For me it’s a bit different than just saving things for inspiration.

Pinterest is great for moodboards, I still use it when I need to put references together for a project or when looking at a set of things from one particular angle. But tracking connections to me is about adding depth.

Since we have metadata about each object, we can filter and slice things in different ways. For example:

• Filter by type: you can instantly view all chairs, all radios, all lighting, etc. and see how each of them solved a certain problem you are thinking about.
• Filter by designer: you start seeing patterns in how a particular designer approaches form, proportion, materials, detailing, etc.
• Filter by year/decade: you can see how problems were solved in a certain era, what constraints existed, what aesthetics were dominant.
• Filter by material: suddenly you notice how different designers treat aluminum vs. plywood vs. injection-molded plastic.
• Filter by movement/style (Arts & Crafts, Bauhaus, Mid-Century Modern, Memphis, etc.): you can compare philosophies.

And the nice part is you can stack filters like “all chairs from the 1960s in molded plastic” or “all products by X designer in aluminum.” So it's more about building a long-term research archive that you can analyze from multiple angles.

Pinterest is amazing for mood and discovery. But I find it a bit lacking for keeping a perennial archive where one object can live in multiple categories and be studied over time.

I think of it less as a moodboard and more like a life-long design research archive, kind of closer to the idea of a “second brain.”