The Matboard: Social bookmarking for Creative Professionals

I recently wrote a blog post for the company that I work about the Matboard, which I was unfamiliar with at the time.  I’ve become so obsessed with this website that I just have to share it with you!

The Matboard is a social bookmarking site (much like Pinterest) that allows creative professionals to share, inspire and explore while matting  advertisements, magazine covers, photography, infographics, etc. to their personal boards. The Matboard can also be integrated with Facebook and Twitter for easy sharing or finding of friends. The site was launched about a week ago and has has been given some serious attention. I honestly think this site is better than Pinterest, but I may be biased I am a creative. When I want to find design inspiration or am looking for something specifically design related in Pinterest I end up having to search through recipes and wedding dresses before I find what I was searching for. The Matboard, however, provides me with a bevy of design inspiration that I can actually use.

The Matboard’s search view is designed in tile boards, much like Pinterest’s design. When you click on an image you will see a variety of options like in the image above. Unfortunately, My screen in smaller so I can’t show you the whole screen. You will have to check it out yourself

How can creative professionals use the Matboard:

• Searching for inspirations: There are 2,000+ items posted to the Matboard at this time.
• Career advancements: Creative users can upload their work to a Matboard to ensure exposure.
• Self-promotions: Contact the makers for information about self-promotion via the Matboard help page.
• Project Moodboards: The Matboard allows users to collect imagery, colors, and typography and visually organize it on a specific Matboard to create an ideal look and feel for a project.
• Networkings: Users are able to follow other creatives, view their profiles, and learn more about them and their careers (assuming all of that information is posted.

Amazing website!

Recycled Keyboard Horse Sculpture

I found a picture of this horse on Pinterest. Believe it or not, Pinterest actually has some good articles in the art section; you just have to look for them. Well, the Pinterest pin lead me to a dead en so I did my own research and it led me to c|net, where I found this article.

This Trojan Horse was inspired by Greek mythology. It was created with thousands of old computer keyboard keys by German artist, Babis Pangiotidis. There is an obvious connection with “Trojan” and computer viruses, but it also represents our vulnerability in an electronic age. Genius idea, if you ask me.

(Credit: Babis Panagiotidis)

Close up

(Credit: Babis Panagiotidis)

Pintester

I don’t know if you guys have ever been to the website http://pintester.com/ but I recently discovered it and might be spending too much time there. This girl’s blog is all about her attempt to make things she finds on Pinterest. In her posts and shows you how she did it and whether or not it works. She is honestly hilarious, a bit vulgar at times though. So, if you are not into the swearing then maybe skip this one but I think she is pretty amusing. See below…
Funny post #1 (summarized)
Strawberries & Cream Mug Cake | Pintester

I think of myself as a tolerant person. I only groan a little when I hear a dad joke. I hang out with people who are prettier than me. And I occasionally let people with Romney bumper stickers get in front of me on the freeway. I can even tolerate the odd disgusting food item, provided it has some redeeming qualities.

Strawberries & cream mug cake has no redeeming qualities.

The rest of this story really should be told in pictures. Words cannot explain. I leave you with this.

In conclusion, if you like recipes that turn out like marginally edible sponges, you might like this. Otherwise, run. Run far away.

Funny post #2 (summarized)
Ombre Nails

And, since I was headed to a Durham Bulls game later on in the evening (I love baseball. And baseball pants.), I decided to paint them Bulls team colors. Except I didn’t have Barf Orange in my collection. But Mango is close enough, right?

I did a base layer of mango, because it seemed like that was the thing to do. This nail polish is from Forever 21. I bought it because it’s the only thing from there I can wear that doesn’t make me look fat.

Also, it is scented. I think the scent is supposed to be mango, but it’s more like dear-God-turn-it-off, my-head-hurts-already-from-Diet-Coke-withdrawals, this-is-what-death-smells-like. Just in case you were wondering.

Looks nice, though.

Probably if I had not been in testing mode, I would have stopped here, with a nice happy orange base that turned out pretty well, actually. But I was determined to test this ombre thing and my head was already kind of swimmy from the fumes anyway, so I figured why the hell not.

I smeared some Vaseline on my cuticles to make clean-up easier, and also because I use Vaseline whenever possible in pin tests so that I can make off-color jokes about giant tubs of Vaseline, hurrhurrhurr.

The first nail actually went pretty well.

I was pleasantly surprised that it sort of resembled the tutorial.

