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Hash tags are popping up on Twitter and other networks are pursuing the hot fad

Twitter, which recently secured millions in new venture capital, is one of Silicon Valley's hottest social networking properties.  Its short blog-message update format has drawn millions who find it ideal, especially for short blasts of communication on the go.

One interesting fad that has popped up on Twitter of late and that is catching the eye of engineers at other network and applications makers for sites like Facebook is the rise of hash tags.  Hash tags -- basically a group of words, acronym, or other descriptor proceeding by a pound sign -- are giving people a unique way to connect and are fast becoming a hot social networking trend.

An example of one such Twitter tag is the "#job" tag placed by people looking to hire people or looking for a job themselves.  One Twitter user recently posted:

gloeckler: looking for a coder. very small project. anybody interested? #job

The pound tags provide an instant means for people to search with posts that might interest them from all around the world, without directly knowing those people.

People are also using the tag to discuss music festivals and arrange to hang out at them.  The #sxsw tag for the South by Southwest music festival is going particularly strong at the moment.  This tag represents a common practice by hash tag crafters -- shortening longer topics into a concise acronym.  This shortening also represents a challenge to the burgeoning trend as it adds confusion and a cryptic layer for those not in the know about the phrase.

A number of useful sites exist for searching hash tags -- WTHashtag, Hashtag Reference and Tagal.us -- but none of these currently archive exactly what the tags mean.  So if you don't know a particular acronym, you'll have to guess what it means or try to find the term in a traditional search.

Despite this obstacle, hashing is rapidly rising in popularity.  With MySpace, Facebook, and others considering adding this capability, it may well become the biggest development in social networking of the year, allowing meaningful connections to be made with complete strangers.

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I could be going insane, but..
By Nirach on 3/12/2009 9:31:37 AM , Rating: 1
Isn't £ the pound symbol?

Or am I missing some lingo here (I don't follow social netowrking sites for the most part)?




RE: I could be going insane, but..
By talikarni on 3/12/2009 9:38:21 AM , Rating: 3
In the US, Canada and much of the world, the pound (or lb., weight) sign is #

Only relating to monetary or references in the UK is pound displayed as £


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By Nirach on 3/12/2009 9:42:26 AM , Rating: 2
There was me thinking the hash symbol was the symbol for number, like.. Well, everyone else I've ever spoken to, and every pencil I've ever used.

Ahwell - Learn something new every day I guess.


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By the goat on 3/12/2009 9:48:13 AM , Rating: 2
Surely you understand that one symbol can mean different things in different contexts?


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By Nirach on 3/12/2009 9:58:02 AM , Rating: 3
Never having encountered it being used for anything but a number, and it having fairly common grounds in the whole.. 'means number' thing, I never had a reason to expect it to mean anything else.

I also fail to see where I don't understand why it means two things, merely that I hadn't expected it, and that I found it unusual.

Something to do with being taught in England and it pretty much exclusively meaning number over here, I think it's a fairly reasonable asumption on my part, especially as I didn't sit much in the way of American schooling, and haven't experienced any other countries curriculum.


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By Visual on 3/12/2009 11:50:29 AM , Rating: 3
You never heard of the C-pound programming language? Really?

j/k, people, don't submit my post to thedailywtf.


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By Flunk on 3/12/2009 1:13:03 PM , Rating: 3
OMG, everyone know's it's pronounced C-Hash. Man...


By GaryJohnson on 3/12/2009 2:48:50 PM , Rating: 3
You've never heard the # on a telephone referred to as the "pound sign"?


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By plowak on 3/12/2009 5:11:48 PM , Rating: 2
Your use of the English language has a familiar feel to it...hmmm, you from Nigeria?


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By rtrski on 3/12/2009 10:12:48 AM , Rating: 5
oh, go # sand.


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By nixoofta on 3/12/2009 3:23:24 PM , Rating: 5
sheesh,...you know how long it would take to number sand!?


By sandytheguy on 3/12/2009 9:37:02 PM , Rating: 2
The symbol goes by many names including number sign, pound, hash, sharp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_symbol


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By oTAL on 3/12/2009 10:14:07 AM , Rating: 3
It's an American thing (I think... I'm European...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By Nirach on 3/12/2009 11:06:27 AM , Rating: 2
Yeah, I had to look at wiki myself - I'm also on the Europe side of the pond.


RE: I could be going insane, but..
By plowak on 3/12/2009 5:15:36 PM , Rating: 3
Ha ha ha, you don't even know how to make a decimal point properly!


I think I have a patent for this
By AntiM on 3/12/2009 10:04:53 AM , Rating: 3
A procedural process for using symbolic symbols as tags that allow for a methodology for searching keyword phrases in various contextual applications.

Everybody pay up!!




By mmcdonalataocdotgov on 3/12/2009 11:31:58 AM , Rating: 2
Dang, you beat me to the patent.


RE: I think I have a patent for this
By Visual on 3/12/2009 11:55:37 AM , Rating: 3
A procedural process for using symbolic symbols as tags for tagging that allow allowance for a methodical methodology for searching key keyword phrases phrased in various contextual contexts of applied applications.

Fixed it for you... I mean, if you start with a style, you better stick to it till the end.


By Xenoterranos on 3/12/2009 1:11:15 PM , Rating: 2
I'm going to write all my end-of-year employee reviews like this for the rest of time. Thank you, Internet!


Maybe I'm showing my age here.
By talozin on 3/12/2009 9:41:55 AM , Rating: 2
But I saw "hash tags" and thought, um, something entirely different. (hastily putting pipe back in the closet)




By bankerdude on 3/12/2009 10:04:54 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
But I saw "hash tags" and thought, um, something entirely different. (hastily putting pipe back in the closet)

Lol! #HIPPIES (hash is profoundly prominent in every school)


RE: Maybe I'm showing my age here.
By JediJeb on 3/12/2009 5:49:28 PM , Rating: 2
Afterwards when you are hungry you can have some #browns or corned beef #.


#pr0n
By therealnickdanger on 3/12/2009 9:21:03 AM , Rating: 5
Want to make money? I have a camera. #pr0n




Hashing
By Phenick on 3/12/2009 10:26:23 AM , Rating: 3
"Despite this obstacle, hashing is rapidly rising in popularity. With MySpace, Facebook, and others considering adding this capability, it may well become the biggest development in social networking of the year, allowing meaningful connections to be made with complete strangers."

Is this like Hashish? If you think of this paragraph in reference to the drug it is quite funny.




RE: Hashing
By UNCjigga on 3/12/2009 11:44:53 AM , Rating: 2
Yeah, I hashed with complete strangers in Marrakesh last year...


The Code
By Zorlac on 3/12/2009 5:24:09 PM , Rating: 2
C:ENTER:###




By miketempleton on 3/12/2009 7:53:42 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, the sole purpose of WTHashtag (What the Hashtag?!) is that it acts as a hashtag encyclopedia so that users can find out what the cryptic hashtag codes mean. Stop by the site and look at some of the recently edited hashtags to see what I mean.

http://wthashtag.com/




South by Southwest
By Suomynona on 3/13/2009 4:41:01 AM , Rating: 2
Minor issue, but SXSW has been a common acronym for the South by Southwest festival for as long as I can remember and is by no means an invention of creative Twitter users. It's use as an example in this article is inappropriate and case of too much assumption and not enough research.




RE: South by Southwest
By chucklapenta on 3/13/09, Rating: -1
"It's okay. The scenarios aren't that clear. But it's good looking. [Steve Jobs] does good design, and [the iPad] is absolutely a good example of that." -- Bill Gates on the Apple iPad











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