Tag: hashtag

From fashion trends to global events, the hashtag (#) has become the conspicuous symbol of the Twittersphere. What only a decade ago denoted a numerical symbol of no special significance or attribution is now a call to arms for causes that are many and varied. Capturing a broad spectrum of the public’s preoccupations with popular culture, social exclusion, relief efforts following natural disasters or political conflict, the hashtag, as some have argued, has allowed for the efficient emergence of “certain types of communities and ad hoc publics forming and responding quickly to particular events and topical issues”. Read more: #MeToo has arrived in India, and it's changing how technology is used to fight injustice Social activism Social network users are now in the business of political and social activism, triggering a fundamental rethinking of our duties and obligations to fellow citizens and strangers alike. Given that, globally, 335m Twitter users post 500m tweets a day and 80% of those reach mobile phones carried by an average user aged between 18 and 49, the potential is enormous. And so the humble “#” is now powerful enough to infiltrate social media networks and launch grassroots campaigns against state and non-state actors alike. The “#” is now a salient symbol of free speech and has revolutionised political activity in new and profound ways. But Arthur Miller’s dramatisation of the Salem witch trials, The Crucible, remains relevant in this internet age. As market demand and public appetite for novelty grows, we must consider how new technologies could allow interest groups and organisations to harness and manipulate information for their own “righteous cause”, and how the “#” can act as a key indexing tool for such abuses. For while the revolutions of our age will likely still be televised, they certainly will be live Tweeted and hashtagged.

There are lot of hashtags out there on Twitter. I try to explain what they all mean. #PCPEU (Pro-Corbyn, Pro-EU): You don’t understand how politics works. #FBPE (Follow Back, Pro-European): You don’t understand how politics works, and also you’re rude to waiters. #WATON (We Are The Opposition Now): You really don’t understand how politics works, but you have founded your own university. #ABTV (Anti-Brexit Tactical Voting): You should join the Liberal Democrats, but you won’t. #RJCOB (Respect Jeremy Corbyn On Brexit): You have outsourced your critical thinking to a third party, but you are proud of it for some reason. #GetAGripBoris: You are a Labour supporter who has experienced a delay of two minutes or more on London transport between 2008 and 2016. #NightMayor: You are a Conservative who has who has experienced a delay of two minutes or more on London transport after May 2016. #SameOldLabour: You unironically refer to the government of Tony Blair as “socialist”.