#hashtags and What do Do with Them

Those who have recently discovered Twitter.com have probably noticed people adding “#whatever” to the end of their posts (e.g. #dontgo, #palin, #yeswecantor, #rnc08, #rnc08, etc.) Why are they doing this?

According to hashtags.com:

You create a hashtag simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol:

Hashtags were developed as a means to create “groupings” on Twitter, without having to change the basic service. The hash symbol is a convention borrowed primarily from IRC channels, and later from Jaiku’s channels.

hashtags.org now provides real-time tracking of Twitter hashtags. Opt-in by following @hashtags to have your hashtags tracked.

Hashtags were popularized during the San Diego forest fires in 2007 when Nate Ritter used the hashtag “#sandiegofire” to identify his updates related to the disaster.

An easy way to follow your favorite hashtags is to go to search.twitter.com, and enter your tag into the search box. You can either read the feed right from there, or if you have more than one, you can add the feed (click the little orange box in the upper right-hand corner) to your favorite feed reader. (Bonus tip - search.twitter.com is also an easy way to quickly see who has responded to your tweets - simply search for @yourusername).

If you do not have a Twitter account - the sign-up is easy. Just go to Twitter.com, and sign up. Twitter is designed for mobile phones but can also be accessed from your PC, and is a very easy, fun way to get immediate updates on current events.