Carol Stream Chamber gets hooked on Pinterest.com

Members of the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce can now do more social networking by getting “pinned.”

Chamber Executive Director Luanne Triolo Newman has set up a bulletin board on Pinterest.com.

“This will help our member businesses become more aware of our chamber,” Triolo Newman said.

While many businesses are familiar with other social networking sites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, Pinterest.com typically features recipes, cleaning tips and advice on any number of topics provided by registered members. Each member then must invite another to register.

That’s what initially attracted Triolo Newman, who avidly collected much of that information just for her own personal home and lifestyle. Soon she was “pinning” her own information on various bulletin boards and realized the site also could be used for business.

That led her to create a Carol Stream Chamber bulletin board and invited a handful of members to join. She’s hoping that will snowball and attract other members. Participants can share ideas on events and marketing plans to help promote their business.

“If life was a bulletin board, what would represent you?” she asked.

The site allows sharing of photos, favorite books and other information. It’s like taking a push pin and virtually pressing your note or photo or even a link to a blog onto a virtual bulletin board, she said.

“I’m not sure where all of this will lead,” she said. “But it will certainly make our members more aware of our events and what we have to offer.”

Surfing: Security, data storage, cyber crimes and hacking are among the discussion topics at the 10th annual IT Forensics & Security Conference & Expo running April 19-20 at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Wheaton campus. See www.cpd.iit.edu/forensecure.

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