TEMPE, AZ (CBS5) -
A social media site called Pinterest seemed to spring up overnight.
It's an online pin board that is trying to make money off what users post.
"How many hours are you on Pinterest? Um, I try not to think about that," said Megan Tang, a junior at Arizona State University.
Tang said she and her friends love Pinterest. It's an interactive, virtual bulletin-board to which a person "pins" things they like under different categories.
"I have one called food porn. I have one for fashion, one for beauty," Tang said.
Whether you call it a scrapbook, collage or pin board, CBS 5 News tech guru Bryan Schiele said it is the biggest social media craze since Facebook.
"Its a great way for people to share their interests," Schiele said.
And, it's free. So the big question then is, how does Pinterest make money?
"Pinterest makes its money by taking the links that people put on their site and making money off of people who click those links," Schiele said.
Say you just read a good book and you want to share it with your friends. So you find it on a site like amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com and pin it to your board.
"If somebody clicks that link and goes and buys the book, then Pinterest makes some money off that purchase," Schiele said.
While Pinterest's Terms of Service state they have the right to do basically whatever they want with whatever you post, Schiele says the issue is transparency.
"Someone is posting a link to something on Pinterest, and without knowing it they're helping Pinterest, make money," he said.
Tang said that while she'd like the site to be a little more transparent, she's going to keep pinning.
"I don't usually buy things off Pinterest," Tang said. "I just post things. I wish I could buy."
Pinterest is in a testing phase right now, so persons have to be "invited" to join. They also have to agree to the terms of use, and that includes allowing the company to do what it wants with the content on each individual's boards.
Copyright 2012 KPHO (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Megan Tang says she and her friends love Pinterest.
CBS 5 News tech guru Bryan Schiele calls Pinterest the biggest social media craze since Facebook.
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