In their simplest form, hashtags consist of words or acronyms beginning with the sign (#). Twitter hashtags such as #followfriday spread information and help organize it on Twitter.
Hashtags allow users to organize Tweets by topic. When many people tweet about the same event or topic, hashtags are used. Log on to Twitter and check out the list of trending topics. This list of trending topics almost always has at least one hashtag. Twitter uses an algorithm to determine which topics are “trending”.
Search for the hashtag on twitter trending hashtags search box located at the top of each Twitter page to see what other people are using it for. Hashtag.org is a website that claims to be “the defacto standard” for hashtag information. Hashtag.org is another website that Twitter users can use to find out the trends and usage of hashtags. Once a Twitter user has determined the purpose of a hashtag, they can leverage it to reach a more targeted audience. If you want to reach a specific audience, hashtags like #GOP and #TCOT can help. By clicking on the hashtag, you can see all of the recent Tweets that fall under that category.
The hashtag can be a helpful tool for event organizers, but it’s also a great way to organize your information on Twitter. If Twitter users agree informally to add a hashtag after Tweets on the topic of baking bagels quickly with blueberries, then it will be easier to locate that topic when Twitter users who are interested in blueberry bags attach a tag to their messages about blueberry bagels. After their Tweets, Twitter users who are excited about baking blueberry bagsels quickly might use the hashtag #BBBF. Using #BBBF would allow other Twitter users who are interested in this topic to quickly find information by searching #BBBF on their Twitter search box. This is an example. A Twitter user creates the following message: “Using a new bagel recipe.” Find it here. Here, the user’s link will be added. This is followed by #BBBF.
