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You hear it and see it - but what IS it?
#. Hashtag.
Let me start a little geeky on you (though granted, #beginnergeek). When computers identify what to do with information, they do it as only a computer can - or would care to. In very strictly delimited "strings" of symbols that, to the computer, mean something. For that reason, naming files used to be very clearly limited to certain characters - others were forbidden, such as a / or a \ (and by the way, that is a FORWARD slash, then a BACK slash, though many people insist on saying the opposite). These were forbidden because, to the computer, they meant that what followed had special significance and was to be treated in THIS way and this way only. So, if a string of characters was between " marks (quote marks) it was a LITERAL, and was to be treated as exactly what appeared between the quote marks (typically, typed out that way).
A tag was, in certain forms of coding, enclosed within < and > brackets. This told the computer that what was within the brackets was a "tag," and was to be treated as a set of instructions.
So, the "hashtag," is simply the information that follows the "hash mark," or "number sign," or "pound sign," depending on how you first encountered it. It designates a searchable string of letters, usually spelling out a word or phrase.
In social media, hash tags are used in essentially the same way from platform to platform (from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram), which is to say, if you use a particular phrase and put it after the hash tag, all other references to that particular tag will be searched out - and your reference will be included among them.
Now is when it gets a little tricky. In essence, the first user of a tag more or less "owns" it. That can mean something, or little, depending on how "branded" what you are referring to is. So, if you have an event, for example, that has a specific name, and you want everyone referring to it to clearly indicate YOUR event, you'll want to find a tag that can mean your, and only your, event. However, if you're simply referring to a trend - like, #Princeisdead, for example, then any number of tags can refer to the same event or idea - and if you type the sequence of words in, you'll find information about that particular idea or event or concept.
Here's a concrete example: a few years back, I was sitting at my desk and felt the earth move. Literally! I thought at first it was a particularly large truck driving by, but investigating it turned up nothing. I tried looking for and earthquake on various websites and found nothing - but Twitter was trending #earthquakenortheast and #earthquakenewyork and so on, and I was quickly able to find out that an earthquake had occurred with an epicenter in Canada, and was felt throughout the northeast, particularly in northern New York State.
So - that's the VERY simple idea of what a hashtag is. One more small caution: if you want to promote an event or product, you'll want to find a hashtag that isn't "taken," and then you can use it as yours. Add it to your campaigns and general information and whenever people refer to that tag, it will be counted as part of your story.
#. Hashtag.
Let me start a little geeky on you (though granted, #beginnergeek). When computers identify what to do with information, they do it as only a computer can - or would care to. In very strictly delimited "strings" of symbols that, to the computer, mean something. For that reason, naming files used to be very clearly limited to certain characters - others were forbidden, such as a / or a \ (and by the way, that is a FORWARD slash, then a BACK slash, though many people insist on saying the opposite). These were forbidden because, to the computer, they meant that what followed had special significance and was to be treated in THIS way and this way only. So, if a string of characters was between " marks (quote marks) it was a LITERAL, and was to be treated as exactly what appeared between the quote marks (typically, typed out that way).
A tag was, in certain forms of coding, enclosed within < and > brackets. This told the computer that what was within the brackets was a "tag," and was to be treated as a set of instructions.
So, the "hashtag," is simply the information that follows the "hash mark," or "number sign," or "pound sign," depending on how you first encountered it. It designates a searchable string of letters, usually spelling out a word or phrase.
In social media, hash tags are used in essentially the same way from platform to platform (from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram), which is to say, if you use a particular phrase and put it after the hash tag, all other references to that particular tag will be searched out - and your reference will be included among them.
Now is when it gets a little tricky. In essence, the first user of a tag more or less "owns" it. That can mean something, or little, depending on how "branded" what you are referring to is. So, if you have an event, for example, that has a specific name, and you want everyone referring to it to clearly indicate YOUR event, you'll want to find a tag that can mean your, and only your, event. However, if you're simply referring to a trend - like, #Princeisdead, for example, then any number of tags can refer to the same event or idea - and if you type the sequence of words in, you'll find information about that particular idea or event or concept.
Here's a concrete example: a few years back, I was sitting at my desk and felt the earth move. Literally! I thought at first it was a particularly large truck driving by, but investigating it turned up nothing. I tried looking for and earthquake on various websites and found nothing - but Twitter was trending #earthquakenortheast and #earthquakenewyork and so on, and I was quickly able to find out that an earthquake had occurred with an epicenter in Canada, and was felt throughout the northeast, particularly in northern New York State.
So - that's the VERY simple idea of what a hashtag is. One more small caution: if you want to promote an event or product, you'll want to find a hashtag that isn't "taken," and then you can use it as yours. Add it to your campaigns and general information and whenever people refer to that tag, it will be counted as part of your story.
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