That Mysterious # sign in Twitter…What Does it Mean?
I’ve recently started using Twitter a lot ( you can follow me at http://twitter.com/KristineWirth) and would sometimes see people who post a tweet using a hash symbol (#) before a few words…I never gave it much thought until another person on Twitter wondered what the hash symbol (#) meant.
Since I had seen it as well, I too got curious and so decided to do a little investigation…here’s what I found…
The hash mark (#) before a word in a post allows you to tag that post for that word. However, in order to get tracked via a hash tag, you need to opt-in and follow http://twitter.com/hashtags. Once you’re following Hashtags, every time you make a post in Twitter and tag it with a hash mark like so: #iPhone, it will then show up as a real-time post on http://www.Hashtags.org.
If you then visit Hashtags.org, you can click on any tag and it will show you all of the posts that have been tagged with that keyword.
I use the term “keyword” with a grain of salt since some of the tags aren’t keywords in the sense that you know them related to search engine optimization, because some of the tags are completely non-sensical in nature. And although you can get a complete list of words that have been tagged on the site, there is no way (at least currently) to search for a specific tag.
However, it is possible to view all tweets (posts made to Twitter) that contain a specific tag by modifying your URL a bit like so: http://hashtags.org/tag/iPhone.
You can also subscribe to any updates that contain a tag by visiting http://hashtags.org, entering in the tag you want to follow and then clicking “subscribe” on the right hand side of the page.
Since Twitter only allows you to post 140 characters at a time you can see how you’d have to be pretty selective when using the hash mark – although one character doesn’t seem like much, you’d be surprised how much you actually need that one additional character when trying to get a point across in your Twitter post.
***** UPDATE *****
Here is yet another site that you can use that makes use of hash marks. This site allows you to see who has been using the hash mark you enter within their posts and how many times they’ve done so. Note that when you visit this site you don’t have to enter the hash symbol (#) in the search box.
I’d love to hear your thoughts…have you had experience with the hash mark via Twitter?
See Also: Twitter Karma – How to find out who is following you back on Twitter.
Tags: 
[...] you Twitter you have surely noticed the little hash marks (#). These signify that the post is related to a specific keyword. Some examples: #iPhone [...]
[...] you Twitter you have surely noticed the little hash marks (#). These signify that the post is related to a specific keyword. Some examples: #iPhone [...]
Great stuff, thanks!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! WOW! Now if I can use Twitter’s Hash Tags and # signs..
to make my Dad get in the Mustang Hall of Fame.. I will be a happy camper and owe it all to you! #PhilClarkforHALLOFFAME!
thanks so much for this. I was invited to a twitter bookclub and didn’t know how to access it. I’m learning this little by little and I’ll come back here!
Thanks for clarifying what the # sign means. I couldn’t find another explanation anywhere!!
i am following that hashmark profile so i decided to test a hashmark out so i uposted one and it isnt clickable like other peoples’ are. theirs are like links to that specific hashmark but mine isnt a link
help?
I honestly don’t know that I’ve ever seen a hash mark clickable to be honest with you. Usually it’s just added after the comment; wish I could help but have not seen a clickable hash before.
Wow, I knew that the # was for tagging post but was unaware of the site hashtags.org. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Erics last blog post..Turbo Cash Generator Review
[...] did find this article that helped to explain hash tags a lot .. “The Mysterious # sign in Twitter .. .What does it mean?” What’s cool about this post is it will also take you to a few other sites that can be [...]
Re: “You can also subscribe to any updates that contain a tag by posting “follow #tag” (without the quotes) in Twitter.”
Thanks for the info, Kristine, but I don’t understand this part. What do you mean by ’subscribe’? And ‘posting’? Posting is the same as making a tweet, I presume? (Sorry if I sound like a dumbarse but I’m new to Twitter.)
Do you mean to say that if I make a tweet that simply says “follow #videogames”, I’ll automatically start following any twitterers (*chuckle*) that make a tweet tagged “#videogames”? That’s it? Couldn’t that get out of hand?
