What’s the deal with hashtags?

I get asked “What’s the deal with hasthtags” question at least once or twice a week.

photo credit: Scott Beale via photopin cc

Hashtags are mainly used on Twitter, and more recently on Instagram and Google Plus.   In case you didn’t know, the hashtag has been making a name for itself beyond Twitter.

Flickr announced that it has hashtags. We also now know that Facebook has finally gotten on the bandwagon as well.

Think of a hashtag as a “room to have a conversation in.” Participants in that room are there to talk and converse about that particular topic. Examples can be a TV show, a professional topic, anything.

To avoid missing Twitter talks, I schedule them on my calendar, just like I would a meeting.

A piece of advice, If you are new to a particular hashtag, the best thing to do is to just observe until you feel comfortable to contribute something of interest.

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