Have You Heard of Pinterest?

If you've picked up a newspaper, surfed or watched TV recently, you've probably heard about Pinterest  -- the on-line photo pinboard and community.

The new social media kid on the block is growing so quickly that its popularity has been touted as "Pinsanity.”

The moniker for its success is well deserved; the site has more than 11 million unique visitors, and it's growing. It gets more referral traffic than YouTube, Linkedin and Google+. The demographics of the site are interesting too. Most of its users are young women.

But what's the appeal? Think of it as an online scrapbook or inspiration board – minus time spent rifling through magazines and newspapers and cutting and pasting. You can share pins, re-pin from others and organize your boards by themes such as food, travel, home decor and personal style. Users can pin items from websites they like using “Pin It” buttons on their browsers.

In the wake of Pinterest’s success, many large corporations are developing their own Pinterest presence. Nordstrom, HGTV, ModCloth, General Electric and Whole Foods Market are among the brands currently using the site. Small businesses also can make use of it to unveil new items or advertise a service.

There may be a fly in the ointment, however. Some web watchers have concerns over copyright violations, although the legal community believes Pinterest, like YouTube and Facebook, is protected by U.S. legislation, as long as it responds quickly to copyright complaints.