Blog Entry #7 Hashtags

 Hashtags are a very prominent but overlooked tool when you think about social media. They do everything from curating the content you want to view to bringing awareness to activism and advertising. If you've been to the movies in the last decade you will have noticed that after every movie trailer there is a hashtag associated with the movie. The #ad is most commonly used to disclose paid sponsorship by an influencer or celebrity to follow FTC guidelines. 

Hashtags are also used to spread awareness and support a cause that you believe in. The #METOO movement is a way that women who were victims of sex crimes share their stories and promote action against those that have harmed them and to prevent more harm in the future. Now that the Me Too movement has gotten so much media coverage, other groups see the usefulness of hashtags to promote their cause.

Personally, I've almost never used hashtags and I've just let social media algorithms curate the content I consume. I don't use Twitter often and although other social media have hashtags there not nearly as well integrated as Twitter. The Twitter format is more of an open forum where people can join in conversations rather than individual posts. This combined with the trending tab makes hashtags better on Twitter. 

Overall I think hashtags are a good thing and add to the social media viewing experience and can even spread awareness for good causes. You don't have to use them if you don't want to, but they can be a great help in finding what you're looking for.