I don't know if this article says a whole lot other than the reference to Pinterest being popular among lots of people deeply interested in art, fashion, cookin

I don't know if this article says a whole lot other than the reference to Pinterest being popular among lots of people deeply interested in art, fashion, cooking, and homemaking instead of just people interested in tech news (using the phrase "housewife in the Midwest", which doesn't seem very accurate anyway; from what I can tell by roaming around Pinterest over the past few months, probably most of the women using it work outside their homes and/or have no children [even though they may plan to eventually]). Pinterest has a really good simple "what does this do" explanation - you collect and share pretty pictures! Everyone who likes the idea of making their homes more beautiful and their outfits nicer is liable to find that idea appealing. And it's "selfishly social", which is important for retaining users; it's useful to use just by yourself, and then even better with other people. Another important part of Pinterest is that it's both very flattering to each user and intensely aspirational - when you use it, you get the feeling of "Look at what great taste I have! I want to make cakes as lovely as these, I want to live in a house as wonderful as this one, I want to have a wedding this beautiful; maybe someday I will, thanks to these ideas cataloged on my Pinterest boards." (But I actually get frustrated with the aspirational prettiness of most Pinterest pins; I like messy homemade things, strange things, things from normal people along with things from professionals. I wish more people pinned photos of their own work, imperfect and homemade and genuine, not just of other people's work. That would add something even more fun to browsing other people's pins.)