On Twitter, hashtags are words or phrases preceded by the pound sign – they are used to categorize tweets. For example, if you are tweeting about social media, you would use the hashtag #socialmedia.
What’s the purpose of a hashtag? Well, if someone searching Twitter wants to see what everyone else is tweeting about social media, that person can search for “#socialmedia” and watch a live stream of ongoing banter, sometimes conversational and other times disjointed.
Still not excited about hashtags? They can be used creatively too!
Amuse yourself at a boring conference or lecture
Last Wednesday, I attended Mashable’s Future Journalist panel, an event during New York’s Social Media Week. I was kind of disappointed with the panel, mostly because I didn’t think the two panelists, Sree Sreenivasan, a professor and Dean of Student Affairs at Columbia Journalism School, and Vadim Lavrusik, a student at Columbia’s J-School, didn’t really say anything that I haven’t already read and/or heard about a bazillion other times.
Anyway, this event utilized the Twitter hashtag #futurejourno. At the beginning, my friend Tim was making fun of me because I was super prepared with my notepad and pen, ready to take notes. I wrote the names of the panelists and posed my pen over the first line, just waiting to chronicle gems of information.
Nothing.
So I took out my BlackBerry. At first, I started retweeting insightful comments made by other people and taking the panel seriously. However, I started to get really frustrated and bored, and I used the hashtag as an outlet for my frustration.
Though some people found my tweets to be obnoxious, I did make some new friends – a lot of other people shared my boredom but were to afraid to express it.
Create an inside joke
When you were in middle school, did a certain word or phrase make you and your friends laugh hysterically? No one else would understand, but you and your best friend Susie would know that “chocolate chip” was a reference to a boy who frequently left sexy notes in your locker.
You can use Twitter hashtags to start an inside joke or take an inside joke from real life and adapt it to the computer screen. This works best if you actually have close friends on Twitter or if you use Twitter as a way to connect with friends rather than to meet new ones or network professionally.
Extend the meaning of your tweet
Very frequently, tweeters will generate creative hashtags that they clearly don’t think anyone will use again, simply to add humor to their tweet or to extend its meaning. When you only have 140 characters to express yourself, you want to make the most of it.
Some creative hashtags I found after glancing through my stream:
geekandahalf: #SAINTS #INSTABONER
andmegansaid: I know they might not be the most culturally relevant act, but someone on Facebook asked who The Who was. #speechless
Hashtags can add emotion to an otherwise emotionless collection of characters, add emphasis, or just demonstrate creativity.
Be meta
According to Wikipedia, “Meta- is a prefix used in English (and other Greek-owing languages) to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter.”
Basically, to be “meta” on Twitter would mean to refer to Twitter while using Twitter. When you acknowledge a medium, you are being meta. Meta can be funny, witty, or used to prove a specific point. Examples of meta Twitter hashtags would be “#twitter”, “#tweeting”, and “#failwhale”.
Ex. deepakpanigrahy: You need to multitask #work #twitter #life
Enhance other media
Some television networks also incorporate Twitter into their programming. On CNN, host Rick Sanchez encourages his viewers to tweet. Here is an example, if you look at the bottom of the screen.
I don’t think they actually use hashtags on CNN, but you can see how hashtags would enhance another medium.
Wouldn’t it be cool if some television shows revealed a live stream of updates sorted by Twitter hashtag? It could be participatory television. Of course, anyone could follow such a stream on your computer, but I think it would be interesting to read tweets live on the television screen.
Personally, I think this would work better and/or be entertaining for a reality show, a low-budget production, a show that screens independent short films, or a ridiculous talk show like Maury. Viewers using Twitter could really get creative with their tweets and feel like they’re participating in something, like they have a voice to contribute.
Have you ever seen Mystery Science Theater 3000? How cool would it be to see a live Twitter hashtag update instead of characters in silhouette? What do you think, television producers?
I realize the FCC would have a few problems with my idea, but a girl can dream, right?
(Photo by jeffisageek)