[...] This post was Twitted by stevedc – Real-url.org [...]
Hey Kristine,
Thanks for the in-depth answer – I ‘googled’ my question about those hash tags in some people’s twitters although it seemed from their context it could be keyword-related but then you never know in a newer realm what means what for certain.
I appreciate your explanation and will check out the hash tags site.
Have a super evening,
Donna
[...] # symbol explained: That Mysterious # sign in Twitter…What Does it Mean? | KristineWirth.com Yes, the feed is automatically posted to my Twitter account via Twitterfeed: twitterfeed.com : [...]
Thanks! Sounds silly, but after three days of searching and being convinced my hashtags weren’t working, you gave me piece of mind. I visited hashtags.org and was shocked! by the results!! thanks again!
Thanks for the explanation– it had been driving me crazy as well. Time to jump on the bandwagon
I have seen the hash tag on Twitter many times and was VERY confused. At first I thought it was a way to get your tweets posted on another, designated site. Who knew? There are some that make sense to me, but others just seem silly. By and large Twitter has confused me! I have been used to using more complex sites like Facebook or Myspace, so the simplicity of Twitter actually threw me for a loop. Then with the hash tags and @ symbols I have not yet become used to using Twitter. I still get confused. I guess it’s time to catch up and stop calling it the pound key and use the hashtag reference instead!
Becca S.
i cant follow the hash tag update for #dontyouhate. I do exactly what you say, i say..follow #dontyouhate…and it says it cant find that person. I know im spelling it right. whats going on
Cole –
I believe that it used to be the case where you could follow the hashtags directly in Twitter (this post was originally written over a year ago)…however, now the best way to do so is to visit http://hashtags.org, enter in the tag you want to follow and then click “subscribe” on the right of the page.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention, I’ll be sure to update the post itself.
- Kristine
THANKS! I’ve been wondering about this…
Gen y reporting here from Oz: The hash is the sign of the times. It’s new…but that’s what makes it what it is and why we love it. Our prediction: Wait another 10 minutes, humanity will stumble upon the next e-volution, and hashtags will be small (virtual) beans. Regardless, we’re on board!
[...] is an excellent listening tool, with its @ reply and # hashtag searches. A friend of mine joked about Rush Limbaugh’s Twitter account claiming that he [...]
[...] Additionally, if you search twitter for #maet you may run across lots of great resources posted by other MAET tweeters. Don’t know what the # mark means? Check out this easy to follow explanation – http://kristinewirth.com/that-mysterious-sign-in-twitterwhat-does-it-mean/ [...]
Thanks for the explanation – I’ve been totally confused by it.
THANK YOU! Jesus, I looked on mashable, twictionary and twitterspeak and didn’t find the meaning of #, but they used it all over the place. Whew!
[...] 3.) Learn about using the hashtags to help attract more and more targeted followers: Tip: First, you need to follow: http://twitter.com/hashtags. Learn more here: [...]
I did a Googel to find out about the hashmarks in Twitter and found this website. Thanks for the info.
http://twitter.com/sandlynx
Hello, this is the second message that I am sending you. I cannot get onto the sight because my username and psssword are being denied. I am using those I submittes when I signed on. I am losing patience and will likely never come back and I will speak to a lot of people re: this matter. If you don’t need anmy new users, then tell them at the time of sign-up. This is the last time I will try to sign in and if I am rejected, I will never be back and I’ll take my friends with me. Thank You, Sincerely, Bryan Phillips.
how soon after following the @hashtags will get my post with # sign show up in the real time search? thanks
Been wondering what that little bugger was all about and I actually could not find it in the Twitter help links. Thanks a lot for this one
Bryan – what site are you referring to? I don’t run any of the sites I talked about in this post so if you’re having issues, you need to take it up with them.
Thanks for all the great information. I was going crazy trying to figure out what the hashmark meant
This is some very usefull information, thanks for telling us about the # tag, it seems like it is a usefull thing to use if your using twitter, I may have to check out twitter. thanks for the information.