In my last blog post I broached the subject of social media’s new darling, the social bookmarking site Pinterest.  The popularity of the site is undeniable and with estimates of monthly active users in the millions, more than a few brands are all asking themselves the same question: is Pinterest for us too?

As with anything new, companies and personal brands should always approach with caution.  That being said, several types of brands have established profiles in an effort to share their original content.

Retailers are especially prominent and Pinterest has embedded a unique feature to complement social commerce.  Assigning a unique price banner to a pin is as easy as typing in a price with a $ sign.

Lifestyle brands have also found a particular niche, using the site to amass inspiration photos and share their unique aesthetic.  Pinterest also allows for the addition of contributors to pin boards, allowing these brands to add a level of interaction with their audience.

In the ever-changing landscape of social media platforms it’s easy to see new services burst onto the scene and quickly fizzle. However a new player has come onto the scene and you’d be remiss not to know all about it. I’m talking, of course, about Pinterest.

If you visit the site they describe the service as a “Virtual Pinboard” where you can find, save and share your favorite online resources by “pinning” a photo and link. For fashion and lifestyle enthusiasts it’s the perfect marriage of form and function. As the service has picked up users it’s also seen the rise in business profiles. Brands like Nordstrom and Land’s End create boards of products to increase exposure and accessibility to their online shops.

Thinking further Pinterest is somewhat analogous to Twitter. However instead of tweets and retweets (mostly text) you’ll find pins and repins (exclusively images). Pinterest users have a home page full of the pins of those they follow just as you would see on Twitter. with tweets The similarities diverge, though, when you start to notice a lack of conversation on Pinterest. On Twitter we chide users who simply push out content without ever engaging with the community at large. So why, do we not see a similar trend on Pinterest?

I think it’s safe to say that most individuals see the service as a personal bookmarking site with other users serving only has the source of their newfound content. If we return to the analogy of Twitter most of us will remember a time where tweeting was simply a land of 140 character status updates. As time passed and users evolved we started to see the hashtags, retweets and conversation that make Twitter the powerful tool that it is today.

For brands, taking a look back at social media history (however brief it may be) will show that Twitter is a valuable lesson on how to take Pinterest to the next level. Being a content provider can only take a profile so far. Engagement is the next natural step.

As an individual user how do you use Pinterest? Do conversations drive your pinning experience? We’d love to hear what you think!

Caitlin Olmsted is an Account Director at Epio Solutions.

The Christmas season has arrived and we have some gifts on the brain.  Here’s what’s on our list:

Kim:  This iPhone case could not be more perfect for someone on the go.  The minute I saw it I knew I needed it.  Sometimes all you need are a few cards and your phone – this case gives you just that.

iPhone 4 case with credit card holder

I love cooking at home with my family and I use my iPad to reference for recipes.  I’m always worried about messes so a kitchen cabinet mount would make room to cook and keep it clean.  This one by Griffin looks great!

Kitchen cabinet mount for iPad

Wendy:  With a baby on the way and Twitter on my mind, what better way to combine the two? I love this silly onesie!

Twitter Baby Onesie

 Mellie:  In January I’m off to Rome to study abroad and would love to have a camera to snap pics of my travels.  The Nikon 1 Camera looks sleek and takes incredible photos!

Nikon 1 Camera

Bryn:  All of my friends have been talking up the Clarisonic handheld skin cleanser and now I can’t get it off my mind.  It comes in a bunch of different colors and is small enough that I can travel with it.

Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System

Caitlin:  I’m glued to my smart phone, but nothing is worse than getting cold hands trying to use it during the winter.  These gloves look like your average pair, but have little dots on the fingertips to let you respond to emails and texts without taking them off.

Smart phone gloves

Brittany:  #Ilovetwitter.  This Twitter-themed jewelry is adorable! You can use your handle or pick a favorite phrase and have it made into a bracelet or necklace.

Twitter themed necklaces

Sheridan:  E-readers aren’t new but I think the Kindle Fire is finally one that I’d like to have.  Books, TV and internet?  Sign me up!

Kindle Fire

Amy:  We always have Spotify on in the background at the office.  Having a subscription to take my tunes on the go would be a great treat!

Spotify Subscription

Ciao! My name is Brittany Davis-Roberti and I am an International Studies major at the University of Washington. I absolutely love living in Seattle and discovering all the different neighborhoods and restaurants. I would consider myself a huge food connoisseur especially after studying abroad in Rome last winter. I still dream of my favorite dish pasta alle melanzane (eggplant pasta). Recently, I have been exploring the blogging world and have found my obsession in Cupcakes and Cashmere; it combines my two favorite Fs—food and fashion. My favorite thing about working at Epio Solutions is the relaxed and creative environment and having the opportunity to get my feet wet in the world of social media.

The higher the number of followers an individual has on Twitter, the more the pressure mounts to produce tweets that are well-received. Personal brands face the challenge of finding a balance between expressing themselves freely while still being cautious not to offend followers. This burden has led many of these influential figures to hand over the reigns of their Twitter accounts to trusted professionals who produce their tweets for them.

It is no secret that many celebrities and politicians use ghostwriters to manage their accounts. Most recently, Ashton Kutcher surprised the social media community by announcing that he would be handing over the management of his Twitter feed to a third party citing concerns over the quality of the content tweeted from his account. Sarah Palin, Britney Spears, and Kanye West are just a few of the other figures reported to have ghostwriters crafting their tweets. This treatment by influential figures of their online image, however, raises the question: Where do we draw the line?

