Over the past few decades technology has improved by leaps and bounds, impacting nearly every aspect of life. As computers and mobile devices continue to evolve, the role technology plays in our lives seems to be increasingly significant. From monitoring the engines in our cars, to helping businesses run more efficiently, technology has permeated and influenced nearly every aspect of human existence. But one aspect that has been tremendously impacted by today’s technology is our ability to communicate with one another. Social media in particular has revolutionized the way we interact with one another, a fact not lost on Apple.

As many of my fellow entrepreneurs begin to use social media to help expand their business and connect with their customers, some will encounter peculiarities that might be confusing at first. One common item you will encounter as you delve deeper into the realm of social networking is the # symbol. The # symbol, which many of you know as the number sign or the pound symbol, is actually known as a hashtag in the digital world. Hashtags are placed in front of keywords to help organize groups or topics. Hashtags make it easier for people to follow conversations, and are used to determine what topics are “trending,” which is another important concept. Trending essentially describes a word or topic that has been tweeted multiple times, i.e. something that is popular. So let’s say its Game 7 of the World Series – the type of topics that you would expect to “trend” well that day would be #baseball or #worldseries. If you tweet something like: “I can’t wait for the #worldseries tonight!” – you would be able to click on #worldseries to see all the other tweets that included that tag – making it easier to connect with those who want to discuss the same topic. Essentially, hashtags help to sort topics, and make them easier to search for.