Just when you think you’ve got your end-of-year blog planned, something pops up that surprises you.

I was ready to write my final blog for 2011 (a week before post date since we’ll be closed next week, sorry for breaking down the fourth wall) with a forecast of the success (or lack thereof) that some social media sites were going to have in 2012. My timing couldn’t have been better, as a fellow webhead already has done my job for me in a sense.

Over at VentureBeat.com, Jennifer Van Grove reported today (today being Dec. 21) that Google+ has been surpassed by another new entry into the social media market – Pinterest.

Pinterest works much like a bulletin board at your office, letting you post up primarily graphic-based notices in categories. This is a great mechanism for ideasharing, as shown in some areas such as creative ways to display photos in one’s home, or recipes for holiday dinners. (Naturally, marketers will find a way to use this network as well, but that’s a discussion for another week.)

Here’s the kicker, as Van Grove reported. Despite being at the invite-only stages, Pinterest already has more daily hits than G+ by 50,000 users. It’s still well behind the Facebooks and Twitters of the world, but their methodology speaks to a running theme I have discussed since I began blogging – simplicity rules all.

Look at the Pinterest interface – yes, you may have to scroll through a bunch of screens to get what you truly want, but all the while you’re primarily looking at pictures; you aren’t searching for small icons or reading oodles of text.

The only question now is whether Pinterest can stick (pardon the pun). There’s a strong chance that the network-exhausted populous will not buy in, but there’s a strong sense of practicality that could grow easily as we roll over into 2012.