Any Twitterati about? We need your advice about hashtags

[GeraldineMumsnet]

So we're twotting away happily, but need hashtag help.

Jury seems to be bit divided on their worth, but if you do use them what makes a good hashtag?

It's almost too hot to think in the Towers, so any lucid thoughts gratefully received.

What on earth is a "hashtag"?

A new style of handbag?
Something lovely to eat, like risotto?
A new face-cream?

I still don't understand what hashtags are/are for, despite being a Twitterer, so will follow this thread with much interest!

I don't use them tbh. Twitter search is fairly good anyway. For top level stuff that's towards the top of the Twitter trends I might consider using the relevant hashtag that's popular - just make sure you do use the relevant tag and aren't naughty like Habitat!

Well a hashtag is a keyword so for example #musicmonday is trending because twt.fm have music monday

So if you were tweeting about breastfeeding you could write look at our thread on #breastfeeding [tinyurl link]

MoM - I still don't understand! Why, if I was tweeting about breastfeeding, would I use a hashtag? And what would happen? You can't click on them, can you? It's not like a link is it?

have a looky here

Some twitter clients make use of the hashtags and you can click on them just like a link (all they do though is access twitter search on that search term).

they are only clickable if they are in the top 10 trending topics. if they are just in a tweet they are not links

MoM - brilliant! And a great name for a site as well!

MoM - not true. I use Tweetie and I can click through any hash tag.

Thank you, twitter-literate people

Pointless fact - one of my cats is called Tweetie!

(Guess what the other one is called?!)

lol! not twitter literate (Twitterate?) but had googled the same thing myself a couple of weeks ago

sylvester?

I just search for a term, and if it has been # then you find the list of irrelevant things.

But seriously Geraldine... twotting?!?! You would be tweeting

I am intrigued who was bored enough to be doing the lying game on there the other day

Our juvenile name for tweeting . More than my job's worth to reveal who was doing the lying game

That'll be me then, TheFool!

Lol no BIWI - MNTowers were doing it!!

I have been playing too, but have a 2 second attention span. (trying to remember who you are on my twitter... fairly sure I have you - were you having issues with Noel Fielding?)

Yes I was.

I didn't see MNHQ doing the lying game - but I am very sad because I was really pleased that my two truths and a lie caught everyone out!

(Who are you on Twitter, btw?)

Tis Flamesparrow

what is this 2 truths and a lie thing? i keep getting sent them

just guess/know which is the lie out of 3 things. tis like the pointless facebook games

You see, all this name changing does get very confusing!!!

MoM - you post 3 'facts' about yourself, one of which is a lie, and then this gets sent to all your followers and they have to decide which one is a lie.

Click on the link and it will become apparent!

Lol sorry - I tend to assume people magically know who I am

oooh i don't have time to MN, FB, play FB games, Tweet AND play twitter games