Pinterest is one of the latest and rapidly growing social bookmarking tools

Pinterest is one of the latest and rapidly growing social bookmarking tools, in the early stages of life for pinterest there used to be waiting list to join or rather you applied to be invited, but once you're in, you can create visual bookmarks on virtual pinboards. 

You then have the ability to then do whats termed as "pin" items from websites with images, but as it happens you can pin videos from YouTube as well. The real handy part about all pinned videos is that you don't even need to leave Pinterest to view the videos. 

In order to pin a YouTube video, you need to make sure you use the video's URL rather than the embed code. Don't just copy the URL at the top of the screen. That's actually the video's watch page, and it won't pin the video to your board.  

Here’s how to do it - On YouTube navigate to the video you wish to share – (or rather pin). 

• Click on the Share button. 
• Copy the code on the left. Do not click on the Embed button. Yes, you want to embed the video on your pinboard, but if you click on the Embed button, you'll get html code and that won't work on Pinterest. 
• Copy and paste that video URL.
• Click the Add+ link in Pinterest, click on the Find Images button, and add the link to your favorite board.  

The video will show up as comping from the URL of youtu.be, and it will actually play within Pinterest when you click on it. You can like and re-pin it just like any other pin.  

If the video is in high definition, you can click on the Options link just below the video URL (not the watch page URL at the top of the screen.) 

You'll see a check box marked HD link. If you check the box, your pin will use the HD video instead of the standard definition video that would normally display.  

One caveat - the other options listed here are not supported by Pinterest as I'm writing it. You can't pin a specific start time for the video or use the long URL. You'd think the long URL would behave exactly the same as the shortened youtu.be link, but it doesn't. Pinterest will just ignore any links you try to post this way. 

It's a pity that the specific start point doesn't work, since it would come in very handy for long videos where you only want to point out a specific part. Instead, you'll just have to use the comments to tell everyone to scrub forward on the video until they reach the good bit.  

Now that you know the secrets to videos on Pinterest, feel free to pin YouTube videos to give your boards something special to share. Not only can you read about that new quilting project, you can show your friends a video on how to do it.