Are you still wondering what hashtags are and how or why people are using them? I’ve answered this question twice in the past week, thanks to Jimmy Fallon’s skit:
So why are people using all these ridiculous times for hashtags? I really am not sure, other than they consider it a mini-rant to go with their status updates.
A better use of hashtags is to use these hashtags to help you search for others interested in the topic that you are sharing. See this video from 2009 explaining how hashtags got their start on Twitter several years earlier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jGbLWQYJ6iM#t=161
Since that time, hashtag support has migrated to most every other network and now to the Google search page, including Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, and most everywhere except LinkedIn. Any time that you see that # sign on something interesting to you, click that link. You will see others on that platform discussing the same topic. I’m waiting to see if Google’s main search for hashtags will scan other public platforms beyond Google+, as it used to incorporate Twitter hashtags.
You can create your own hashtags, or use commonly used ones such as sports team initials. When creating your own, consider ones that will connect people further to the topic you are sharing.
