Hashtag refers to the word or series of alphanumeric words or characters preceded by the pad symbol, also called numeral or cat (#), used on certain internet web platforms. It is an English word that we can translate as ‘tag’.
In this sense, hashtags are a communication tool used primarily in publications (text, videos, audios, images, etc.) in social networks, to organize, classify or group publications according to their theme or content.
These labels allow to present in a public way, and organized in the timeline, all the contents that have the same label, thus facilitating not only its location, but also the exchange of information or content between different users, on certain topics or events.
In Spanish, it is advised to use the term ‘label’ instead of hashtag. Other possible translations, depending on the situation, would be ‘category’ or ‘keyword’.
Characteristics of a hashtag
Sometimes, when a hashtag is used by many users for a certain period of time, it becomes, specifically on Twitter, a Trending Topic , that is, a trend of the moment.
In hashtags it is not necessary to distinguish between upper and lower case letters, however, you can take advantage of the use of these to distinguish one word from another and facilitate its readability, for example: # Presidential Elections 2016.
The great advantage of hashtags is that they give greater visibility to a social network post, allowing other users to more effectively track events or campaigns, news or events.
The hashtags were first popularized on the Twitter microblogging platform, and from there they have been extended to other platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Google+ or Telegram.
Popular hashtags
Among users of different social networks, some hashtags are more frequently used than others that arise from specific events. Among the most popular we can highlight:
- #MCM, which means Man Crush Mondayor, in Spanish, ‘male crush on Monday’. It is used to post the photo of an attractive boy.
- #WCW, which means Woman Crush Wednesday, that is, ‘Wednesday’s female crush’. It is used to upload the photo of a beautiful girl.
- #TBT, which means Throwback Thursday, which means going back in time on a Thursday, and refers to the publication of our old photos, especially those that remind us of good times.
- #FBF, which means Flashback Friday, refers to going back in time on a Friday. It also involves the publication of photos from past times.
