, Like and Comment. 

Clicking on an image brings up a larger pop-up image. In addition to the picture, user comments, recent pins, total number of pins and total likes are displayed. Social media mavens can share their finds via provided links for Facebook and Twitter along with an embed code for blogs. There’s also a Report Pin button for inappropriate content.

During your time on Pinterest, you’re bound to come across some images you want to share with others while some you’ll just want to give a thumbs up to show your appreciation. 

Hitting the Like button on a pin will leave a notification on a friend’s timeline about your approval. It will also post a notification to your Facebook Timeline if that feature is enabled.

Repinning means that you’re taking an image from someone else’s board and posting it to one of your own. Similar to Liking, notifications will be sent to both parties when an item is repinned.

Chances are you’ve already got a few friends using Pinterest. To find and follow their boards and pins, go to your profile tab in the upper right corner. Mouse over the tab and select the Find Friends option.

From there, Pinterest will display a list of friends that are already on Pinterest from your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

You can also invite friends by clicking the Invite Friends tab where you can invite a maximum of four friends in one invite.

Following People on Pinterest

Unlike Facebook or Linked In which require you to file a friend request to access all of users’ updates, Pinterest boards are 100 percent public so you can follow complete strangers. To follow a user, you can click on her name, board  or pin. Clicking on a  person’s name will take you to her Pinterest page, where you can view all her boards, current activity and profiles. You can also be specific with your follows. Instead of following every board a person has on their profile, you can pick and choose which boards you wish to follow. 

To follow a board on the main Pinterest page, simply click on it. You’ll be taken to a full view of the board where you can Follow/Unfollow the board or Like it on Facebook. You can also click on the board’s author’s name in the left corner to visit their main page.

Clicking on a pin causes a large pop-up box featuring the image, the board it appears on and the original Pinner (if applicable) will appear. Click the Follow button to by the person’s name to follow that person and their recent activity. If you want to follow that person’s board, or the original pinner, click the corresponding Follow buttons next to their names.

Sure Pinterest is cool to look at and getting people to repin your pins is awesome, but what does that get you in the long run? Some companies have put their pins to work establishing or strengthening their brands.  Mashable, Etsy, and General Electric are good examples.

One way to foster brand continuity is to link your Pinterest account to your blog with the Follow button. The button connects the blog or website to Pinterest providing additional content. Pinterest provides four different styles of Follow buttons for websites.

After clicking the About tab in the top navigation bar, select the Goodies tab on the left side of the screen. Scroll down to the Follow Button section and select your button choice. Copy the code and paste onto the site where you’d like it to appear.

Users can make their sites pinnable by placing Pin It buttons on their pages. Simliar to Facebook’s share buttons, adding a Pin It button will make it easier for readers to share your content with their Pinterest followers.

Users can create a custom Pin It button on the Goodies page. Simply add the webpage’s url, the url of the image you want to appear with the pin, and a brief description. Users can also choose to show the Pin Count, the number of pins an article has amassed. After configuring the Pin, simply copy and paste the HTML code the tool generates into the appropriate place on your site.

To enable faster pinning, Pinterest has created a Pin It button for your web browser. Conveniently located in the Bookmarks bar, the Pin It button compiles every viable image on the page.

 To add the button to your web browser, first go to the Settings menu in your web browser and enable the Show Bookmarks Bar option (CTRL + Shift + B in Chrome). On Pinterest, mouse over the About tab in the top navigation bar and click Help. Next click the Goodies tab along the left side of the page. From there, drag the Pin It button up to the Bookmarks Bar.

Although Pinterest says that the button is Google Chrome exclusive, we were also able to get it to work in Mozilla Firefox.

Ready to start pinning? Simply click on the Add+ tab in the navigation bar. A new window will appear with options to Add a Pin, Upload a Pin, and Create a Board.

Select Create a Board and a window appears with a few selections. First off, name your board and try to make it something compelling that describes the board’s subject matter. Next choose a Board Category from the 33 pre-listed categories or choose Other to create your own category.

Next, choose who can pin to your board. If you want friends to have pinning rights, click Me + Contributors.  Enter the name or email of the contributor and hit add.

To keep pinning rights to yourself, click Just Me. After everything has been selected click the Create Board button.

If you’ve added the Pin It button to your web browser, click whnen you are on a page with an image you wish to pin. A list of available images will appear in your browser. You can then mouse over the desired image and click the blue Pin This button.

A pop-up window will appear with the chosen image, a dropdown menu of your available boards and a description field. If you are not already logging into Pinterest, you will be asked to supply your credentials.

After entering all the necessary details, simply click the Pin It button and the pin will appear on the designated board.

You can upload photos from your laptop by clicking the Add+ tab in Pinterest and selecting Upload a Pin.

Next choose the image file you wish to post. Pinterest will generate a preview image in a new window. From there, you can choose which of your boards the pin will appear on by selecting the board’s title in the dropdown menu. Once complete, click the Pin It button to post the pin.

Users can also copy and paste to create a new pin. Select the Add+ tab and choose Add a Pin.

After finding and copying the desired image’s url, simply click Add a Pin. From there, paste the url into the empty field and click Find Images.

Next select the image, chose which board it’s being pinned to and hit Pin It.

See a pin on someone’s board that would look better on one of yours? Simply mouse over the image and click the Repin button. Next choose which board you want the pin to appear on and press Pin It.

As you check out other Pinners boards, you might run across a pin with a price tag displayed across the top right corner. To add a pricetag to your pins, simply place a $ or £ symbol before the price in the description field. Hit the Pin It button to post the pin.

Although Pinterest primarily handles photos, you can also pin video as well. Similar to images, video can be added to a board by copying and pasting the video link, uploading the file, or pressing the Pin It button installed on the Bookmarks Bar.

Editing Boards/Pins

On second thought, maybe that “Sweetest 80’s Mullets” board wasn’t that good an idea. Editing boards and pins is pretty straightforward.

To begin editing boards, go to your Pinterest page where each board will feature a large edit button.

Click the Edit button to open the Edit Board page where you can change the board’s title, description, contributor status and category. You can also delete the board entirely.  After the changes have been made, click the Save Settings button to see the new improved board.

Click on the board with the pin that needs to be edited. On the board page, mouse over the the offending pin and click the Edit button.

On the Edit Pin page, users can edit the description, image link and board. Similar to boards, pins can also be deleted using the Delete Pin button. Once the changes have are complete, simply click Save Pin to view the updated pin.

Aside from posting interesting content, part of being a successful Pinner is being a polite Pinner. With that said there are a few things to keep in mind.

Give credit where it’s due. Include a little note saying where an image comes from if Pinterest doesn’t display the link’s source.Keep your content PG-13. Pinterest doesn’t allow nudity or hate speech. This rule also extends to commenting on other people’s content. Keep comments clean and tasteful. If you see something questionable, hit the Report Pin link next to the pin in the pop-up window.Don’t post too often. As with most social networking sites, too much self promotion can potentially lower your credibility and damage your brand.

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