Online pinboard a big hit

Air New Zealand's Pinterest page.

It's one of the fastest growing social network sites, and it hasn't taken long for New Zealand businesses to realise they need to be in on the online action.

Air New Zealand is the latest company to sign up with Pinterest - an online pinboard where users can pin items of interest, such as photos or links to news stories, on to topic boards.

The boards can be viewed, commented on and added to by others.

Website traffic company Hitwise says that in six months the site has expanded from 50,000 users to 11 million.

Air New Zealand joined the site last week and already has more than 400 followers.

Historical photos and retro memorabilia pins were popular on the site.

"It is also a great way of promoting some of our destinations," said head of publicity Mark Street.

"It is such a visual site which should work for us."

Christchurch photographer Kirsty Macdonald used Pinterest to learn more about the style of brides before their big day.

"Weddings are big on Pinterest. I see people pinning their favourite rings, colour schemes, table settings and dresses. It is like a big scrapbook online," she said.

Sites to visit:

http://pinterest.com/airnewzealand/

http://pinterest.com/kmphotos/

http://pinterest.com/search/?q=handy+things