( CNN ) -- There are slews of apps and websites to help you make the most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday , the two mondo-consumerist U.S. holidays . But Pinterest , the out-of-nowhere social network that became wildly popular this year , may offer some of the freshest approaches to online gift-giving this season . `` This holiday shopping season will mark a turning point for Pinterest , '' Julia Boorstin wrote on a CNBC blog . `` The social scrapbooking platform valued at $ 1.5 billion is n't making money itself yet . But it 's been helping retailers connect with customers since it launched a year and a half ago , and now it 's actively trying to help brands cash in . And this all-important shopping season companies are increasingly using it to drive online sales . '' Here are five ways you can pin yourself to a more productive ( and gift-filled ) holiday . ( Oh , and if you do n't know what Pinterest is , read this before proceeding . ) 1 . Create a secret wish list : On November 8 , Pinterest updated its site to allow users to create up to three private pin boards . You could use one of these to pin images of products that you 'd like to receive during the holiday season , and then you could share that page with a couple of relatives . Since posts on Pinterest link back to the website where you found the image you 're sharing , it makes it easy for Mom or Dad to find exactly the item you 're looking for . The downside : This exercise in `` give me this ! '' pinning could be a turn-off for family members who want to be more creative -- or for people who have only a vague idea of what gifts they would like to receive . `` Whatever you pin appears to refer to specific brands , colors , or size , even if that 's not what you intended , '' writes Jill Duffy for PC Mag . `` Pinterest works wonderfully for sharing images of the exact tennis racquet you want , but is n't as good for convincing your family that any old tube socks will do . '' 2 . Pin boards with gift ideas for others : If narcissism is n't your thing , you could use private Pinterest boards to make visual lists of the gifts you 'd like to buy for friends or family members . Since Pinterest allows only three private boards per user , it might be smarter to make one board with gift ideas for everyone on your list . Download a browser extension for Pinterest that lets you share a photo to your board in a couple clicks . `` This is one time I wish Pinterest offered more than three boards , as having one for each person on your holiday list could be most useful , '' writes Scott Kleinberg for the Chicago Tribune . `` And if Santa uses Pinterest , this could change everything we know about making the list and checking it twice . '' Using Pinterest 's mobile app , you could take these lists with you to the store . Or , of course , you could go all Cyber Monday on it and buy the goods online . 3 . Get `` 30 Days of Pinspiration '' : In a blog post on Tuesday , Pinterest announced a guide to the holidays called `` 30 Days of Pinspiration '' ( not `` perspiration , '' but we know you were thinking it , too ) . It works sort of like an online Advent calendar . Over the next month , the company will unveil `` a series of holiday boards from people , businesses , non-profit organizations , celebrities , and more , '' it says . `` From what to cook and how to decorate to ways to give back and health tips for the new year , there 's a little something for everyone . '' Day 1 : Thanksgiving traditions from Katie Couric . Follow the project at this site : http : //holidays.pinterest.com . 4 . Follow tastemakers and stores : Conveniently enough , Pinterest announced November 14 that it would allow business to create Pinterest pages . Before that , the company 's terms of use prohibited a business to use the site for profit . The switch seems to be effective for websites . In a blog post , Pinterest said that Allrecipes , a cooking site , saw 50,000 recipes and 139 mililon impressions in a three-month trial period . Several retailers have set up Pinterest pages in time for the holidays . Among them : Gap , Macy 's , Bloomingdale 's , Shopbop and Etsy . Many of these pages highlight women 's apparel and accessories , which makes sense since most of Pinterest 's users are female . But there are dude-specific boards too , including Dudepins and Manteresting . The Verge and Mashable , technology-focused websites , also have a robust set of gadget boards that may help you shop for that tech-head on your list . 5 . Snoop on family members : Finally , and maybe this is an obvious one , but if your family members are active on Pinterest ( or Twitter or Facebook ) , you could snoop through the products they 've posted about to get ideas for gifts that may be appropriate . If your loved ones are n't freaked out by this invasion of their public-private life , they may thank you for it later . Do you have other ideas about interesting ways to use Pinterest this holiday season ? What about online shopping tips in general ? Let us know in the comments .
Pinterest gears up for the holiday season with new features . One feature lets people post secret shopping lists . Score: 7 Blogger : `` This holiday shopping season will mark a turning point for Pinterest ''