What’s a hashtag?

What’s a hashtag?

If you tweet "I am watching Mythbusters LOL" tap on that tweet, you will see no blue text meaning there is a link like an URL or similar.

If you tweet "This is the website that was just on Mythbusters www.lolz.com", tap on that tweet and you will see the web address itself is a hyperlink as it does in MS Word.

If you tweet "I am watching #Mythbusters LOL", tap on that tweet, you will see that the word Mythbusters and the preceding hash symbol have turned blue. The hash symbol preceding any combination of letters and numbers will turn those into a kind of hyperlink provided there are no spaces or other punctuation marks (@!"£$%^&*()\<>?:@~}{][#’;,./¬€).

This is called a hashtag. *cue angelic choir*

No, a hashtag.

If you press the hashtag from your (or any tweet containing one) it will then bring up, in chronological order starting with the most recent, all tweets containing that hashtag. That timeline of tweets will mostly be about the same subject. That is also why hashtags tend to be made of words which will define the search better than others.

Imagine if you wanted to do a Google search on ‘Mythbusters television show’ and typed in ‘television show’. That would bring back results on myriad programmes and not the one you wanted. If you typed in ‘Mythbusters television show’ then it would narrow down to relevant results. The same goes for hashtags. If you tweet "I am watching Mythbusters #television show LOL" or "I am watching Mythbusters television #show LOL" your tweets would not be as relevant to the programme as tweeting "I am watching #Mythbusters television show LOL".

Why should I tweet with a hashtag?

To best explain this, remember that Twitter is a social networking site. Though it is not face to face, users are interacting with each other socially through a network. You add a hashtag to your tweet if you want it to be seen by other users who are searching on that hashtag, so you connect with a wider network than just those whom you follow and follow you.

Are hashtags used only for television shows?

No. I have used television as an example but hashtags can be used for anything. If you hashtag something uncommon or spelt incorrectly, your tweet might be the only result in the timeline.
Does a hashtag have to be a single word?

No. It can be any words, any combination of letters and/or numbers up to 139 characters long. Although tweets are up to 140 characters long, if you want your whole tweet to be a hashtag, you need one character for the hash symbol itself.

Can my hashtag contain upper and lowercase letters?

Yes. It can be all lower case, all upper case or a combination of both. Personally I find if you are creating a hashtag out of two or more words, I capitalise the start of each word to make it easier to read each individual word, e.g. #ThisIsAHashtag

I see some television shows are displaying a hashtag on screen at the start of programmes. What’s that about?

Increasingly more and more live transmissions are getting audience feedback and input (such as questions for a guest) via Twitter. By displaying a hashtag on screen, it encourages viewers to use the same hashtag instead of a variety, all of which are perfectly relevant but would mean the show would have to keep refreshing the timeline on several hashtags, and might not capture all the hashtags in use. Of course this does not prevent viewers from ignoring the onscreen prompt but know that the people working on the show probably won’t see what you think about the programme.

There are some pre-recorded programmes which also display a hashtag. Again the people working on the show are probably gaining feedback but the tweets will not have any effect on the programme you are watching at that time.

Some programmes with hashtags displayed on screen

Question Time #BBCQT
Newsnight #Newsnight
Have I Got News For You #BBCHIGNFY (this is an example of the programme makers coming up with a hashtag for its vierwers to use without looking to see if one was already in use, which it was: #HIGNFY, and I noticed during the latest series, both hashtags being used as much as the other)
10 O’Clock Live #10OClockLive

Other unofficial programme hashtags

Top Gear #TopGear
Wonders of the Solar System & Wonders of the Universe #Wonders (this did not appear on screen during the broadcast of Wonders of the Solar System but Professor Brian Cox has tweeted himself that #Wonders is the hashtag for both shows)
Glee #Glee
Something For The Weekend #SFTW (this show asks its viewers to submit questions to the guests by tweeting an @reply to their account @SFTW, without seeming to realise they can get the same by using the unofficial hashtag)
The Big Bang Theory #TBBT
The IT Crowd #TheITCrowd
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding #BigFatGypsyWedding / #BFGW

I recommend trial and error to find out what the common hashtag is for your chosen viewing.

Now I’m watching a live broadcast of Newsnight, what do I get out of putting the #Newsnight hashtag in my tweet?

Press the hashtag in your tweet to bring up the timeline of fellow users tweeting during the duration (or even after) of the show. You can then refresh this by dragging down the timeline the same way you refresh your general timeline. You then get to read what fellow viewers think of the show. It’s like dissecting a programme at the water cooler the next day but without having to wait then find a colleague who has seen the same programme.

Note: This was written using Mythbusters as an example as the person I wrote it for LOVES that programme.

If were Director General

Now where was I? Oh yes. If I were Director General of the BBC. Cuts, cuts, more cuts and cuts. At least for the trash.

