Pinterest: The Hottest Social Media Startup of 2012

With social networks now pivotal for most businesses, entrepreneurs, artists and pretty much anybody with an Internet connection, it's not surprising that new websites are popping up more often than ever.

The latest website to gain some real momentum around the world is Pinterest, a 'digital scrapbooking' website that lets you present and organise all of your interests and share them with the world. Users cluster their favourite things into small boards such as 'food' and 'music', with each interest receiving a neat image and hyperlink if applicable.

Building upon the aesthetic appeal of visually-based websites such as Instagram and the sharing capabilities of Facebook, Pinterest has all the correct elements to become a huge success. In late 2011, it broke into the Top 10 most popular social media websites, and its recent growth has seen it become a bigger traffic referrer for women's websites than Facebook and Twitter in the U.S.

However, if the revolving door of social media has taught us anything, it's that websites can fall just as fast as they skyrocket, and that trends can be embraced fully before fading into obscurity. The biggest challenge for Pinterest will be keeping up with technology and offering users greater ways to integrate the website with their daily routines and ideas.

There are 12 million American users of Pinterest, and an overwhelming 83% of those are female. Complying with traditional gender stereotypes, the most popular Pinterest profiles are largely focused on fashion, decoration and interior design. This overwhelming dominance of female users has even caught the attention of the US Army, who are looking to Pinterest as a source for more women to join the ranks.

Pinterest's simplicity and organisation have made it a joy to explore when online. Many companies have already taken to 'board hacks' in order to slice their favourite images and present them in creative ways. Like all effective social media websites, this allows users to personalise their pages with great innovation.

Will you jump aboard the Pinterest bandwagon? Concrete Playground has already started to fill the Pinterest boards with all the best and brightest cultural news. Follow us here and share the love.