For the uninitiated, Pinterest is a curatorial site that calls itself a "virtual pinboard," which allows users to capture and organize images from the web.
A recent study from Shareaholic shows that the budding network now drives more referral traffic than Google+, Linkedin, and YouTube -- combined. That's pretty amazing considering that the site is still invite-only.
If you're looking to join, all you have to do is click "Request an Invite" on Pinterest.com and enter your email address. But after you do that, here are some ways you might be able to get in on the fun more quickly.
Get yourself out there. Chances are you've got friends in your existing networks -- Facebook, Twitter, Google+ -- who are on Pinterest and would be more than happy to hook you up. Or you could try asking in the Mashable comments sections. We've seen lots of users that are happy to invite people just for fun.
Be secure. We don't recommend posting your email address all over the Internet, so make sure you consider who might be able to see it before asking someone you don't know to invite you in a public forum.
Be cautious. We haven't yet seen a large scale Pinterest scam going around (if you've heard of one, let us know), but in the past, sites such as Google+ have been susceptible to scams involving fake invites. Be cautious when you click something from an address you're unfamiliar with.
Enter our contest! We've giving away invites. See below to find out how you can enter to receive one.
How To Enter The Contest
In the comments below, tell us how you'd use Pinterest. We want to see some creative responses!
Be sure your email is included in your Mashable Follow account by visiting the settings tab on your profile and adding your email address to the email field if it’s blank. Please do not post your email in the comment thread below.
Submit your answer by Monday, Feb. 6, noon ET.
Need some inspiration? Check out our Associate Editor Lauren Indvik or Features Writer Stephanie Buck.
We're looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
BONUS: How to Improve Your Pinterest Experience
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