πŸ“– what

What is a hashtag?

internetsocial media

Quick Answer

A hashtag is a word or phrase after a # symbol that groups social media posts on the same topic.

The Full Story

Designer Chris Messina proposed using the pound sign to group conversations on Twitter in August 2007. Twitter made hashtags clickable in 2009, and they spread to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and other platforms. Clicking a hashtag shows other public posts using it, helping topics trend and communities form. Hashtags have powered social movements such as #MeToo and #IceBucketChallenge, which raised over 100 million US dollars for ALS research in 2014. The word β€œhashtag” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2014.

Key Facts

1.Proposed by Chris Messina in 2007
2.Became clickable on Twitter in 2009
3.Added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2014

YouTube Angle

Suggested video title for this topic:

"How one tweet invented the hashtag"