Posts tagged hashtags

TECHREALITY: #Hashtags

TECHREALITY: at the intersection of life and all the things your grandmother can’t figure out. 

There’s something special about introducing one of those “I’ll just stick to Facebook” types to the magical world of Twitter. In college, reading tweets was the first thing I did each morning after clearing my eye boogies and, really, I shouldn’t have added that “In college” ‘cause it’s still kinda how I roll. But this is acceptable behavior for someone like me who is looking to create something for herself here on the interwebs. I’m a social media enthusiast of sorts, having profiles on more networks than I’m willing to upload a photo for. Things get interesting (do they?) when I tell you I’m dating someone with 8 followers. For the Twittilliterate (you like how I did that, don’t you?), “followers” are the people who agree to have all the bullshit you deem important, or tweetable, in their timelines. I’m NOT explaining a Timeline. It’s like, a Newsfeed, okay?

We all know the downside to bringing forth new converts are all the annoying questions whose answers sound just as silly as the uncertainty that inspires them. I”m getting better with time, though. I’ve adjusted my response to the imminent “What am I suppose to say?” from “Just tell people what you’re doing” to ” Share something you find interesting or quote rap lyrics like you do in real life…all day long!” Better, right? To some, this typey-typey-textey-textey, 2011 stuff is a hard sell and I’m slowly but surely bringing Mr. 8 over to the dark side. Two things he still doesn’t get: retweeting and “those number signs”. The retweeting confusion was an easy fix after switching his iPhone app from the auto retweeting feature to retweet with comment, but #hastags? Oy vey! 

  • Do I even understand #hashtags? 

Duh! #Hashtags are by far my favorite feature on Twitter. The first step to understanding #hashtags (you’re wondering how long I can keep up the #hashtagging of the word #hashtag, aren’t you? All day, buddy. All day.) and making them more of a mainstay in your tweets is knowing that they can serve a different purpose for each tweeter and for each tweet. But explaining #hashtags to a newbie is almost always a failed mission so, you’re often forced to provide the textbook answer and keep the tutorial chuggin’. 

#Hashtags are awesome during big events like the Grammy’s or, if you’re me and a lot of my friends, 90’s cartoons being re-run on Nickelodeon (#90sNick) as well as meet-ups or conferences like #Techweek, taking place in Chicago now. It gives people the opportunity to see what others who enjoy the same thing (watching the #2011Grammys or attending #Techweek) are thinking or doing and blah blah blah by simply clicking the link created by the #hashtag. (THEE Twitter Textbook, 2006)

  • People who already understand Twitter are really annoyed with me right now. Suck it. 

My preferred use of the #hashtag is as the do-do-do-CHING! at the end of a funny tweet. If followers didn’t already get it, the #hashtag brings the joke on home. For example, I follow comedian, Jordan Rubin (@jordanrubin), who tweeted the other day: “Lord, please let the actor who played the bad guy in Karate Kid title his autobiography “Sweep the Leg”.” Funny as is, sure, but what could adding a #waxonwaxoff hurt (or, a less famous personal favorite #gethimabodybag)? Just me? Could be the reason I don’t have my own show on Comedy Central but a risk I’m willing to take. 

I just have a thing for music and movie references. Specifically, rap lyrics and lesser known movie quotes. Suppose I thought to tweet about a struggle like trying to take my shoes off without unlacing them (in between tweets about current events and aiding starving children, of course), I may add at the end #thefibersarefusedtothehead—a line Danny Devito screams during a scene in Matilda where he realizes his hat has been super glued to his head. 

  • You’re wondering why you don’t follow me, right? It’s never too late. 

I also like the use of music, movies and art #hashtags as a means to make Twitter conversations more…conversational? There are times when dozens of people in my timeline retweet the same exact thing, which can cause feelings of “Ok, so…?”. Give me something to work with, people! For example, many of my friends retweeted @CNNMoney yesterday who revealed that “The average black household wealth was $5,677 in 2009; for Hispanic families it was $6, 325; white households had $113,149.” I chose not to repost the information, but if I had, best believe it’d be followed by a #whowillsurviveinamerica. This way, my followers understand that I’m up for discussing the economy (I’m not, really) and Gil Scott-Heron and having a lively debate about how Kanye West’s Dark Fantasy is next-level shit. 

So, what do you use #hashtags for? And quick! Give me your best #hashtag tutorial in four sentences or less. I promise the smartest first step is explaining that the actual pound symbol means nearly nothing in and of itself. I’m giving you tools for life here. No need to thank me. 

One of my favorite #hashtags currently: #firstworldproblems. Here are a few random examples from across cyberspace. 

@ahenspants: I hate it when my muffin is as cold as the air outside the car. #firstworldproblems

@n00neimp0rtant: the “good denny’s” is too far away so [my] family goes to [the] “bad denny’s” #firstworldproblems

@lewconway: I want to drink orange juice but i just brushed my teeth :( #firstworldproblems