Chris Messina is believed to be the first user of the # (hashtag) on Twitter, using it to model his suggestion for indicating groups on Twitter.
Twitter describes hashtags as “themes” of tweets, as they link all other tweets containing that hashtag and are displayed in a live feed if you type “#……” into the search bar on Twitter.
This is a powerful tool, as millions of Twitter users around the world can see your tweets, even if they don’t follow you on Twitter, simply by searching for a hashtag. It allows a sort of deliberate or incidental connection between individuals who otherwise would never have encountered one another, in cyberspace or face-to-face, and they are automatically on the same page, discussing the same topic.
Using the #mitt2012 hashtag on Twitter allows anyone to join the online conversation about Mitt Romney’s presidential bid.
Hashtags also make it easy to follow a thread of conversation. When you are first on Twitter and only have a few followers, it’s easy to follow conversations but when you get into hundreds or thousands of people, the common use of a hashtag between them helps everyone keep track.
Hashtags used by thousands of Twitter users simultaneously are called “trending”. Some hashtags trend periodically when a group of people get online to discuss a topic. When involved in a Twitter ‘chat’ hashtag and by using the designated hashtag, participants don’t need to spend time explaining what the chat is about. Everyone is automatically knows what they’re there to discuss. It is the chat room on a grand (and perhaps less creepy) scale.
Sometimes hashtags don’t have a largely important purpose. They can be humorous or ironic, such as #Thatjusthappened, commenting on whatever misfortune or remarkable occurrence the Twitter user has posted (photo, video, link, etc.) This explains the sort of #bieberfever and similarly popular pop culture ideas; Twitter is a place for both serious and fun conversations and the hashtag allows them to happen.
By this logic, Pinterest users have begun adopting the hashtag trend as well, though this seems to be only done among the more social media saavy types.
I saw my Pinterest friend Jodi McKee use #splendidsummer in some of her pins and see it’s caught on. Everyone using this hashtag is now part of an online (and visual) conversation about summer.
The hashtag can be a stand-alone building block or gathering point on or for a social network; as the number of users of a given hashtag accumulates, it “trends,” attracting yet more users to the given hashtag. It is essentially an organic, self-sustaining way to build attention for a given topic on Twitter, but it could easily be translated to Pinterest or other social networking sites as well.
Pinterest’s format, with it’s content around topic and the ability to caption and comment on photos and video, seems ripe for application of hashtags to build interest in specific topics and help site users with common interests connect. Given Pinterest’s stated goal, the hashtag would seem a naturally-suited tool to achieving greater interconnectedness via common interests.
It’s only a matter of time before Pinterest embraces some of the same concepts as older social networks. Next time you see a hashtag, join in the conversation. You may be surprised who you end up talking to, in a good way.