Oh you wonderful and amazing little icon.
via www.likeable.com
From your humble beginnings you were introduced to us as the frame for Tic Tac Toe. Then you were known as the number sign. Along came touch tone telephone’s and you became a voice mail icon called the pound symbol…now we all know you as the “Hashtag” or is it “Hash Tag”. Who cares…you are simply incredible!
via www.cmswire.com
Thank you Chris Messina…we will forever recognize you as the latest developer of the meaning of this simple little mark.
- Conversation tracking
- Emotion emoter
- Strings
- Subject spotter
- Tag word populator
- Brand identifier
Your uses are limited only by length.
Hashtag have proven themselves over and over again as the key way to identify stories, events or issues that affect us and others.
#6QuickTips for Better Hashtag Use
1.) Don’t re-invent the wheel: Search your subject first to figure out what it is you are looking to identify. Example the Toronto Santa Claus Parade is happening today. Some people are using #SantaClausParade, #TorontoSCP, #TorontoSanta… the actual hashtag that is most popular and also being used by the official @TOSanta is #TOSanta
2.) brevity for facts: If you develop a hashtag for use, keep it short. We all know real estate is important, so the less characters the better. (See above for great example).
3.) 2-3 per Tweet / Post: Hashtag vomit can kill a good post. Too many in one post or tweet is nauseating to the reader because it looks like the post has puked hashtags…and we all know what happens when we see others throwing up…it starts a chain reaction. If there are 10 great key words for your post then take advantage of that gift. You just got yourself 3-5 great original tweets / posts because of the new hashtags in each one.
4.) Don’t hijack a hashtag for attention: Simple, Kenneth Cole. Add to the subject for the greater conversation, attention sharing, etc…not to say “look at me”. Be respectful of the content that is there.
5.) If you overkill the tag be nice about it: If you decide to use a 100 character hashtag for fun… #CapitalizeTheIndividualWordsThatAreInTheHashtagWhichInTurnMakeItEasierForPeopleToReadWhatIsBeingSaid Don’t bother counting…it’s 100.
6.) Punctuation kills: ANY punctuation kills a hashtag. Most snap the chain and tell the programming code that the hashtag is done, so stop the link. The punctuation that doesn’t kill the link through programming will kill it in the psyche of many readers who have been conditioned not to recognize punctuation in a hashtag so try to avoid using them.
And for the love of all things pure…please, please, please don’t do this:
Photo credits: Likeable.com (Why most people fail at hashtags and how to fix it)
CMSWire.com How brand marketers use Facebooks Hashtags
