In the era of the internet and social media, the term "hashtag" has become a part of everyday language. At first glance, the simple # symbol hides a whole new culture of communication. How did it originate? Why did this symbol become so popular worldwide?
A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by the # symbol (hash, pound sign). For example: #music, #Uzbekistan, #WorldCup. This symbol is used online to categorize, group, and easily search for content.
The concept of hashtags first appeared in 2007. A user of the Twitter social network (now X), Chris Messina, posted the following tweet on August 23, 2007:
"how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp?"
This is considered the first hashtag in history. Messina formally proposed the hashtag feature to Twitter’s management, but they were skeptical. However, users quickly adopted the practice in their communication.
In 2009, hashtags became an official Twitter feature. Since then:
- Instagram (2010)
- Facebook (2013)
- TikTok and other platforms also started using hashtags.
Social and political movements like #IranElection (2010), #ArabSpring (2011), and #BlackLivesMatter (2014) turned hashtags into global spaces for discussion.
Interesting facts:
1. The most popular hashtag on Instagram is #love, used in billions of posts.
2. In China, on the Weibo platform, hashtags are written as #话题#, enclosed in # symbols on both sides.
3. Twitter publishes an annual ranking of the most used hashtags. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!
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