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5 ways to benefit from Pinterest.

Pinterest is the newest social media phenomena, as it now attracts more new online traffic than most of the other social media web sites combined. At Pinterest, users can post (or "pin") pictures of various items grouped by category, much like a online photo album or scrapbook. The groups of pictures, which can originate from any web site, blog or social media site, are called "pin boards" and are shared with other Pinterest users. Pinterest allows users to connect by giving an option to "follow" each other, and "like" or "re-pin" other's pictures.

The Pinterest interface has changed several times since its inception in March 2010. Pinterest is now attempting to get more "social" by encouraging more connection between users. Slowly, the Pinterest programmers are incorporating elements into their platform that are popular at other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

As much fun and as addictive as Pinterest can be, the format can surely be improved. Here are five suggestions to improve Pinterest. Most of the suggestions simply transfer other popular elements from other social media sites to the Pinterest platform.

First, Pinterest users should have more creative options to customize the home page. You should have the ability to change background wallpaper, themes, colors, fonts, etc. as part of the Pinterest experience. One of the most addictive features of Pinterest is the creative outlet that it offers. Web sites are constantly looking for ways to keep users at the site longer, and Pinterest should consider creative options to customize the home page to help achieve that.

Second, users should have more control over the arrangement and display of pins and pin boards. Limited control is offered currently (rearranging the order of pin boards on a user home page, for instance), but more options would greatly enhance the experience. You should be able to group and categorize pin boards, rather than just have them all displayed side by side. Also, there should be the option to keep some pin boards private. You would pin more pictures of family and friends if there was a private option for pin boards. With the most recent format change, now each pin board has a "featured image" that is larger than the other pins on the board. Currently, this image is the last image pinned, whereas it would be better to have users choose which pin is used as featured image.

Third, users should be able to follow pin boards as well as people. Currently, if you see a pin board of "Favorite Places to Visit in New York" and want to follow updates on that board, you have to follow that user and all of her boards, or follow the board and not be able to refer back to it. You should be able to just follow that one pin board if you want, and be able to refer back for updates.

Fourth, where is the messaging? Again, if Pinterest wants users to spend more time at the site, direct messaging between others that you follow needs to be offered. Public comments can be left for the user for a less personal level of connection, but perhaps there's a question or comment that you don't want to post publicly. You should be able to direct message that user privately.

Fifth, improve the comments section, likes and re-pins. Currently, when other users comment on a pin, the comments are listed and scroll below the image. Extensive commenting can cause a long scroll, so collapsing the comments would surely improve the aesthetics of the home page display. A familiar tiny plus/minus toggle next to the word "Comments" would allow you to expand them to read, and then collapse them again to conserve screen space. Also, you should be able to hover your mouse arrow over the word "likes" and "re-pins" on each image and be able to see names, Currently, it's a challenge to figure out who's following you, and who has liked or re-pinned your images.