Hashtags are those eccentric squares with six prongs pointing in all directions. Why do people use hashtags, and why have these symbols, popularly known as pound signs for decades, become so popular?
The History of Hashtags
Most people associate hashtags with social media. These cyber appendages that internet users attach to keywords are here to stay — at least for the foreseeable future.
Metadata tags have been around for a while. Tags were first used in 1988 on a platform known as Internet Relay Chat, or IRC, to group messages, images, content, and videos into categories. The purpose is to allow users to search for hashtags and find content associated with them.
In October 2007, Nate Ridder, a resident of San Diego, California, began tagging his posts with the hashtag #sandiegofire. He wanted to inform people around the world about the ongoing wildfires in the area at the time.
