We were lining up for a flu shot at work, when Coworker asked me, in all sincerity, "What is a hashtag?"
"It's the little hash-key in front of a word," I said.
"Hashtag YOLO," said another Coworker. "I heard someone got a flu shot and their arm fell off."
"I know that," said the first, "but why do people use hashtags? What do they do?"
I only had time to say "Hashtags are good for jokes and events mainly," before it was my turn for the flu jab. (My arm didn't fall off, and you should go get immunised too.)
I've been using hashtags for so long that they're as second nature to me as apostrophes. Most regular readers can either skip this post or forward it to your mum, but here's a quick hashtag 101 for Coworker and their ilk who don't know about the Wikipedia.
(Most of the examples in this post are from people I follow, but not all are. As always, retweets are not endorsements!)
When you tag a post, it makes it easier for users to sort tweets, just by clicking on the tag. This makes it easier to follow events and conversations.
Generally, you don't use Twitter like Google. If you were planning a trip, you might be looking up things like "meals in Auckland," and "accommodation in Auckland," when you were still at home. This works well because the information you're looking for is relatively static and unchanging. But Googling [event unfolding right now] kind of doesn't work. You can generally get more information from Twitter. (Yeah, it's not necessarily accurate, but nothing is in the first hour of a breaking news story.)
Jokes are user-generated tags that spread because they're funny. News tags can often be user generated too. For example, #eqnz is the tag used to follow news on the Christchurch earthquakes; when there was a wee earthquake in Auckland, the tag #eqakl was used universally because it made sense, is nice and short and is instantly recognisable to everyone who followed #eqnz.
Top-down hashtags are created for events, or by companies. For example, if you attend a conference, it will probably have an official hashtag (or someone will make it one).
The key here is money has to change hands - if an All Black just tweeted about how this blog is totally rad, that's a personal endorsement and doesn't need an #ad.
Don't #Tag #Every #Damn #Word. Try and keep it to one, or at the most two, tags per tweet. Hashtags also don't belong on Facebook.
It's generally considered poor form to say "hashtag" in conversation. You could say, "There is an amusing hashtag joke about movies," but if you say "hashtag YOLO," people will role their eyes at you.
That's my understanding of how hashtags work, as of this minute. They'll continue to evolve, and one day we'll all look back on this and laugh.
"It's the little hash-key in front of a word," I said.
"Hashtag YOLO," said another Coworker. "I heard someone got a flu shot and their arm fell off."
"I know that," said the first, "but why do people use hashtags? What do they do?"
I only had time to say "Hashtags are good for jokes and events mainly," before it was my turn for the flu jab. (My arm didn't fall off, and you should go get immunised too.)
I've been using hashtags for so long that they're as second nature to me as apostrophes. Most regular readers can either skip this post or forward it to your mum, but here's a quick hashtag 101 for Coworker and their ilk who don't know about the Wikipedia.
(Most of the examples in this post are from people I follow, but not all are. As always, retweets are not endorsements!)
Hash Key
A hashtag looks like this: #hashtag. That's simple. But why does it exist at all?For Searching
Twitter allows you to search all tweets. It's a really powerful tool, but it's off the main page, out of your stream.When you tag a post, it makes it easier for users to sort tweets, just by clicking on the tag. This makes it easier to follow events and conversations.
Events
Because you can pull up all the Tweets as they occur, it's great for following breaking news and political debates.Generally, you don't use Twitter like Google. If you were planning a trip, you might be looking up things like "meals in Auckland," and "accommodation in Auckland," when you were still at home. This works well because the information you're looking for is relatively static and unchanging. But Googling [event unfolding right now] kind of doesn't work. You can generally get more information from Twitter. (Yeah, it's not necessarily accurate, but nothing is in the first hour of a breaking news story.)