Subsequent nails were less successful. Apparently, to make this work properly, you have to re-paint your sponge each time. This, in case you couldn’t guess, is a huge pain in the ass. But I tried it both ways, and you definitely need to reload the sponge for proper results. Also, it would probably be better if you used a new sponge for each subsequent nail.

I did the best I could, considering the effort I was willing to expend. And that is an honest assessment of most of the stuff I do on this blog. Some things just aren’t worth that much effort, manicures being one of them.

You get the point. She tries other stuff too not just nail tuts and baking. Check her out though, seriously. She makes my day a bit more cheerful, somehow. Haha!

Pinterest: A Beginner’s Guide to the Hot New Social Network

You’ve probably heard a lot about Pinterest over the last few months. Not only has the company received $27 million in venture funds, but the site’s popularity has exploded from 1.2 million users in August to over 4 million today.

SEE ALSO: Study Shows Pinterest Will Compete with Top 10 Social Networks [VIDEO]But like any new social site, there’s always the question, “How does it work?” Have no fear, soon-to-be-Pintrest fan, we’ll show you the ropes.

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1. What is Pinterest?

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Pinterest is a place to organize and share online images that you find interesting or inspiring. Once uploaded or shared on Pinterest, these images become known as Pins, which the user can place on customized, themed Boards. You can create Boards for any topic imaginable, from cats to classic cars to cats driving classic cars. The possibilities are endless.

If you want to check out Pinterest, though, you have to be invited. You can sign up for invites on the site (prepare for a wait), or chances are you already know a Pinner who will gladly send you an invite.

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2. What is Pinterest For?

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While there’s nothing wrong with just pinning pictures of cool stuff all day, Pinterest can be a really valuable tool for people with a specific purpose in mind. For example, many brides-to-be have replaced bulky three-ring binder wedding planners with the simplicity and portability of a Pinterest account. Some people create a Board for each room in the house and then pin decorating ideas for that room. Artists use it to organize inspiring images for their work. Cooks keep an online recipe box. College students might create a shopping list of things they need to buy for school. DIY-ers can bookmark tutorials for those rainy day projects. Boards can have multiple contributors, so collaborating with co-workers on a project is easy with everyone’s ideas and inspiration in one place.

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3. How Do I Pin Stuff?

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Pinning is easy with the official Pin It Button, a simple drag-and-drop browser extension. When you come across an image you like, just click the button and select the corresponding picture. Assign the pin to a Board, add accompanying text, and you’re done. If the Pin is something you want to buy, include the price in the description and it will attach to the Pin for easy reference. If you find inspiration on the go, take a picture with your iPhone and add it to your Boards with the mobile app. (Sorry, no Android support at this time.) You can also Repin posts from other people.

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4. What’s the Social Angle?

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Pinning’s more fun when you do it together. To find other Pinners, access the Everything drop-down menu and filter Boards by category. When you see a good Pin, leave a comment, Like it, or Repin to one of your own Boards. If you find a Board that’s especially interesting, follow its updates, or head to the Pinner’s profile and follow all of her Boards. Like Twitter, it’s an open network, so follows don’t require permission, and you don’t have to follow anyone back.

You can tweet or share pins on Facebook to help expand your network across all three services.

Check out the Popular button to see what pins are trending at the moment. It’s a great way to find new content and to find Pinners who share your interests.

Your birthday’s coming up and you really like that necklace on Etsy, right? Hint, hint by sharing a Pin with another Pinner: Use an @mention in the description, just like you do on other social sites. They’ll get an email to let them know they’ve been mentioned.

5. Anything Else I Should Know?

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Most Pins are photos, but you can pin videos, too. Hit the Videos button at the top of the page to see everything from movie trailers to sewing tutorials to the latest viral videos.

If you’re looking to buy a gift for someone, check out the Gifts menu to find Pins that have a price associated. With dollar values ranging from $1 to $500+, you can find something to fit any budget. And because Pins usually link back to the source website, buying something you like is easy.

Pinterest might seem like a natural place to promote your small business, but do so with caution. It’s frowned upon to spam your Boards with nothing but your own products or projects. That doesn’t mean it’s outright banned, but you need to contribute more to the community if you want to stay in its good graces. Use this opportunity to build your brand by linking and connecting to people who share the same style, or by pinning images that inspire your company’s work. You can use Pinterest for self-promotion, just do so creatively.

Resource: http://mashable.com/2011/12/26/pinterest-beginners-guide/