What is a hashtag?

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Hashtags are words or phrases that are grouped together and preceded by the pound sign or hash symbol (#). These words or group of words are frequently used in social networking sites because they function like metadata or searchable items.  With the hash symbol attached to the words or phrases, these items can then be organized and grouped together for easy searching over the social networking platform or over the internet in general.

The concept of using hashtags began with the social networking site – Twitter.  When members of this site use hashtags for certain important events or people for example, these items instantly become searchable items over the entire Twitter platform.  When there is a popular event in the entertainment industry for example, some users may opt to use a hashtag for such event in order for other users to hopefully do the same and make the item popular and searchable over the platform.  In the case of the Grammy Awards, some people have used the hashtag #GrammyAwards whenever they post something about the show and their favorite artists.  Whether they make comments for or against a particular awardee, as long as they use the same hashtag, all these posts can be viewed and searched by simply clicking on the actual #GrammyAwards hashtag.

The fact that users of social media platform can easily click the hashtags and search or view relevant content, make them really popular.  Not only do people enjoy using hashtags for several items, people, or events, but these are actually very useful since one can see other posts related to them in just a simple click. With its huge popularity in Twitter, hashtags are also frequently used in other social media platforms including the biggest network namely Facebook.  Through the hashtags, people will know the views and comments of other people regarding a particular event or item.  The hashtags can also become markers for trending topics over the internet or social networking site.  Users will know which news items are very popular in real time simply by using specific hashtags.

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