Last time I saw #, I knew it as the “number sign”. A symbol used for a variety of purposes including, in some countries, the designation of a number. Last time I used it on purpose was when interacting with a automated phone program. But today, you google the word “hashtag”, its all about twitter.
Twitter has become the lead “source” for news. So much more current (but sometimes not accurate) then actual tv and print news that Associate Press journalist are ban from from expressing opinions on Twitter, or retweeting in a way that implies agreement with somebody else’s opinion.
The # symbol, hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages. People use the hashtag symbol # before relevant keywords in their Tweet to categorize those Tweets to show more easily in Twitter Search. If you click on a hashtagged word in any message, it will show you all other Tweets in that category.
So whats the big nerdy hashtag deal? For starters Hashtags plus Twitter location data and Google maps have been used by police to chase down mysteries like an explosion in Portland, Oregon. Or that the Library of Congress announced it will digitally preserve tweets since 2006 that will be organized into categories (hashtags). As well as hedge funds using Twitter data to make investment predictions.
The value in this real time conversation is limitless. And the best way you can use it is by finding the right hashtag for you. You can use third party sites like hashtags.org that offer an overview of trendy hashtags. Utilizing a hashtag will include your tweet into a searchable conversations. You can also start a hashtag to create a trend that can promote an event or promotion.
Only 140 characters long, a tweet seems to be worth 1000 words. Remember, when you add a hashtag like #egypt or #earthquake, you then can start a revolution or evacuation.