#whohasthetimeforhashtags
Does anybody really know what hashtags are or how to use them? Most importantly, do we care?
I’ve always considered myself technologically savvy-ish, welcoming with open arms any new developments especially in the social network arena. First it was email, then chatting with Yahoo and MSN, MySpace afterwards before discovering Facebook, the ultimate social network, now omnipresent, ubiquitous and quite frankly, starting to get on my nerves.
However, try as I might, I just can’t get into Twitter. Sure, I have an account. I have an account on virtually everything that seems remotely connected to social networks. However, other than posting blog entries every time I publish a new one, I don’t see the point of a site where you can only update your status and with a 140-character limit. I am sorry, I can’t work with that.
But let’s assume that you’re ok with being limited on what you have to say; how on earth are you supposed to keep track of the thousands of tweets that come out every minute from the people you follow? I don’t know about you, but I have a job, kids. And a Facebook account. I’d have to quit something just to be on top of those tweets. I guess I could stop working, but I’d hate to live under a bridge. My kids, I kind of like them around. My mom would have a fit if I didn’t write Happy Birthday on her wall every May 27, despite the fact that I call every year to wish it to her in person. So Facebook stays.
Anyway, back to my original question. Hashtags. I vaguely remember reading something about grouping tweets in the same category, but I can see there are also being used in Instagram (I forgot, I also have an account there), and periodically I see them on people’s Facebook updates. So, are they universal or are my friends mainly screwing around? How many tweets are you going to find grouped under #jaiakwithdrawals (jaiak meaning party in Basque)?
Ultimately though, if I really gave a crap about the use of hashtags I would have already made an effort to look up the information on Google and read the Wikipedia article, because no matter how busy you are, you make the time for the things that matter to you, like learning about the distance between planets, texting that cute boy back, hanging out with your friends, and most definitely, writing on your mother’s wall for her birthday.
#mytwocents
