I was reluctant to open a pinterest account mostly because of the copyright issues. Greekgeek's hub on this topic is well worth the read:
http://greekgeek.hubpages.com/hub/Is-Pi … Violations
But I eventually decided to jump in ("pinters" were pinning my web stuff anyway, so why shouldn't I?).
Since I made the plunge, some interesting things have happened, among them, there is traffic to my hubs from pinterest to the point where the devastating panda and penguin losses are showing signs of beginning to be offset (notice how I'm being cautious with this statement).
Also, creating boards has given me an insight into how I look at the world and how I organize what I see. That's a bit of a cryptic thing to say, but I think writers can appreciate how this insight might lead to inspiration. I think the juice that fueled this insight is absolutely, definitely, pinterest's visual foundation.
I could say a lot more, but maybe I ought to write an article instead.
Meanwhile, the message I'd like to get across here is that pinterest might be a way to generate hub traffic (I'll buy everybody in this forum a bottle of champagne if any one of my hubs delivers 100,000 views from pinterest or gets repinned 100,000 times...I don't ever expect that to happen...sorry in advance!), but it is certainly a way to increase the power of your online network and also to enjoy a different view of the world, a view that might lead to unexpected benefits.