It's a place where you look for things you are interested in, and then "pin it" to a board you have created. It reminds me of the old recipe card files, or other "ideas" card files. You're not actually receiving emails from the individual but from Pinterest itself. It automatically notifies you when someone pinned something you liked. So far it seems harmless regarding posting things. I can't see the big hullabaloo about it. My older daughter is obsessed with it. We made Christmas cookies Saturday and she made several from recipes she had found on Pinterst.