We know that people use # tags to popularize their writings.
# is used more in Twitter.
Now the word ‘#” (in fact it is a symbol) has been nominated as The Word of the Year by American Dialect Society.
Or is this a stunt to improve Hits?
“Every year, the American Dialect Society nominates and then votes on a word of the year, and for 2012 it’s “hashtag.” It beat out other nominated words like “YOLO,” “Fiscal cliff,” and “Gangnam style.” The ADS’ chair of the New Words Committee, Ben Zimmer, said that the word was a “ubiquitous phenomenon in online talk” in 2012. He’s not wrong, the term broke out from its origins on Twitter to more common usage, culminating inNewsweek’s last ever print cover. Zimmer added that “hashtag could sometimes be heard in oral use introducing a snappy metacommentary on what had just been said.”
The ADS promotes its word of the year over others by dint of its academic members and lack of commercial interests. In years past, “Occupy,” “App,” and “Plutoed” have all taken the honor — so there’s no promise that “Hashtag” will have real staying power. If nothing else, the award for the word “Hashtag” could offer some future consolation to the baby that was reportedly named “Hashtag.
http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/5/3840210/hashtag-word-of-the-year-american-dialect-society
Related:
Baby Named Hash Tag!
The mother reportedly posted a photo of her sleeping baby girl on Facebook with the caption: “Hashtag Jameson was born at 10 oclock last nite. She weys 8pounds and i luv her so much!!!!!”
On Twitter, people use hashtags (or the # symbol) to mark keywords and trending topics. They range from the general – people might add #obama to Twitter posts about the president – to the quirky and esoteric – such as #broncobamma from the finals weeks of the 2012 election.
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