Many have expressed concern that the use of ghostwriters creates harmful skepticism among users, or purport that online trust is becoming a myth as social media is exploited for marketing purposes. Yet, the other perspective asserts that ghostwriting is harmless, in many instances actually favorable for public morale. And, while many individuals do employ ghostwriters, still many others, including our very own U.S. President Barack Obama, do write their own tweets or readily inform users in the infrequent circumstance that they do not.

Are you bothered by the thought of influential individuals not writing their own Tweets? Or is it rather the value of the tweet, not its author, that is more important? Let us know what you think!

Hi! My name is Bryn Wensley, and like the other interns I attend the University of Washington. I went into school thinking nursing was my calling, but after taking chemistry I decided to go in a different direction. Now I’m thinking maybe English, but I’m definitely still undecided! When I am home in Newport Beach, CA I love to bake and craft; my specialty is Ina Garten’s coconut cupcakes. Since Seattle is still relatively new to me, I love exploring the different areas and discovering a new favorite restaurant or coffee shop. In my spare time, I love eating goat cheese by the spoonful while surfing on Pinterest. If I could be anyone in the world, I would be Beyonce because she has an insane voice and can dance like there’s no tomorrow! My favorite thing about working at Epio is the people in the office and learning new aspects of social media that I never knew existed.

Online influence is a difficult trait to measure. As many social media users are aware, analytics company Klout does just that. The company measures online influence based on your ability to drive action—what really comes down to a complicated algorithm intended to calculate an individual’s sphere of influence.

Handing out scores from 1 to 100, Klout examines social media users’ reach across multiple networks in three aspects: how many people they influence, how much they influence those people, and the overall influence of their networks. The final score is highly correlated to actions such as clicks, comments and retweets. In the past, the company has come under fire from critics who call their method unreliable or inaccurate.

In an attempt to add credibility, Klout released a platform update recently that revised its formula for assessing scores. One perk of the upgrade is that the company now has the ability to share with users the exact actions that are increasing or decreasing their scores. Yet, the update has already caused backlash, as many have seen their scores drop or claim the methodology is just as unstable as before.

Measuring an abstract concept such as influence quantitatively is bound to raise controversy. What do you think of the upgrade? Did you see a significant change in your score? Let us know what you think!

As Facebook profiles continue to evolve, a slew of innovative features have recently hit the site, offering users unceasing new ways to tell their story online. With the improvements to friend lists, a subscribe button, and the newly added video chat and Ticker with real-time posts, the site is as interactive—and intimate—as ever.

Stories you’ve shared in the past will no longer just vanish into the ‘Older Posts’ heading but will find a place in Timeline, the highly anticipated design that allows you to manage and feature past content. The profile Cover accompanying Timeline further offers creativity in letting your personality shine through whatever image you display.

While the additions to the site offer inventive new ways to express oneself and engage with friends online, a thin line exists between friendly sharing and feeling overexposed. Displaying your entire history online begs the privacy question: how far is too far?

Privacy is an increasing concern for Facebook users, and from one perspective, the worry is founded—with Facebook on track to dominate the online sphere, users must be extra wary of how much they share. The recent innovations are capable of showing friends every move you make online, and perhaps eventually every web site you visit. Thanks to “Frictionless Sharing,” Facebook can potentially track the websites you’re viewing—even when you’re not logged in to Facebook. Users may already see friends’ pursuits through linked sites such as Spotify and Pandora, and many websites write apps allowing the activity on their pages to be shared automatically to Facebook profiles.  Is this too much?

With all of the recent updates, what do you think of the new Facebook—an invasion of privacy, or exciting changes? Let us know what you think!

Hi, I’m Sheridan Smalley. Growing up in Edmonds, I knew I always wanted to attend the University of Washington. I decided to go into Journalism and this summer had the opportunity to work as an Editorial Intern at a publishing company in Chicago.  Living there this summer was definitely a highlight of my college career. However, I am very happy to be back home and starting my junior year. My favorite activities include playing tennis and the piano, although I have fear of performing. I would say I am a pretty relaxed person; my ideal night would be watching a thriller with friends and my dog Velcro while eating Ben and Jerry’s Mint Cookie. My favorite aspect about Epio Solutions is the fun, innovative environment. I’m most excited to learn the ins and outs of social media in a marketing aspect rather than just for my own personal use. This upcoming summer I plan to further my travel experience and head down to Los Angeles.

With its ever-evolving features, navigating Twitter these days might present as a challenge, especially to non-veteran users. The numerous applications of tweets and hashtags alone—they’re for more than just trending these days—are enough to confuse users. Whether you’re new to the Twitter scene or an expert tweeter, one resource you might find useful is the Twitter glossary.

Many users might be unaware that Twitter offers its own comprehensive glossary, located in the site’s help center. With over 80 definitions of all things Twitter, the glossary explains everything from the ins and outs of simple tweeting to all of Twitter’s lesser-known yet potentially useful features—such as direct messaging, geotagging, and promoting tweets. Most of the definitions are paired with a link to an in-depth explanation of that term and/or its application to help Twitterers really hone their skills.

Even advanced Twitter users can find use in the explanations of complex concepts such as terms for managing data and use of third party applications. The glossary’s definitions of not-so-noble Twitter uses can further save you from online blunders such as phishing and hacking.

From a business perspective, understanding how to effectively utilize Twitter’s expanding features and tweet with an agenda is key to building connections with customers in a conversational, relatable way.  A comprehensive knowledge of Twitter vocabulary allows ease in online networking and successfully promoting one’s business or brand.

So, if you’ve ever wondered what a Twitter handle is or why anyone would possibly tweet #FF, check out the Twitter glossary for A-Z definitions of every term to help you master the art of tweeting.

What do you think of the Twitter glossary? Did it help you at all? Let us know what you think!