DISQUS

Melissa · 9 months ago

Hiya, yep, hashtags have great benefits and more people are catching on which is awesome. Thanks for the link....oh and it's Melissa Attree :P

Ed Richardson · 8 months ago

Firstly, I've got to apologise! My Disqus had decided your post was spam and I'd only just found it today.

Secondly, I've altered your name above, school boy error!

Finally to the comment, I believe hashtags still have a great future on Twitter and will continue to use them, regardless of what others say of their demise with the advent of real time search.

Continued fine tuning of tweets is something I am trying to achieve, placing more value in that 140 char limit.

Thanks for taking the time to post Melissa!

AlexSchleber · 9 months ago

I'd say that hashtags can provide extremely valuable meta-information, because they signal both intent, as well as a certain amount of sophistication/insider information (compared to "incidental"/unconscious use of the same keywords).

E.g. during SXSW Interactive, Twitter's time-line on Search.twitter.com was overflowing with SXSW references, and cutting that down by searching for the #sxsw hashtag only was a first step toward cutting through the noise.

And the great thing is that they can be added to the text flow without needing to repeat the term twice. E.g. you can just write: "This post deals with the way #wordpress handles...". What's not to like? Only 1 character need be added...

Agreed that people need to avoid abusing them by making anything a hashtag. Basic rules for viral "spreadability" still apply: Keep it short, logical/meaningful, easy/enjoyable to say ("#followfriday") , etc.

But if used properly, each tweet using them adds an entire additional dimension of communication opportunities, because a vast number of people monitoring Twitter, who are not yet your followers, can find you via hashtags (that number will only grow with increasing Twitter Search literacy coming to the mainstream).

You can join a much larger conversation. Also see the success of #journchat, #brandchat, etc. as virtual, timebound meetups on Twitter.

Ed Richardson · 8 months ago

Hi Alex, like Melissa above I owe you an apology, I can only assume it was the inclusion of # ironically that might have meant your comment being condemned to the spam folder!

I agree with your comment entirely, as mentioned in my reply to Melissa, the recent claim that the value hashtag functionality is over, has only strengthened my belief in this.

Placing a hashtag is a conscious decision to add specific content for a specific purpose. Content in tweets can be accidentally associated with unrelated topics.

Careful placement of hashtags in-line with body seems the most efficient if not the most aesthetic method of doing this.

Thanks for taking the time to comment!