#hashtags #AreAwesome

I'm sure you've seen this video of Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake making fun of hashtags:

And maybe you've seen shirts like this mocking hashtags:

And I too thought they were annoying at first. But truth be told: Hashtags serve an awesome purpose in the Twittersphere!

Think of a hashtag as a label. I compose tweets about literacy mostly - reading workshop, writing workshop, balanced literacy, phonics, etc. So when I use a hashtag in my Tweets, other Twitter users who do not follow me may find me because of the hashtags I choose and include to "label" my tweets.

For example, if I tweet about the different ways to spell the long and short u, and I include #phonics in my Tweet, other users who are interested in phonics might find my tweet and then follow me if they are interested in the content I shared.

If I post about my student bloggers on Instagram and use a hashtag like #edtech or #technologyintheclassroom, or I simply put a hash tag before the word blog or bloggers or blogging, lots of people will be able to find me if they search for blog stuff.

If I am tweeting related to my alma matter, and I use #ASU in the tweet, other users who are interested in information related to ASU would be able to find my Tweet if they search #ASU.

This is exactly how I find new people to follow - I search hash tags related to the content I'm interested in:

#literacycoach

#instructionalcoaching

#coaching

#literacy

#readingworkshop

#families

#publiceducation

And, it's a great way for me to gain followers on Instagram and Twitter.

So, next time you want to mock someone and their hashtags, give them a break - they're probably hoping to build their audience!

and one of the best things: I love the funny people out there making jokes with their hashtags! Check out #herecomesthemonkey for some interesting content!

Happy Thursday!