Post by: kimmer on July 25, 2015, 12:00:59 PM
Post by: Paddy on July 25, 2015, 02:11:12 PM
Wikipedia also has a pretty good explanation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashtag
Post by: kimmer on July 25, 2015, 03:16:03 PM
I can skip adding hashtagging to my list of skills. 
Post by: tacit on August 01, 2015, 04:07:54 PM
QUOTE(kimmer @ Jul 25 2015, 08:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Thanks, Paddy. Since I don't care to have "conversations" with a bunch of strangers I can skip adding hashtagging to my list of skills.
I can skip adding hashtagging to my list of skills. There are a lot of reasons to use hashtags beyond conversations with strangers. Finding out about news events and getting help in the event of disasters is one of them.
Twitter in particular has become amazing, breaking new news stories faster than any other social media and way faster than traditional news sources, largely because people can send posts to Twitter just by sending a text message from a cellphone. It doesn't even need to be a smartphone. So people can post and update news events even if the Internet is down.
The Moscow riots were reported on Twitter using the #moscow hashtag even though police did everything in their power to stop news from getting out. During Hurricane Irene, people used the hashtag #irene to communicate with family members, report news, and ask for help. People have used hashtags to organize counter-protests against the Westboro Baptist Church when they tried to disrupt funeral services for US soldiers.
I have used hashtags to communicate with friends and family. A couple of months ago, my girlfriend Maxine and I spent three weeks in the desert on a camping trip. During those brief moments when we had cell phone service, we used the hashtag #2cb1v (2 Chaosbunnies, 1 Van) to let our friends and family know where we were and that we were okay.
One of the businesses I own was a finalist in the New Ventures British Columbia business startup/venture capital competition. We used the hashtag #nvbc to communicate with other competitors, angel investors, and venture capitalists, and we're now in the NVBC VAP accelerator.
When my partner/coauthor Eve Rickert and I were on our book tour in the US and Canada, we used the hashtag #MoreThanTwo (the name of our first book) to communicate with fans, arrange last-minute readings and events, announce the schedules for the events, and so on. When our van broke down on our way over the mountains in Canada, we put out a call for help using that hash tag, and not only did our fans respond, in less than 24 hours they worked together to raise enough money to pay for repairs!
The hashtag #infosec is a good place to keep updated on new computer malware, high-profile attacks, threats to computer security, and new developments in antivirus and antimalware technology.
Post by: Xairbusdriver on August 01, 2015, 08:01:33 PM
Obviously, I don't use Twitter or any other non-email/forum sites/apps. 
Post by: tacit on August 03, 2015, 09:27:44 PM
QUOTE(Xairbusdriver @ Aug 2 2015, 01:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
That sounds nice, tacit, but doesn't one have to know the word/characters in the hashtag before being able to look for "news" that might be related to it? If I create one and don't publish anything mentioning it, how would anyone else learn of it? And even if I post as a Twit, how would anyone know to search for my hashtag? Seems to me there is a link missing. "Followers"? hashtag listing site(s)? Obviously, I don't use Twitter or any other non-email/forum sites/apps.
Obviously, I don't use Twitter or any other non-email/forum sites/apps. If you use Twitter, you can find trending hashtags quite easily. Hashtags dealing with things like news events end up on Twitter's home page. Hash tags relevant to the people you follow pop up in your Twitter feed. It's a really impressive, low-friction way to interact with others socially.
Right now, about 2,600 people follow me on Twitter. These are folks who are interested in the same things I am, so if I use a hash tag pertaining to, for example, a new book I've just published (the hashtag #disruptivelove is being used for my new book The Game Changer), people intersted in my writing will see it--and when they post about my book, I will see their posts under that hashtag.
Post by: Xairbusdriver on August 04, 2015, 10:25:53 AM
"hashtags" don't affect me.