The symbols and language that are unique to Twitter have certainly changed the landscape of online communication. As Skeeter Hansen mentions on TwitterWatchDog.com (video embedded below), one of the more complex symbol functionalities on Twitter is the hashtag. The hashtag is represented by the “#” symbol and is used for grouping.
In order to understand the use of hashtags, we are going to focus on the two primary uses they have on Twitter: topic grouping and conference collaboration.
Topic Grouping
If you are interested in leadership and are interested in gathering information on the topic, your first instinct might be to go to Google. A quick search result might produce these first 5 links:
The same search on Twitter with a hashtag search will produce different results:
The Twitter results will reveal what information, quotes, blogs and tools that users are tweeting about that might be relevant to those that have an interest in leadership.
To view current, popular hashtags, check out www.whatthetrend.com.
Conference Collaboration
My first exposure to the hashtag was when I attended a large conference in the southeast. The conference was in an arena that housed around 12,000 attendees for a tw0-day conference. This conference was known for being an excellent networking place, however, strategic connections could be difficult with so many attendees. In order to provide another channel for connections amongst attendees, the conference organizers created a hashtag for the conference and let the attendees know what it was. Thus, while at the conference if you were to visit the hashtag page, you would find what others at the conference were saying about various speakers. Through communicating with others through Twitter at the conference, it became easier to connect with people that were strategic connections. In the same way, post-conference, you are able to continue to share information with the same group of people by continuing to use the hashtag. Conference collaboration is a very powerful usage of Twitter.
The Social Media Club in Dallas has a hashtag, #smcdallas. Those that are part of the club can view this page from time to time to access information that club members thought would be interesting to those that are a part of the social media club. I posted a few of the tweets below.
TwitterWatchDog.com offers an excellent video introducing hashtags. If used correctly, the hashtag function can provide a quick resource to finding information others are posting on topics that you care about.
