Why So Hashtag?

#Blogging #SocialMedia #YouShouldKnow … yes, we’ve used it and seen it everywhere. It all began with the third-highest-ranking social media platform, Twitter.

Twitter enabled that cool linkable pound sign that allows users to search for keywords or specific topics. It also gave a great opportunity for marketing brands to create a trend function at conferences, sporting events, and even television shows. It was used highly during the 2012 Presidential Debates.  The recent trend near the end of 2012 into 2013 is photo-sharing and not just photos, but pretty ones.

Instagram, a photo-sharing social networking device enables its users to take dull pictures and apply ‘filters’ to transform into ‘amazing’ photography. Similar to Twitter, Instagram has the same concept with hashtags. Instagram added hashtags to help users discover both photographs and each other. The more hashtags specific to that photo, the more interaction. The highly popular photo-sharing social networking platform was acquired by Facebook back in September 2012 and began integrating photo sharing on Facebook users’ timelines. This is where the hastagging mania on Facebook began.

Now that Instagram pictures can be posted on Facebook timelines, an overwhelming amount of Facebook users have begun using hashtags on normal Facebook statuses. No, not from Instagram or a merged connection with Twitter, but JUST Facebook statuses themselves.

Of course, my social media nerd side came out from within me and couldn’t hold back. I posted about the frustration and informing them of the whole point of hashtagging. Within minutes, I receive an overwhelming of negative response from former high school friends, co-workers, and others defending their inappropriate use of hashtagging. I can’t help but laugh. It amazes me that since this acquisition of Instagram connecting to Facebook, has now trained users to incorporate hashtags more often on status updates.

Will Facebook have to integrate linkable hashtags in the future or will us social media gurus just sit behind the computer or our smart phone and smirk every time we see multiple pound signs about #firstworldproblems and #awesomeness?