Top 5 Signs Lawyers Should Know About Pinterest

It seems like a new social network is born every minute. There's just no way to keep up with them all. But Pinterest is generating so much buzz that lawyers should at least know what it is (I'm not sayin' you need to spend 12 hours a day "pinning" recipes, but just have a general awareness of it).

Why do I say that? Here are the Top 5 signs:

5. I'm on there! And so are other lawyers. I locked up PhilipMiles on Pinterest (if you wait too long, you get stuck telling people, "Yeah, it's 'philip' but with an F and 3 L's... double underscore... milez, yeah with a Z, then the number 12786... yup, Filllip__Milez12786").

4. Mashable Touts It. If you're not familiar with Mashable, they basically drive "coolness" on the web. One article, How Pinterest Changed Website Design Forever, has been retweeted over 4,700 times!

3. Even the Mainstream Media Knows About It. Mashable still too niche for you? How about CNN explaining Why Pinterest is 2012's Hottest Website?

2. Legal Publications Are Covering It. Mashable just for Internet dorks? CNN too fluffy? OK, how about The Legal Intelligencer then? Yup, even the legal mags are writing about Pinterest, including this blog entry: Pinterest for Lawyers: Legal Marketing or Waste of Time?

1. Pinterest Discovery is Happening. I'm not going to pretend I've had any cases revolving around Pinterest accounts... but I have received a discovery request specifically requesting Pinterest account information. Yes, it actually comes up in practice.

So, what is it? It's a "virtual pinboard." To learn what that means, check out the above links, or read Pinterest's About page.

Sidenote about my experience: For the reasons above, I think lawyers should have some general awareness of Pinterest. But, while I'm on there, I frankly haven't been too excited about it. I had trouble finding topics that interested me, until I saw History... so I clicked it... the first result? A picture of Disney's Genie telling Aladdin, "I showed that bitch the world," to which Aladdin replies, "Bitches love worlds." Ummm, not exactly what I anticipated.

Update (2/27/2012 9:36 AM): It turns out that there's actually some good law content on there: See Elizabeth Kramer (Sterling Education Services).

Image: Pinterest Logo used in commentary on Pinterest.

Posted by Philip Miles, an attorney with McQuaide Blasko in State College, Pennsylvania in the firm's civil litigation and labor and employment law practice groups.