Social media just got more social. It has gone beyond inappropriate pictures on a timeline and random Happy Birthdays from people you never spoke to in high school. The newest wave is the bookmark sharing trend known as social bookmarking.
Sharing bookmarks is as easy as creating an account on a Bookmark and Share site, finding a picture, a recipe, a craft idea, a t-shirt that you like, and then saving it to the shared bookmarks board. The sites that are set up to help you share your bookmarks make it an incredibly easy process. They want you to be excited about doing it, they want it to be simple, and they want you to share your bookmarks with everyone.
And why not? Social bookmarking sites have so much more substance than the other leading social media sites out there. They seem more genuine, and you can get more from them. Again, it is not just mindless drivel spouted from the anonymity behind the keyboard. There is a purpose to share your bookmarks.
One of the most popular social bookmarking sites is really a site for inspiration. You can find thousands upon thousands of recipes. Vegan, vegetarian, carnivorous, and the unhealthiest things you have ever seen all mingling together into a delicious smorgasbord of decadence. You can pick and choose the types that you want to search through, or you can just sit and drool as you look at any and every recipe that has been shared as a bookmark. Very often the weekly meal list in my house is inspired by the creations found on these sites.
It is also a fantastic resource for craft and home decorating ideas. Most of the these ideas focus on a shabby chic style, with a lot of reused and recycled materials. Some of the bookmarks are clearly just dream decorations, but most of them can be serious inspiration for someone who wants to spruce up their living arrangement. The ideas can be applied to whole house, or even just a single, tiny room in an apartment. Most importantly, they are ideas to encourage, not strict cut and dry designs. Take a color pallet from one, a furniture option from another, and a painting style from yet one more.
Social bookmarking is what social media should actually be. It is a community that is supportive, inspiring, encouraging and helpful. It gets you to get up and say “Yes, I want to do this!” Just do not fall into the trap that so many have found themselves in. Do not create a bookmark board of “Ideas I Want To Do”, and then just watch as those ideas continue to accrue. Make it a point to take what those bookmarks have to offer and use them to make your life better.