Hello,
I'm Mervi Eskelinen!
An artist, nerd and sorcerer, dedicated to make world softer and better for everyone, and to get you to make more art. Make art, change the world!
Twitter and hashtags
Hashtags are commonly used to get involved with a certain conversations on Twitter and increasingly on other platforms. The whole idea of hashtags appears to have been inherited from IRC where channels, sort of discussion forums, where usually prefixed with #-sign. On Twitter they were at first used as an unofficial way to tag conversations. Now what we call hashtags have their own life and are part of how Twitter works. For example different events may have their own hashtags to round up all the Tweets about and around them. They help interested parties to follow the subject and search for information about it.
Unfortunately lots of people still overuse hashtags. Usually it's those who have been on Twitter for shorter times or who follow mostly others suffering #hashtag #mania. I have seen people Tweeting something and after that writing on the next one "I should've put the hashtags" and including then a list of really random looking tags on that next Tweet. When you click on these random tags at least some of them will only result to that one Tweet. So much of the conversation. Hashtags are also used as sort of a punchline of a joke. Again it doesn't make much sense for the conversational point of view.
There are certain problems with using too many hashtags and too often. First of all your followers might get really bored with your hashtag overuse and either unfollow or mute you. I personally have a tendency to mute hashtags if I see them too often on my feed. Of course it's a great way for me to get rid of Tweets I don't care, but it might be bad if you really want me to see your Tweets. Additionally I usually ignore hashtags and Tweets with too many of them. Actively ignore by jumping over to the next Tweet.
Hashtags also make reading a Tweet slow and difficult. On many Twitter apps they are different colour. Tweetbot hastags are kind of light-ish grey and thus vague and lack of contrast. So especially when they are used as part of a Tweet they get hard to read. The presence of the #-sign doesn't help either. See this short example: "My #cat just #peed and #pooped and I'm so #proud"
Now before this comes as a rant against hashtags I want to tell you how and when use them. Hashtags on Twitter can be a powerful tool for creating and taking part on conversations. When you want to get on a conversation about certain subject, whether it's Eurovision Song Contest, a football match, a television show, creative marketing conversation or some world hugging good cause, use one or more of the common tags for your subject. I know it's kind of a big thing to be able to create a new hashtag and get it popular. However this is very difficult and rare unless you have an extremely devoted following. Also many brands have noticed how their efforts on creating hashtags can backfire badly when trolls, spammers and disgruntled clients take them over.
You don't have to use hashtags on all of your Tweets. Actually you are better off if you use them sparingly. The more rare your hashtag usage is the more effective it is and less of your followers will ignore and mute your tags. You know, like that guy who usually says nothing and when he finally does, everyone listens. I have also been asked how many hashtags should one use on one Tweet. I'd go with three or less, preferably less. More than that only creates a mess and makes you look like a dummy. In case you are unsure of using a hashtag, better not use it. Hashtags by the way are an awesome way to allure spam accounts to follow and @mention you. So, there's that too.
What ever you do, make sure your hashtag usage has a point. If you aren't worried about likes of mine unfollowing and muting you, then go ahead with your overuse. Lots of popular Twitter users use hashtags only when they feel it's necessary part of the Tweet and adds to a conversation. They know too many hashtags is a way to attract spammy types and to turn away more sensible followers.
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