Pinterest is just a big bulletin board. I don't care who is 'following' me or not. I'm there for my own convenience. "Following" just means someone likes your taste and wants to see what else you might find. It's such a great resource and you don't have to chat with anyone! The notifications are annoying, but I think you can turn them off.
Be aware tho, it's not a pattern supermarket. Some of the pins will link to patterns, either free or to purchase, but many do not. Some link to blog posts, some are dead links, and some link to only a photo in a Flickr group. It just depends where the pin originated and how long ago. I can 'knock off' most anything I want to make, so patterns aren't critical to me. I just need to see the idea and Pinterest is a great place to keep those ideas rounded up, without filling up my hard drive with things I might never use.