logo - historypin & worldI’m sure by now most of you will be familiar with the term “pinning”, but if think that I’m referring to pinning up something to hem, think again. Pinning is a relatively new term that has come about with the growth of social media, and refers  ‘pinning’ things on a virtual pinboard.

Found something of interest? Pin it, or in other words add it to your pinboard for that topic. Pinterest is the dominant one, but another one that it out there is Historypin, and as you might guess from the name, its has a focus on history.

This one is kind of like “Google Maps meets Pinterest” as it allows you to attach photos, stories and even movies to places. Use it to add your own images, or use it to search for an area you’re interested in, the choice is yours.

The description of Historypin on Wikipedia says it nicely:

Historypin is a digital, user-generated archive of historical photos, videos, audio recordings and personal recollections. Users are able to use the location and date of their content to “pin” it to Google Maps.

Based in the UK, the website currently has over 51,000 individuals and nearly 2000 institutions from all around the world participating, each one doing their bit to record a piece of history. Historypin is the type of website that works well as a collaborative effort, so the more people who get involved and participating the more people benefit.

Anyway here’s a short introduction video …

So apart from all the old photos that you’ve been fortunate enough to have inherited, think of all the holiday snaps (the scenery or building ones at least) that you’ve taken that you could be sharing with more than just your Facebook friends. Even modern day pictures are ‘recording history’. If you want to record history, why not historypin it!

Of course you’ll find more information on the Historypin website, and for a more indepth read be sure to check out their User Guide.