The Evolution Of The Hashtag – Mashable India

The first time I came across the hash key was as a child when I saw it on a landline. It was sitting right there, at the bottom corner of the keypad, and it remained unused for as long as I can remember.

The era of mobile phones brought with it the use of the hash key. Remember the code on recharge coupons that you had to enter into your phone to get the recharge done? We always had to use the hash key for the same. The hash key was now being used but still not enough to really make a difference.

The hashtag has been there since the time of the Romans. It was an abbreviation for pound in weight and then, the Englishmen modified the abbreviation a bit and it looks much closer to the hashtag that we see today.

The rise of the hashtag, as we know it, comes with the rise of various social media platforms. Chriss Messina, a technologist and product designer introduced the hashtag for the very first time on Twitter but Twitter didnt really buy it. Then, in 2007, there was a wildfire in San Diego and Chris saw his friend tweeting constant updates about the wildfire. Chris had an idea and he asked his friend to use the hashtag for all of his tweets on the raging fire. Upon using the hashtag, people on social media started posting about the San Diego wildfire with the hashtag and the hashtag became an overnight star!

Watch the video below to find out the evolution of the hashtag.

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The Evolution Of The Hashtag - Mashable India