#Hashtags – Who Would Have Ever Thought About Their Effectiveness? #AtoZChallenge

Today is the “H” Day in the A to Z Challenge – 2016. Let’s discuss hashtags.

Computers and social media have changed our world. Okay, I’ll stop the understatements. Who would have ever thought that our communication would be altered so dramatically in the process?

Twitter was born. Tweets with 140 characters took over our online presence. With that new form of communication the hashtag was invented. For those that are new to this label, a hashtag is the # sign that is used in front of a word. It is treated as a metadata tag to make it easier for users to find content that they are searching for.

The hashtag is vital for those that use social networking and microblogging services. Topics that are of interest to an online user are easily found. Groups with similar interests are easily identified. The infinite world of cyber space can be navigated more simply.

Online users that comment on articles or write blogs or post regularly on the internet can tag a word or group of words and more easily reach out to an audience. Make a point to understand the value of the hashtag. Their use reduces the online world to a manageable entity. Who would have ever dreamed of that concept two decades ago?

James Ross has penned several novels from the Prairie Winds Golf Course setting. The stories are character-based, cross many genres, and have become Kindle favorites. Visit his website for detailed information, reader comments, and contact links.