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Do you use Pinterest? It is a free social media website where you can create a collection of visual bookmarks on whatever topic you are interested in. This quickly became very popular, but…. Did you know that it is NOT just for Recipes and Crafts? You can actually use it for Genealogy! It can become a useful online tool. The International Institute of Genealogical Studies has a Pinterest account and you can follow us HERE. As you are researching online, you visit many websites while working on your research projects – how can you organize and keep track of them? Where can you keep them all in one place and have access to them wherever you are? In our Social Media Tools for the Wise Genealogist course, you will learn that Pinterest is a visual bookmarking website. It allows you to create “Boards” for various topics, which are like Bulletin Boards. You can “Pin” various website bookmarks to the appropriate topical board to be referenced later. These pins capture an image from that webpage and display it inside the board, along with a short description. The URL is linked so that when the image is clicked, that website will open. Boards are created with a title, which reflects your research topics and are usually displayed alphabetically. Inside your board, choose one of the pins with an image that best expresses what that board is about and save it to be displayed as the “cover” of that board. This provides a quick visual prompt as to what each board is about and builds a virtual library of your bookmarks. Pinterest Research Tips 1. When you pin all the websites you used for a specific genealogy project to one designated board, it is a great way to check back for all of the URL sources for your bibliography or reference materials. 2. When discussing a genealogy topic and you want to share a great resource site or database, you can quickly access it through the Pinterest app and share it on the spot. The International Institute of Genealogical Studies has created boards with links to many of our courses, packages and programs. For those who are visual learners, this is a way to quickly get an overview of what is being offered. New Boards and Pins will continue to be added until all of our courses are covered. Click on the course pins…