15/09/2022
e
Etiquette and regulation
Some communities may limit, officially or unofficially, the number of hashtags permitted on a single post.[33]
Misuse of hashtags can lead to account suspensions. Twitter warns that adding hashtags to unrelated tweets, or repeated use of the same hashtag without adding to a conversation can filter an account from search results, or suspend the account.[34]
Individual platforms may deactivate certain hashtags either for being too generic to be useful, such as on Instagram, or due to their use to facilitate illegal activities.[35][36]
Alternate formats
In 2009, StockTwits began using ticker symbols preceded by the dollar sign (e.g., $XRX).[37][38] In July 2012, Twitter began supporting the tag convention and dubbed it the "cashtag".[39][40] The convention has extended to national currencies, and Cash App has implemented the cashtag to mark usernames.
Function
Search bar in the header of a social networking site, searching for most recent posts containing the hashtag
Hashtags are particularly useful in unmoderated forums that lack a formal ontological organization. Hashtags help users find content similar interest. Hashtags are neither registered nor controlled by any one user or group of users. They do not contain any set definitions, meaning that a single hashtag can be used for any number of purposes, and that the accepted meaning of a hashtag can change with time.
Hashtags intended for discussion of a particular event tend to use an obscure wording to avoid being caught up with generic conversations on similar subjects, such as a cake festival using rather than simply . However, this can also make it difficult for topics to become "trending topics" because people often use different spelling or words to refer to the same topic. For topics to trend, there must be a consensus, whether silent or stated, that the hashtag refers to that specific topic.
Hashtags may be used informally to express context around a given message, with no intent to categorize the message for later searching, sharing, or other reasons. Hashtags may thus serve as a reflexive meta-commentary.[41]
This can help express contextual cues or offer more depth to the information or message that appears with the hashtag. "My arms are getting darker by the minute. ". Another function of the hashtag can be used to express personal feelings and emotions. For example, with "It's Monday!! " in which the adjectives are directly indicating the emotions of the speaker.[42]
Verbal use of the word hashtag is sometimes used in informal conversations.[43] Use may be humorous, such as "I'm hashtag confused!"[42] By August 2012, use of a hand gesture, sometimes called the "finger hashtag", in which the index and middle finger both hands are extended and arranged perpendicularly to form the hash, was documented.[44][45]
Co-optation by other industries
Companies, businesses, and advocacy organizations have taken advantage of hashtag-based discussions for promotion of their products, services or campaigns.
In the early 2010s, some television broadcasters began to employ hashtags related to programs in digital on-screen graphics, to encourage viewers to participate in a backchannel of discussion via social media prior to, during, or after the program.[46] Television commercials have sometimes contained hashtags for similar purposes.[47]
The increased usage of hashtags as brand promotion devices has been compared to the promotion of branded "keywords" by AOL in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as such keywords were also promoted at the end of television commercials and series episodes.[48]
Stencil graffiti promoting the hashtag
Organized real-world events have used hashtags and ad hoc lists for discussion and promotion among participants. Hashtags are used as beacons by event participants to find each other, both on Twitter and, in many cases, during actual physical events.
Since the 2012–13 season, the NBA has allowed fans to vote players in as All-Star Game starters on Twitter and Facebook using .[49]
Non-commercial use
Political protests and campaigns in the early 2010s, such as and , have been organized around hashtags or have made extensive usage of hashtags for the promotion of discussion. Hashtags have also been used to promote official events; the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially titled the 2018 Russia–United States summit as the " Meeting".[50]
Hashtags have been used to gather customer criticism of large companies. In January 2012, McDonald's created the hashtag so that customers could share positive experiences about the restaurant chain, but the marketing effort was cancelled after two hours when critical tweets outnumbered praising ones.[51]
Hashtags have also been initiated by individuals to show support and criticism for political leaders during times of controversy. In August 2021, Joe Biden was criticised for the way the nation dealt with the collapse of Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul to the Taliban. As a result, the hashtag began trending on Twitter. On the other hand, those standing in solidarity with the president tweeted which started trending with almost 50,000 tweets.[52]
Sentiment analysis
The use of hashtags also reveals what feelings or sentiment an author attaches to a statement. This can range from the obvious, where a hashtag directly describes the state of mind, to the less obvious. For example, words in hashtags are the strongest predictor of whether or not a statement is sarcastic[53]—a difficult AI problem.[54]
Professional development and education
Hashtags play an important role for employees and students in professional fields and education. In industry, individuals' engagement with a hashtags can provide opportunities for them develop and gain some professional knowledge in their fields.[55]
In education, research on language teachers who engaged in the Hashtag demonstrates the uses of hashtags for creating community and sharing teaching resources. The majority of participants reported positive impact on their teaching strategies as inspired by many ideas shared by different individuals in the Hashtag. [56]
Emerging research in communication and learning demonstrates how hashtag practices influence the teaching and development of students. An analysis of eight studies examined the use of hashtags in K–12 classrooms and found significant results. These results indicated that hashtags assisted students in voicing their opinions. In addition, hashtags also helped students understand self-organisation and the concept of space beyond place.[clarification needed][57] Related research demonstrated how high school students engagement with hashtag communication practices allowed them to develop story telling skills and cultural awareness. [58]
For young people at risk of poverty and social exclusion during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Instagram hashtags were shown in a 2022 article to foster scientific education and promote remote learning.[59]
In popular culture
Two young men displaying the hashtag hand gesture
During the April 2011 Canadian party leader debate, Jack Layton, then-leader of the New Democratic Party, referred to Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's crime policies as "a [sic] hashtag fail" (presumably ).[60][61]
In 2010 Kanye West used the term "hashtag rap" to describe a style of rapping that, according to Rizoh of the Houston Press, uses "a metaphor, a pause, and a one-word punch line, often placed at the end of a rhyme".[62][63] Rappers Nicki Minaj, Big Sean, Drake, and Lil Wayne are credited with the popularization of hashtag rap, while the style has been criticized by Ludacris, The Lonely Island,[64] and various music writers.[65]
On September 13, 2013, a hashtag, , appeared in the headline of a New York Times front-page article regarding Twitter's initial public offering.[66][67]
In 2014 Bird's Eye foods released "Mashtags", a mashed potato product with pieces shaped either like @ or #.[68]
The rise of hashtag activism
In 2017, the hashtag became viral in response to the sexual harassment accusations against Harvey Weinstein. The use of this Hashtag can be considered part of Hashtag activism, spreading awareness across eighty-five different countries with more than seventeen million Tweets using the Hashtag Too. This Hashtag was not only used to spread awareness of accusations regarding Harvey Weinstein but allowed different women to share their experiences of sexual violence. Using this Hashtag birthed multiple different Hashtags in connection to Too to encourage more women to share their stories, resulting in further spread of the phenomenon of Hashtag activism. The use of Hashtags, especially, in this case, allowed for better and easier access to search for content related to this social media movement.[69]
In 2019, the British Ornithological Union included as hash character in the design of its new Janet Kear Union Medal, to represent "science communication and social media".[70]
Hashtag-centered biomedical Twitter campaigns have shown to increase the reach, promotion, and visibility of healthcare-related open innovation platforms. [71]
See also