Did you know: Prior to asset sales, the Govt still had capital expenditure? #nzbudget
— Keith Ng (@keith_ng) May 17, 2013
$5.5m for rebuild of Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre, helping refugees adapt to their new life in NZ bit.ly/10eDB2w #nzbudget
— MBIE (@MBIEgovtnz) May 10, 2013
"Student allowances are removed for postgraduate study" bit.ly/KrcR6W For realz?! Seriously?!?!#nzbudget #Budget2012
— Ellen Strickland (@ellenstrickland) May 24, 2012
Conversation
Users who don't follow one another can have conversations by following an agreed-on tag. For example, I see #WineParty come up in my feed . (It also makes it easier for people to mute these tweets.)Jokes
A hashtag joke is one that only works with a hashtag.Star Border Dispute #nonexistentprequels"Star Border Dispute" by itself doesn't make any damn sense. But the hashtag explains the joke, and lets you find more on a similar theme:
— David Michaels (@Vwampage) May 16, 2013
@marsroverdriverColonial Werewolf in London #nonexistentprequels
— Lars (@LarsTheWanderer) May 16, 2013
WALL-D. #nonexistentprequels
— Scott Maxwell (@marsroverdriver) May 16, 2013
Emphasis and Expansion
Hashtags can expand on a point in a shorter space of time - compare the character length of #every15minutes vs "Outer Link buses are due every 15 minutes off peak"....a bus scheduled to arrive about 105 mins ago is due in 6 minutes time. #every15minutes #outerlink @akltransport #ghostbuslivesHere's an example of emphasis. FML stands for Fuck My Life - yeah, you're having a bad day, but apparently your whole life sucks too.
— Walter Rumsby (@wrumsby) May 15, 2013
what usually takes a hour tops to get to the airport Is going to take double if not longer #Fml
— Stevie Tiori (@StevieTiori) May 17, 2013
How are Hashtags Picked?
There are two ways: user-generated, and top-down.Jokes are user-generated tags that spread because they're funny. News tags can often be user generated too. For example, #eqnz is the tag used to follow news on the Christchurch earthquakes; when there was a wee earthquake in Auckland, the tag #eqakl was used universally because it made sense, is nice and short and is instantly recognisable to everyone who followed #eqnz.
Top-down hashtags are created for events, or by companies. For example, if you attend a conference, it will probably have an official hashtag (or someone will make it one).
Having lots of fun at @lightninglab demo day! Big crowd! #LLDemoDay13The hashtag for my birthday was #RayRayBDay. You probably have opinions about what this says about me.
— Femke (@femkesvs) May 15, 2013
The Ad Tag
Here's one you won't see much: the ASA guidelines require an #ad hashtag to be included in paid-for tweets. So, if I pay an All Black a hundred dollars to tweet a link to my blog, I could be liable if #ad wasn't included.The key here is money has to change hands - if an All Black just tweeted about how this blog is totally rad, that's a personal endorsement and doesn't need an #ad.
#Ttrptt
#Ttrtpt is short for "This Tweet Refers to Previous Tweet."And if so what is it? #ttrtpt
— Vaughn Davis (@vaughndavis) May 17, 2013
I thought veal was a bird, or maybe a sheep that's older than lamb #ttrttptI've also seen it referred to as "elephant noise". No, really. If it's not referring to a prior tweet, it is used in a way similar to lol.
— Laura McQuillz (@mcquillanatorz) May 15, 2013
What is a Good Hashtag?
It's hard to say what's a perfect tag, but they generally share some characteristics:- Short. Twitter only gives you 140 characters to play with, so the shorter the better.
- Recognisable. For example, #eqnz works, because it refers to an earthquake, in New Zealand.
- Easy to spell. It's annoying when one character is off in some tweets: it messes up the feed.
- In camel case. That's when you WriteStuffLikeThis.
When should I use a hashtag?
Generally, if you're not sure, then don't. Use them when following an event or an unfolding news story, but try and keep things relevant! Remember you're edging your way into a conversation: contribute something to that conversation, don't clog the feed.Don't #Tag #Every #Damn #Word. Try and keep it to one, or at the most two, tags per tweet. Hashtags also don't belong on Facebook.
It's generally considered poor form to say "hashtag" in conversation. You could say, "There is an amusing hashtag joke about movies," but if you say "hashtag YOLO," people will role their eyes at you.
That's my understanding of how hashtags work, as of this minute. They'll continue to evolve, and one day we'll all look back on this and laugh.
A while ago I wrote a solo piano piece called #llamadrama. I specify that when spoken aloud, it's to be pronounced "hashtag llama drama".
ReplyDeletehttp://sounz.org.nz/works/show/21005
Surprised it didn't automatically hyperlink that URL... http://sounz.org.nz/works/show/21005
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