That Mysterious # sign in Twitter…What Does it Mean?
Posted by kristinewirth on July 28
Please see the update below.
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.
***** UPDATE 4/12/2010 *****
Thanks to a comment here at KristineWirth.com, I’ve recently found out that the Hashtags service is officially dead and gone (they are however, attempting to sell the service).
Keep in mind this post was originally written nearly 2 years ago so it’s no surprise that a few will disappear over time.
That said, here are a few alternatives you might want to seek out:
- http://twubs.com/ – Twubs are groups of words using the hashtag in Twitter. It’s kind of a neat little site so I’d check it out.
- http://tagal.us/ – This site is useful as well. It helps you understand what those Hashtags mean. For instance the hastag #TLS means “The Love Stories”. All kinds of goodies here and you can even help define them yourself.
- http://www.whatthetrend.com/ – This helps you follow Hashtag trends.
Comments
99 Responses to “That Mysterious # sign in Twitter…What Does it Mean?”Leave a comment, and if you'd like your own picture to show up next to your comments, go get a gravatar!
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
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!
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!
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.
Some very useful and helpful information there. I strongly think that even though many people know what the # does they didn’t know other things associated with it. Thanks a bunch for the article.
Thanks for this useful information. I’m new to Twitter and looking to maximize the experience! I’ll be back here to learn more. Off to follow you now!
Hashtags service is over!!! its page shows a ‘deceased’ message and announces an out-of-business sale, is there any alternative service?
Thanks for the heads up! I’m revising the post now.
Thanks for the great explanation. Cheers Ted
Thanks!!!
Now I am aware about # symbol used before any words but can u explain the significance of @ symbol
Absolutely! – the “@” symbol is usually followed by someone’s Twitter name. Many people use this to reply to a tweet someone made “Great Job @someone!” or as I’m sure you’ve noticed that Friday’s on Twitter is #FF or Follow Friday where you’ll often see numerous names recommended by others @person1 @person2, etc.
Placing the @ symbol in front of someone’s Twitter name makes it click-able so that everyone else who sees the post can click on that person’s name and see all of their Twitter updates.
Hope that helps!
Today I attended a seminar that indicated we submit comments and questions through twitter by ADDING #HubSpotSMB. I got curious about the # and upon search I found your article. I went to hashtag.org and now they show a list of the latest tweets with such tag. hashtag.org/HubSpotSMB so I think somehow they are not dead. I do not see the stats of #word in their graph, but this exposed me to many of the followers of such tag. The graph points to http://trendistic.com that also lets us see what the trends of any particular word are, which is a resource. Thank you for your article. Definitely a tool for the web marketeer.
Great information. I never understood what the hash mark was and how to use it. I’ll be checking out those sites you recommended straight away. It would be fantastic to know who is tweeting about a particular subject; especially one that is of relevance to me and my industry.
Thanks for the education on this!
Brilliant! top article, many thanks.
Thanks for this simple but really useful explanation
time to start using hash tags. Thanks
A good post and explanation!
Well done
Roland Millward
Ohh, so thats what the # symbol mean. Thanks for the post!
Hashtags.org is still working for searches. you type a hash in and you can see the frequency of use.
good info! glad i found this article.