It’s amazing to think that Twitter once operated without the use of hashtags, which have become vital to the way Twitter functions. Microbloggers have one man to thank for the introduction of the hashtag, Chris Messina. Chris came up with the idea in August 2007, when he suggested in a tweet that Twitter use hashtags to help organize groups. The idea caught on, and the social networking landscape has never been the same since. Hashtags have become digital shorthand, and are beginning to transcend social media. As Tracy Sefl puts it, “If Twitter is a compression of ideas and a compression of expression, then hashtags are just an extension of that, so of course it bleeds over into other forms of communication, because our time is compressed, our thoughts are compressed and our space is compressed.” To read more about Chris Messina, and the evolution of the hashtag, check out this interesting piece from the New York Times.

A great resource which can help you get the most out of social media can be found in this MA Blog. Market America’s Christian Karasiewicz and Natalia Diaz explain the intricacies and nuances of using social media, and provide a wealth of info that will help you get a better grasp of these concepts. Here you can find a great presentation about social media from the 2011 World Conference, as well as the Social Media Manual – an extremely useful tool. I know that learning new things can often be a challenging task, especially when technology is involved, but knowing how to use social media to leverage your business can change your life. I urge you to check out this great resource, and hope that it helps you get the most out of social media.

Keep Growing

-JR