Okay, so when I was invited to a "pearltrees" event, I envisioned something like bath beads, or - the obvious one - jewelry. I thought of an ornate wire tree sculpture upon which to hang my beautiful pearl necklaces (of which I have zero.) But, the Clever Girls Collective said that pearltrees was going to somehow help me shop, and since the event was co-hosted by Beth Blecherman of TechMamas and Cool Mom Tech, I knew it had something to do with technology. But how?
Well, here is how. Below is my very own pearl - and its little offshoot-pearls - containing my birthday and holiday wish-list. Yes, I'm one of those lucky-ducks that has a birthday in the midst of the holiday season, so I get all my gifts at once. Once I set up my (completely free) pearltrees account and downloaded the little toolbar add-on, I was able to just "add a pearl" whenever I found something I wanted to include in my list. It was really easy to learn how to do.
If I add items to this tree, it will update above. So, if you read this post in a year, I probably will have deleted some pearls and added some others. Just mouse-over each item to see a little pop-up preview of the website. You can navigate to similar lists by clicking the little black pearl to the left of my face. You can even navigate backwards to see some of my other trees.
As it turns out, I've gone totally wild with pearl-ing. No, not like knit-and-purl, but rather quickly identifying and organizing websites within pearltrees' visual structure. This type of layout definitely makes more sense to me than straight-up bookmarks.
At first I believed my holiday list would be a mile long. (After all, I like shiny new things.) But instead, I found my regular old "shopping" list to be the one taking up the most space. Every time I find something that might make a good gift for my kids, or my great aunt, I can create a pearl. No more emailing myself the url or sticking a bookmark in my browser that I'll forget about.
So here is my general "shopping" pearltree:
I've also created pearltrees for pretty standard things like restaurants, recipes, and photography. But what I have included within those general categories are specifically what I enjoy, some of which are from much less-well-known sources than the first few lines of a search engine return. pearltrees is a curation of online references done by users rather than by a google-ranking, so someone interested in the topics that I've pearled about might be glad to find my resources. (Likewise, I can click on the black pearl next to one of my trees and find other pearltrees users' content that might appeal to me. Or, I can do a keyword search right at the pearltrees website.) I added in a few pearls for "chickens" in case we ever go that route. And I consolidated all my running stuff into a "working out" category that includes smaller trees of races, workout dvds, and where I get my gear (both cute workout clothes and useful gadgets.)
I admit that pearl-ing is pretty addictive. I had a lot of fun going down my browser's bookmarks list, pulling up the websites, and then organizing them in a meaningful way in pearltrees. And then as the mail comes with those ubiquitous holiday catalogs, I'll be able to look up an item I'm interested in and directly pearl it into either my wish list or my shopping list for others - and then get rid of the magazine.
Woo - recycling and minimizing clutter on my desk, all thanks to pearltrees!
My various trees are always a work in progress. As I see things I want to go back to later, I'll add it to a tree. If an item from my wish list (like a workout DVD or calorie counter) ends up in a festive box addressed to me, I can then remove it from my "wish list" add it to the "Working Out" area that shows the resources in that category. (I admit that I wish I could pearl an item in two separate categories, because sometimes things belong in more than one. Perhaps there is a way and I just haven't figured it out yet.)
Another benefit to pearltrees is that when my current computer conks out - or if I'm using a remote computer - I won't suddenly lose all my bookmarks. My pearls will remain at pearltrees regardless of from where I'm accessing them. So my usual haunts (and even more importantly, more remote references that I might not have memorized) will always be at my fingertips when I need them.
For now, all trees created in pearltrees are public. Coming soon there will be a way to mark some sections "private." This is definitely going to be a benefit for when I'm creating a list for my kids or my husband. My kids are definitely internet-savvy, but I haven't shown them pearltrees on purpose. And maybe I've placed a few red herrings in there just in case.
I'm definitely having fun with pearltrees, and expect that as I keep fiddling around with it that I'll continue to uncover new ways of using this method - both for myself and while browsing others' trees.
Thank you pearltrees for introducing me to your service!
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Disclosure: pearltrees sponsored a luncheon, so I got to eat on their dime. The actual pearltrees service is free, so jump right in and give it a try - you've got nothing to lose!
