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"10 Creative Uses of Pinterest\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. UNICEF's 'Ami Musa'\n\n\nAt the peak of Pinterest's popularity, UNICEF decided to turn the social network on its head and stray from the typical pinning of visually interesting content.\nThe team began pinning through the eyes of Ami Musa, a fictional 13-year-old girl from Sierra Leone. The sole board is named \"Really Want These,\" and it showcases objects we generally take advantage of, including running water, soap and shoes.\nScreenshot courtesy of UNICEF\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. C.J. Chivers' War Photojournalism\n\n\nChivers is a war journalist with The New York Times, and he pins original photographs that relate to his stories, including arms, arms trafficking, war tactics and human rights.\nScreenshot courtesy of C.J. Chivers\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. Liz Gray's 'The House That Liz Built'\n\n\nLiz Gray is the decorating and entertaining editor at HGTV, and while she pins tips and suggestions for design-inclined followers, she also pins inspirations for remodeling her own home.\nScreenshot courtesy of Liz Gray\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. GIRLS' 'fanGIRLS'\n\n\nMany shows inspire fan art, but HBO's GIRLS, which has a huge following, actually showcases it with the \"fanGIRLS\" board. \nScreenshot courtesy of GIRLS\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. Victor Ng's '2013 Resolutions'\n\n\nVictor Ng is a designer at Pinterest and has several interesting boards, but one in particular stands out. Ng compiled his New Year's resolutions for 2013, using Pinterest to keep track of them as well as providing motivation.\nScreenshot courtesy of Victor Ng\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. NARS' Lip Pencil Sales Campaign\n\n\nIn early March 2013, cosmetics brand NARS tested the Pinterest selling waters with three popular design pinners providing exclusive access to a new line of lip pencils. The brand used analytics tool Pinfluencer to choose which pinners should help with the campaign.\nScreenshot courtesy of Dana\u00EB Vokolos\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. Buick's 'Pinterest to Dashboard' Contest\n\n\nBuick hosted a contest to turn a Pinterest board into a car's design concept. The winner, Michael Wurm Jr., pinned sea foam color tones and beach scenes, inspiring the concept pictured.\nImage courtesy of GM\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. Pinterest's 'Pinterest HQ'\n\n\nBefore you believe that following Pinterest on Pinterest is too meta, check out its behind-the-scenes board. It offers a glimpse into what it's like to run one the most popular social networks out there. (Pro tip: There's always time for some foosball.)\nScreenshot courtesy of Pinterest\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. Y&amp;R Midwest's 'Helpin'\n\n\nIn the wake of Hurricane Sandy, marketing and advertising company Y&amp;R set up Helpin in February 2013 as a way to help specific families in need.\nScreenshot courtesy of Y&amp;R Midwest\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. Petfinder's 'Simply Adorable Adoptables'\n\n\nYou already look at cute animals on Pinterest -- why not look at cute animals that need good homes? Petfinder highlight animals that just might need some extra love in your area.\nScreenshot courtesy of Petfinder\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWith more than 48 million users, Pinterest is one of the most popular social networks on the web. After its recent fundraising round of $200 million, it has an estimated value between $2 billion and $2.5 billion.\nNot too shabby for a virtual inspiration board founded only three years ago. But within that time, many users have found ultra-creative ways to use to use the visual platform.\nSEE ALSO: Everything You Need to Know About the New Pinterest\n\nCheck out the gallery above to find interesting contests, cool campaigns and other innovative ideas for using Pinterest. Do you use Pinterest in any unconventionally creative ways? Share in the comments.\nHomepage image via iStockphoto, JuliaMag"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/04/04/pinterest-creative-uses/>