It took me a while to understand what a hashtag actually was and how it was being used. I knew that it created a virtual tag but didn't know the implication. And when I did really understand it's use, I was quite impressed. I could see the possibility of gathering information on a particular topic/issue and views of variety of people from around the globe.
But the sad part was I thought I was the only one who understood it. Because all I could see was hashtags littered all around social media like someone had forgotten to gather them all up and put them in their proper place. And since then I've been thinking about writing this piece of "not so necessary" write up. And yes I call it "Hash Tag for DUMMIES" because they really are dumb.
I will talk about how and why to use it, and some tips I discovered myself to make it more effective:
1. Hash tags are meant to give a virtual tag to a word that is associated with some topic/issue that you'd want to be discovered by people. Like if you want the world and people around social media to know about your thought on Donald Trump being the president of USA then you could use a number of hashtags like #Trump #DonaldTrump #PresidentofAmerica #PresidentofUSA etc. But that is again only if you want your view to be discovered and if you're looking for some kind of feedback.
2. Hashtags have to be properly used. Like you can't afford to have spelling mistakes. You can't write #Tump and expect to be discovered by people looking for views on Trump.
3. Hashtags can't have SPACES any where in between. I've seen people doing "# Trump". It's not tagged dear Dummy.
4. Hashtags can't be too long. #DonaldTrumpbecomesthepresidentofunitedstatesofamerica doesn't make any sense because you are the only one who has this hashtag. And anyone clicking on it probably will just see your post and there are very less chances that someone else is using it elsewhere. The probability is less because the probability of someone as DUMB as you existing anywhere else on Earth is very less. Also since there is no space in between, some people can't even read what it means. They'll give up after Donald.
5. Hashtags have to be related to an issue. But DUMB people around the world have been using it for issues like "#Ihadaverybadshitsessiontoday" or #Ihadbreakfasttoday. Well I nor anyone in this world doesn't want to know about how much shit you off loaded in the morning or what you had for breakfast. If someone does find such things interesting about you then understand that that person is STALKING you.
6. One of the most annoying thing for me is when people tag useless words like #the #is #I. I like to say #FuckYou and I'm not giving any explanation for why you shouldn't do it.
7. Now for some tips to make your hashtag better. Since hashtags don't have spaces in between the words, it's always wise to capitalize the first letter of each word. Like #DonaldTrumpJoinsWhiteHouse. Now you can easily identify each word.
8. You can start your own hashtag but again it should be related to a certain issue. Like I use #BeingTheChange for every post I make related to social change. Here you should understand that there has to be a series of posts. Just one post and it won't make any sense.
9. Or you can follow someone elses hashtag. Simply login to twitter and see the trending ones.
10. Not every social media recognizes hashtags. Like I can't use a hashtag in this article. I can use it when I'm sharing it on facebook or twitter.
So I guess after reading these 10 points put very specifically, I have great hope that my friends who're reading it will become slightly less DUMB and come up with some great hashtags.
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