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Hashtags

Hashtags are keywords that are preceded by a pound symbol, allowing posts on supported platforms to be tagged.  They became popular on Twitter as a way of grouping together a large number of (publicly viewable) posts from authors with no other connection.

It allows for mass numbers of quick responses to a topic.  For instance, when there’s an earthquake in Los Angeles, dozens of posts will show up within second under #earthquake.

Some missteps have been made with hashtags, such as TV shows including live hashtagged tweets on TV without proper filtering, leading to a rush of offensive digital graffiti.

Twitter users converting to Facebook started using hashtags on their posts, despite the Facebook platform not supporting the hashtag system.  This lead to annoyed and amused Facebook users posting mocking and ironic hashtags.  The tables were turned when Facebook decided to support hashtags, retroactively enabling the ironic tags in old posts.

Twitter

Twitter is the king of the microblogs.  Their limit of 140 characters per post means that there is a tremendous and constant flow of small bits of information, far more than any one person could ever follow.  They were the first to popularize the #hashtag, a way of tagging posts by putting a keyword behind a pound sign.  This makes it extremely easy to see a constant flow of posts on almost any topic, from real people who have no connection other than a shared interest in the subject of the hashtag.  It’s lead to some very interesting uses in local media, national trends, international revolutions in the middle east, and annoying and forced inclusion in TV news.