Wednesday, April 9, 2014

A-Z Challenge H is for #SeekingHashtagHelp

It’s time to participate in the April A-Z Blog Challenge.  I will be blogging every day in April, with Sunday’s off. 
The topic for each day will begin with the designated letter of the alphabet.
Today’s letter is H for #

I do have a Twitter account.  I’ve had it for a few years at least.  I don’t tweet very often.  My blog posts are automatically set up to be posted on twitter.   That is primarily the extent of my activity on Twitter.
I prefer Facebook. Perhaps that is because I find twitter a little confusing.

One of the functions on Twitter that I find confusing is the hashtag.
Reading about the topic on Twitter’s Help page did not do much to help me understand the purpose of using hashtags.

From Twitter’s Help Page:
Hashtag - The # symbol is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users.
Using hashtags to categorize Tweets by keyword:
                People use the hashtag symbol # before a relevant keyword or phrase (no spaces) in their Tweet to categorize those Tweets and help them show more easily in Twitter Search. 
                Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other Tweets marked with that keyword.
                Hashtags can occur anywhere in the Tweet – at the beginning, middle, or end.

Hashtagged words that become very popular are often Trending Topics.

I understand how to use the hashtag if I am searching for something.  However, I don’t understand what I consider to be the overuse of the hashtag.
Does every tweet have to include a hashtag?  I notice #thatisall is used a lot.  So I did a search:


I guess I am just not witty, young and hip enough to #hashtags.


Here is another issue.  When I signed up to participate in the A-Z Challenge,  I “liked” the A-Z Challenge page on Facebook.

Last week a notification was posted on the Facebook page reminding us that a Twitter Chat was scheduled.

The notice included the hashtags #azchat and #atozchallange.  

I thought I might like to participate.  However,  I did not know how to “chat” on Twitter.  I tried to figure it out. 
First, I logged into my Twitter account.  Logically, I thought I probably had to search for either of those hashtagged words.   So I did. 

The following screen displayed:





Then there was a list of tweets apparently sent by A-Z members.  All of the tweets included #atozchallenge. 

There was also a “Follow” button.  I thought that I probably had to follow this account in order to be included in on the chat. I clicked on it and got the this message:

"You have been blocked from following this account at the request of the user.

This is my #dilemma.  How can I #chat if I don’t #knowhow?  Is there someone out there who can #helpme?




Why not check out some of the other 2033 participants in the April 2014 A-Z Blog Challenge.




7 comments:

  1. I don't get Hashtags either; I see them on things and I'm clueless about it all. I think I might have a Twitter account, but I haven't used it in years. Between FB and Blogger and sometimes looking at Pinterest, there are just too many fun things to do with such little time. Maybe one day I'll get more into it :)

    betty

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    1. Hi Betty,
      Yes, I do also, spend just a little too much time in front of a screen. That is because they are fun things.

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  2. I like Twitter better than Facebook. I use hashtags with all of my tweets, usually #amreading #amwriting, #mystery, simple plain English phrases. I do not like to participate in chats however. It feels like having a telephone conversation on a party line (oh, guess I just dated myself there!)
    Gail visiting for AtoZ

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    1. Hi Gail,
      Thanks for stopping by. I have to admit, even though I am not quite hashtag savvy, I am intrigued by how people use them. BTW, I also remember party lines. When I was a young girl, I confess I used to listen in on the conversations of the teenagers down the street. :)

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  3. I don't do twitter or facebook, only my blog. I could probably figure out both but I doubt I'd find the time or have enough to say and I'd ust put hashtags with nothing else on most days....I guess you can't do that thought!.

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    1. Actually, Jen, I think you can probably just hashtag. I am more of a browser on Facebook. I may post something once a day. I view it as a way of documenting some of our life.

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  4. I have only ever been on Twitter one time (when an author I love "tweeted" my review of her webpage) and do not have an account. However, I do have five nieces between the ages of nine and twenty-two who all use "hashtag" in their conversations to sum things up. The funny thing is I don't think any of them spend much time on Twitter (Facebook is another story, of course). It's all over my head. #outoftoucholdcrone ;)

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