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When Mark Zuckerberg signs up for a social media platform, it’s clear that it’s more than just a passing trend. The CEO of Facebook has a history of joining and staying under the radar on competing networks (check out his spotty Twitter activity for example). Now, he has joined Pinterest, where he seems to be much more engaged.

From a never-ending stream of blogs to detailed How-to guides to crowdsourced projects, Pinterest is causing quite a stir in the digital space, and not just among social media early adopters and hardcore geeks.

The image-based virtual pinboard recently experienced an explosive upsurge in popularity, hitting 10 million unique visitors (and counting) and reaching the landmark 1 billion monthly page views.

While eagerly awaiting our Pinterest invitation, we ferreted out the best Pinterest stories and curated them for your convenience.

Check them out and stay tuned for Brightfire’s Pinterest boards soon to come.

1.      Pinterest Drives More Traffic Than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn Combined (Mashable)

No, it’s not just a passing trend, nor is it the next big sensation. It’s unfolding right in front of us. A study by Shareholic shows that the new popular platform on social media has outperformed giants like YouTube, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn, and MySpace in total referral traffic this January.

Find out more about the phenomenal Pinterest stats (plus some bonus Pinterest tips and tricks) on Mashable.

2.      Twenty-two Incredible Images That Show Why Pinterest Gets 1 Billion Monthly Page views (Business Insider)

Business Insider has compiled an album of very powerful Pinterest images, which speak volumes about why Pinterest is gaining huge popularity.

Relish the virtual gallery here.

3.      How Pinterest is Changing Website Design Forever (Mashable)

Some may think this is just one of the many hyperbolic headlines aimed at producing that wow effect, but check out this piece by Mashable, in which NYTimes.com’s former Design Director, Khoi Vinh, and other experts claim that Pinterest’s non-traditional content organisation mode is revolutionising web design.

4.      Six Compelling Reasons You Should Use Pinterest for Marketing (HubSpot)

Niche thought leaders HubSpot have masterfully put an inbound marketing spin on the rise of Pinterest to demonstrate how their audiences can reap the full benefits of this visual content curation phenomenon.

We find HubSpot’s blog post quite illuminating. The promise of more inbound links, tons of traffic and better conversion rates definitely appeals to us as inbound marketers.

5.      How to Master Pinterest for B2B Marketing (HubSpot)

This is yet another well-targeted, advice-packed piece by HubSpot on the intricacies of Pinterest and how it can be used as a B2B marketing channel by companies whose products/services aren’t necessarily that visual. From types of content to pin on your board to ways to use Pinterest to make an impact on the bottom line, this blog is a must read for B2B marketers considering jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon.

Read more about Pinterest for B2B Marketing.

Have you come across any share-worthy content related to Pinterest? Let us know in the comments.