Archive for November 14, 2011

If you have ever wondered about what the point of hashtags are on Twitter - or even if you know what they are and wonder what you could do with them (besides follow #engchat, that is!) - tonight's discussion was perfect! Great thanks to @tseale for hosting tonight on this very topic.

Twitter can be a loud and busy place and no matter how many people you follow, you might still miss some pretty amazing people and ideas if you don't know where to look for them. One of the ways to help you follow a thread/conversation/information is to follow hashtags. When you place a # in front of a word (or a bunch of words strung together with no spaces in between), it will highlight that tag as a link to follow any tweets with the same hashtag. Instantly, you have quieted the chaos to a dull roar and can follow a thread dealing with some kind of focus.

I would like to think that in addition to focus, these hashtags promote community among the people who use them.

There are tons to choose from. A few favorites from @tseale's poll tonight are listed here.

You can read the entire archive of this chat here.

Coincidentally, @mrami2 and I are presenting on the topic of Twitter chats and initiatives in a session called Pound for # with @donalynbooks, @thereadingzone, and @colbysharp at 8 AM on Saturday morning at #NCTE11. If you cannot be in Chicago with us, you can always follow #NCTE11 to follow the action. You can follow our presentation (and participate in the discussion!) with #4pound.