This is a dumb question, but can someone explain? Twitter/FB

CollieJade · April 2011

Why do people put things in their status updates on FB with a # sign? As in someone saying, "IRS hasn't sent us our refund yet!! #frustratedbeyondbelief."

I *think* that this practice is Twitter-related, but I'm not sure, and I don't really understand it. I want to be cool like everyone else. Can someone explain this and teach me how to do this properly? lol

Chandley · April 2011

my twitter automatically updates my facebook, so if i did a hash tag, it would also show up in facebook too. maybe that is what you are seeing - people who use twitter to update facebook?

L L CG · April 2011

I don't get it, either. I don't like it.

OrangeFelt · April 2011

It is.. in Twitter, you have hash tags (like #tigerblood) that make that term searchable and indicate that it is related to that discussion. So, you can tag a word, and fifty other people can tag that word, and they will all come up in a search for that word.

How it relates - there are apps that let you post the exact same thing to twitter and FB. So, they're killing two birds with one stone and only posting it once.

Here's a hash tag search on twitter that you can check out: https://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23TopChef

katattack · April 2011

Yes, it's a Twitter thing. You can have trending topics or search on topics, so the hash tag helps with that.

SaraLouiseBride08 · April 2011

See ... I wanted to be cool like everyone else, but was afraid to ask about this. I still don't get it. I mean, now I get what it does, but I don't get why you'd do that, or what's so cool about it? Then again, I don't get Twitter either.

AustinBride06 · April 2011

I almost never use actual topics that might be trending. Sometimes I will... like #sxsw or #bored or #glee or #sarcasm.

Usually when I do it it's more like #mydogsareweird or #whyamitheonlysaneonehere or #ilovecheesesomuchithurts

Chicklit · April 2011

AustinBride06:
I almost never use actual topics that might be trending. Sometimes I will... like #sxsw or #bored or #glee or #sarcasm.
Usually when I do it it's more like #mydogsareweird or #whyamitheonlysaneonehere or #ilovecheesesomuchithurts

I was going to say that I think this usage pertains to most facebook hashtags. It's more a comment about the content of the status/tweet, sort of like the original example.

Or sometimes you'll see the tweet and the hashtag go in different directions:

Car has a flat tire. Waiting for the bus in the rain. #bestdayever

CollieJade · April 2011

Chicklit:
AustinBride06:
I almost never use actual topics that might be trending. Sometimes I will... like #sxsw or #bored or #glee or #sarcasm.
Usually when I do it it's more like #mydogsareweird or #whyamitheonlysaneonehere or #ilovecheesesomuchithurts
I was going to say that I think this usage pertains to most facebook hashtags. It's more a comment about the content of the status/tweet, sort of like the original example.
Or sometimes you'll see the tweet and the hashtag go in different directions:
Car has a flat tire. Waiting for the bus in the rain. #bestdayever

That's more like how I've seen it used, which is why i didn't really get it. is #bestdayever an actual trending topic, or whatever? that's the part I don't get. the trending thing. and wth is a hashtag?

GuavaGal · April 2011

"#bestdayever" might be an actual trending topic, or it might just be that the person is trying to be funny. A hashtag is the name of the # + whatever phrase is behind it. A tweet is tagged with a hash mark, like you would tag a photo with a person's name on facebook.

From what I have observed (and I am not a tweeter, so I could have this wrong), you want people who are using that same tag as you to be able to see yours if they are looking up other uses of that tag. For example, Jimmy Fallon will ask his audience to tweet something and tag it with #worstdateever. He reads the funniest tweets with that tag on the air. Tagging something is just a way to keep track of other tweets on the same topic.

AustinBride06 · April 2011

# is a hash (term more commonly used outside the US). Then when you associate it with a term it becomes a hashtag.

The hashtag doesn't necessarily become a trending topic. But it could if it catches on. Those examples that I made up would never actually catch on enough to trend, unless i was a celebrity. For example @JimmyFallon creates hashtags all the time that move up the trending rankings. Stuff like #bestnightever. It's also used to reference other quotes. Like if I'm talking about the Royal Wedding for 4 or 5 tweets, you might not see them all in a row b/c of how busy your feed is. So I might add #royalwedding or #marrymewills to the end of each if it wasn't totally obvious what I was talking about.

AustinBride06 · April 2011

GuavaGal:
"#bestdayever" might be an actual trending topic, or it might just be that the person is trying to be funny. A hashtag is the name of the # + whatever phrase is behind it. A tweet is tagged with a hash mark, like you would tag a photo with a person's name on facebook.

From what I have observed (and I am not a tweeter, so I could have this wrong), you want people who are using that same tag as you to be able to see yours if they are looking up other uses of that tag. For example, Jimmy Fallon will ask his audience to tweet something and tag it with #worstdateever. He reads the funniest tweets with that tag on the air. Tagging something is just a way to keep track of other tweets on the same topic.

#greatmindsthinkalike