How to Jump in on a Hashtag

A hashtag will make a keyword stand out among hundreds of tweets

Hashtags, the symbol "#," are used on the social networking site Twitter originally to mark certain words in a Twitter post, or tweet, making them easier to search for among the site's millions of tweets. Though this is still the technical function of the hashtag in a tweet, the socio-linguistic use of the hashtag has become a bit more complex, being used sometimes almost like parentheses, and others seemingly like an exclamation point. Hashtags also help mark out site-wide continuing inside jokes and conversations.

Things You'll Need

• Twitter Account

Instructions

1. Sign into your Twitter account, or sign up if you don't have one. You can do this by going to Twitter and entering an email address and password.

2. Find the trends section at the bottom right of your Twitter homepage once you sign in. There will be a long list of words, some with hash tags, and some without. Click on one of the hashtagged phrases that appeals to you. A new page will come up with a long list of tweets that include that hashtag.

3. Read many of the tweets. Get a sense if they are intending to be a running joke, or a hashtag related to a certain event in the news or on television.

4. Write your tweet, adding your thoughts to the conversation organized around the hashtag you chose. At the end of your tweet add the word or phrase (without spaces) you've been following, with a hash symbol in front of it.

5. Check the hashtag screen periodically to see how people respond to your tweet.

References

• Twitter Help Center: What are Hashtags ("#" Symbols)
• New Yorker Magazine; "Hash"; Susan Orlean; June 2010