| If you've been on Twitter for a while and haven't | | | | can find your tweets on a common topic quickly and |
| heard of the Twitter hash tag, then it's high time you | | | | easily. It also makes it easy to use the 140 characters |
| added it to your Twitter arsenal. First a hash tag is a # | | | | for most of your tweet without having to add the |
| symbol placed before specific keywords or keyword | | | | subject to it. |
| phrases to make your content and interests easy to | | | | For instance, if you write about Spock and T'Pring |
| find. | | | | getting married adding a hash tag that says #trek to it |
| For instance, if you're a Battlestar Galactica fan and | | | | will only take up five characters, and most people will |
| you want to find other fans with the same interests, | | | | know to look for #star-trek or #trek as part of the |
| then you would put a #Battlestar or #BSG in the | | | | search. So, even if you don't have "Star Trek" in your |
| search box. It will return everyone who had #Battlestar | | | | tweet, people who are interested in Spock will still find |
| or #BSG in their tweet. | | | | you. |
| People search tweets looking for common topics. For | | | | Up until now, you've seen hash tags as a way of |
| instance, hash tags make it that much easier to search | | | | finding entertainment topics. However, these same |
| for something specific that is a common word. It | | | | tags can be used with anything. Anybody can start a |
| doesn't matter about if you search for with all CAPS, | | | | hash tag, but it is nice to search on the tag you want |
| caps and lowercase or a combination of both. These | | | | to add prior to using it. Tags are organic and can go |
| tags aren't case-sensitive. | | | | viral. |
| Searching for something like "Star Trek", as an | | | | If your tag is universal enough, you can see it become |
| example, has the word "star" and "trek" in it. Instead of | | | | part of a number of tweets. Right now, for instance, |
| searching on "Star Trek" and getting back tweets on | | | | the tag #avatar is very popular as is the tag #Obama |
| stars and trek bikes. Adding hash tags separates | | | | and #healthcare. One is for the movie, Avatar and the |
| tweets will stand a much higher chance of bringing | | | | other two for the President and the ongoing healthcare |
| back proper tweets that interest you. | | | | debate in Congress. |
| Also, hash tags allow you to organize your own | | | | As you can see Twitter hash tags are quite useful |
| tweets so that your friends and followers can easily | | | | and adds to the ease and utility of searching for topics |
| find it. For those who know how to use the tags, they | | | | that interest you. |