Meaning of Hashtag (#) (What is, Concept and Definition)

What is Hashtag (#):

Hashtag refers to the word or series of alphanumeric words or characters preceded by the pad symbol, also called numeral or cat (#), used on certain internet web platforms.It is an English word that we can translate as 'label'.

In this sense, the hashtags are a communication tool used primarily in publications (text, videos, audios, images, etc.) in social networks, to organize, classify or group publications according to their theme or content.

These labels allow to present in a public way, and organized in the timeline, all the contents that have the same label, thus facilitating not only its location, but also the exchange of information or content between different users, on certain topics or events.

In Spanish, it is advisable to use the term 'label' instead of hashtag .Other possible translations, depending on the situation, would be 'category' or 'keyword'.

Characteristics of a hashtag

Sometimes, when a hashtag is used by many users for a certain period of time, it becomes, specifically on Twitter, a Trending Topic , that is, a tendency of the moment.

In the hashtags it is not necessary to distinguish between upper and lower case letters, however, you can take advantage of the use of these to differentiate a Word of another and facilitate its readability, for example: # ElectionsPresidential2016.

The great advantage of hashtags is that give greater visibility to a publication of a social network , allowing other users to more effectively track events or campaigns, news or events.

The hashtags were first popularized in the pl microblogging Twitter, and from there they have been spreading to other platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Google+ or Telegram.

Hashtags popular

Among the users of the different social networks, some hashtags are more frequently used than others that arise from specific events.Among the most popular we can highlight:

• #MCM , which means Man Crush Monday or, in Spanish, 'masculine crush on Monday'.It is used to publish the photo of an attractive boy.
• #WCW , which means Woman Crush Wednesday , that is, `` crush on Wednesday ''.It is used to upload a picture of a beautiful girl.
• #TBT , which means Throwback Thursday , which means going back in time on a Thursday, and refers to the publication of our old photos, especially those remind us of good times.
• #FBF , that s ignites Flashback Friday , it refers to going back in time on a Friday.It also supposes the publication of photos of past times.

See also Label.