For the chop with no opportunity for dispute or appeal (in no particular order)

• Doctor Who (not only would I say goodbye, I would say good riddance, and thank fuck for that) and associated spin-off shows
• Eastenders (I have a Take No Prisoners approach to all kinds of soaps as well as reality TV programming and 'talent' shows. That is not to say the candidates are talentless morons like on such programmes which will not be mentioned here but they are a comparable format and therefore illegal in Sahara Desert Land*.
• Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber audition shows
• Strictly Come Dancing
• Holby Shitty
• Casualty
• Film 2010 (unless the Winkleman can be dispatched and replaced with Mark Kermode). Otherwise, turn it into a show where viewers can tweet in abuse to the Winkleman because she knows shit about films.
• Radio 1 unless it can continue to attract life-time BBC fans to the corporation in much the same way it did to me in my formative years. It needs to dispense, with minimal fuss, with the egos of certain presenters, who shall remain nameless. Said presenters are worthwhile presenters on the station but need to get back to their roots. If it can do this, it will be saved. If not: AXED!

This list is neither exhaustive nor definitive and may be subject to change.

Rebranding (in no particular order)

• Masterchef (any iteration) renamed Mastershout in honour of Sir Terrance of Wogan. If Dave Lamb can be enticed away from Channel 4 for the least amount of munnies he will commentate with Sir Wogan, otherwise the job’s Terry’s, no questions asked. He’s already on contract, y’see.

This list is neither exhaustive nor definitive and may be subject to change.

Saved for Life (in no particular order)

• Mock The Week
• University Challenge
• QI
• Top Gear
• Countryfile
• Something For The Weekend
• Saturday Kitchen
• Cookery shows by Nigella, Delia, Valentine Warner, Anjum Anand, Ching-He Huang, Heston Bloodyhell & Raymond Blanc.
• Shooting Stars
• Never Mind The Buzzcocks
• Have I Got News For You
• I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue
• Question Time
• Newsnight

This list is neither exhaustive nor definitive and may be subject to change.

Recommissioned (in no particular order)

• The Fast Show
• In The Night Garden
• Children of the Sun

This list is neither exhaustive nor definitive and may be subject to change.

Regarding Government interference and attacks on the BBC

David Cameron and his inbred, moneyed, entitled cabal of idiots will be told to fuck off when attempting to interfere with any aspect of the corporation. The same will go for publications which wantonly attack the corporation without just cause. You know who you are. Naughty.

Other stuff

• BBC Bristol will be granted a charter of Never Being Even Threatened With Closure.
• David Attenborough shall be crowned King of BBC Bristol
• The move to Manchester will be scrapped.
• Brian Cox and Jim Al Khalili can each have as many series commissioned as they like.
• Science documentaries in general will be prioritised. Although I don’t have qualifications worth shouting about doesn't mean I don't feel I learn anything from watching such shows. In short: just because I don't have the proof, doesn’t mean I don't understand their content.

*Obligatory Sahara Desert Land Tourism Board Statement

"Visit Sahara Desert Land for apoplexy and soapbox ranting. Fun for all the family!"

You do realise I need to cut costs elsewhere to afford to buy back Mad Men off that thieving, bastard Australian, yes? Good.

Secretarial genius

In case you were all wondering, the launch party went beautifully the other day and raised more money than we had hoped.

Filled with excitement (and lots of coffee – I didn't get to sleep much before 2am Monday morning) and buoyed with ideas I spent Monday and Tuesday drafting letters to thank our donors and to ask local businesses for donations for our next event.

Why do this so soon?

I wanted to capitalise on the good feeling shared by the rest of the committee in then ext meeting to dissect the launch, and get their approval for my letter templates.

However this was not the limit of my planning. As secretary, my main roles are to take and distribute the minutes and organise all correspondence. To this extent I remembered how good it was in the past that Comic Relief had bestowed a personalised certificate of thanks in addition to a letter of the same. This can be displayed more easily than a letter, so why can't my committee do the same?

Some of the committee members are not au fait with MS Word's capabilities (it might have its negatives but it also does many tasks without too much swearing on the user's part). I knocked up a few different variations of a certificate with our logo, borders, watermarks, WordArt et cetera to demonstrate my ideas to the others.

Am I nervous?

Well, I was.

The meeting was last night and I'm extremely pleased as my letters got the okay from everyone. The certificate idea was a completely different matter. Without trying to sound smug, they're a hit!

This means I also have a fight ahead of me. As the certificates have to be signed, it's more efficient to print them pre-signed so later this evening I've got to learn how to use the scanner part of my spangly new printer which is currently sitting dormant in the corner. Then it's just to test out different weights of paper and card (unfortunately we don't have the resources to laminate the certificates) and get the first batch sent off with letters of thanks.

I think I could really get to like this secretarial work. I could have an alter ego, superhero outfit – the works!

Sahara Desert IS Secretary Girl!