Why do so many people on Twitter throw the hash or pound symbol (#) in front of words? Good question. And it’s called hashtag in Twitter speak, by the way. Tweeters agree to use a certain hashtag in front of a word so that those tweets are added into a certain category. This is how trending topics occur. So basically, if someone is searching for a hashtag you have used before, your tweet will come up in their search. Hashtags is a technique for the more advance tweeter, but it’s easy to learn.
Here’s an informative article on Mashable.com to help you understand and use hashtags to the fullest. I hope it helps!
For new Twitter users, and even we veterans, figuring out what a specific hashtag is being used for can be a major chore. When a hashtag starts to trend, it gets even more difficult to parse the information stream.
So what’s the most efficient way to figure out those nasty hashtags? Luckily, there a few great tools that can assist in hashtag enlightenment:
What the Trend?: This useful little service makes it really easy to learn about trending hashtags. When something starts trending, What the Trend? will provide a quick blurb on what’s going on.
Twubs: Twubs, which we recently reviewed, uses a wiki system to help disseminate information on a hashtag. It aggregates tweets and imports pictures to help illuminate the topics being discussed.
Hashtags.org: While not the best at helping you understand the meaning behind a tag, Hashtags.org is good at showing you its use over time and recent tweets, which oftentimes is enough to figure out the meaning behind the tag.
To read the entire article log on to www.mashable.com/twitter.
