Online, as in life, there is a fine line between collecting and hoarding.

And a popular new website is doing a tap dance on it.

Pinterest is a social media network that allows users to "pin" images of their favourite products, places and eye candy to online corkboards. Those pins, which carry embedded links to their sources - an ecommerce or travel site, for example - can be viewed and "repinned" by other users who find inspiration in them.

For some, the result is an elegant collection of online vision boards. For those who get carried away, however, it can be the digital equivalent of thousands of magazines stacked ceiling-high in their living room.

"Some people have 30 or 40 boards, 900 pins, 600 likes. . They're just going crazy," says Karl Kovacs, a social media expert from Edmonton.

Because the site is still finding its sea legs, many questions remain. Is it a place to dream, or a breeding ground for materialism? Does it help people organize ideas, or does it lead to more clutter? And just how many pins is too many?

"You mean, at what point do I need a pintervention?" says site user Tamara Komuniecki, laughing.

With 56 boards and more than 3,700 pins, the Vancouver woman admits her use is "getting a bit heavy." But she likens her online collection to a cloudlike filing system that ensures all her projects and ideas are in one place.

"It sounds bad to say I can't imagine life without it, but it's a real big help," says Komuniecki, editor-in-chief of Delish magazine.

Some have said Pinterest is for women planning weddings they'll never have, furnishing homes they'll never own and filling closets with clothes they can't afford. Komuniecki, who has been using the site for six months, says that may indeed be the case for many users.

"I see a lot of people pinning diamond rings and Christian Louboutin shoes," she says. "I don't begrudge anyone their dreams. . But for me, it's less about the eye candy and more about usable information on how to live frugally and healthfully."

Data from Google Ad Planner suggest the site is resonating most with females 18 to 34 with annual household incomes between $25,000 and $75,000.

But social media expert Kovacs notes that even if pins are largely aspirational, the word of mouse is invaluable.

"Pinterest had seven million unique visitors in December, up from 1.6 million in September.

And it's driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined," says Kovacs, citing a recent analysis by Shareaholic. "Companies see that, and see how it can drive sales, and they're jumping on the bandwagon."

William J. Ward has amassed more than 1,400 pins in about a month and has seen the subsequent referral traffic to his blog jump by "an almost unbelievable" 30 to 50 per cent.

The social media professor uses Pinterest as a "professional learning and curation tool," and believes its popularity signals a move to more abbreviated, targeted exchanges online.

"We're basically into visual communication now," says Ward, who teaches at Syracuse University. "And on Pinterest, you can follow people on certain topics, and not have to see everything they have to say."

Edmonton's Dajana Fabjanovich, who describes herself as a "recreational pinner," uses the site varyingly as a custom magazine, vehicle for selfexpression, and one-stop shopping for inspiration.

"Some may see it as a place for virtual hoarding but really, what is the harm in that? I would rather have all of my favourite recipes organized on Pinterest as opposed to having them strewn about my home in a disorganized mess," says Fabjanovich, the lifestyle blogger behind All Kinds of Lovely.

"For the ladies in my circle, it's not about having and owning everything we pin; it's about being inspired to be creative in our own lives."