The word “hashtag“comes from English”hash” (hash mark) and “tags” (label), and its popularity is linked to Twitterwhere the symbol was introduced as a tool to mark keywords and draw users’ attention to specific topics. Over time, this symbol has become a point of reference in digital communication, thanks to its ability to create connections on topics of common interest.
The history and meaning of the pound sign, the most famous symbol on the web
The pound sign (#), has a much longer history than you might think and a meaning that goes beyond its current use as a hashtag.
The origin of the # symbol can be traced back to medieval Latin world. The sign, in fact, seems to derive from the abbreviation Of “pound weight”, i.e. “pound weight”, a term used to indicate weight in lbs. This abbreviation was made by including a horizontal line across it, so as to prevent the lowercase letter “l” from being confused with the number “1”. Eventually, the symbol was simplified for clarity, superimposing two horizontal “=” lines over two slanted “//” lines. It was then used in various contexts to indicate a unit of measurement (especially in English-speaking countrieswhere “pound” is still abbreviated as “lb” or denoted with #), and began to appear in early printing presses to represent numbers or measurements of weight.
The # symbol is mentioned as “number character” in an accounting manual from 1853 and its double meaning is documented in an 1880 accounting text. In the manual for the Blickensderfer Model 5 typewriter (circa 1896), the symbol is called the “number mark”. At the beginning of the 20th century, US sources refer to it as the “numerical sign” or “pound sign” (used since 1932 to refer to weight in pounds). A 1917 manual clarifies its two uses: “number” (when it precedes a value) and “pounds” (when it follows it).
The symbol appears subsequently on the keyboard from the Remington Standard around 1886, but was not yet included in typography keyboard layouts. Subsequently, it spread with the first teleprinter codes and then in computers, until 1970, the year in which the US telephone company A&T he entered it as a key on the telephone keypad.
Today it is universally recognized as a symbol for identification keywords in social networksbut even before that its uses were disparate. For example, in the world of chessis used to indicate lo checkmatewhile in the telephone keypads it has taken on a functional role in support services, becoming a familiar symbol even for those who are not social media users. The gate therefore has a versatile origin, used for several decades, well before the advent of the internet.
It is on social media, however, that he has found his greatest success. The August 23, 2007, Chris Messina, then manager of Uber, proposed on Twitter to use the “#” symbol to create discussion groups: writing:
“How do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp (msg)?”,
“What do you think about using # for groups? Like in a #publicmeeting”.
The platform itself, however, initially considered his idea of little importance. A few weeks later the first real hashtag was born, #SanDiegoFirefollowing a frightening event fire in California. This idea gained immediate traction, with users starting to associate discussion topics via the hash mark, allowing anyone to follow tweets related to a particular topic. At this point, Twitter developers quickly realized the potential and soon incorporated the function as an official feature of the social network.
Why is the hashtag used?
The reason why the hashtag symbol has spread so widely is its ability to create a reference point virtual. By using a hashtag, users can group related content together and make it easily searchable. A hashtag is, in practice, adigital label which allows people to easily find posts related to common topicsranging from pop culture to real-time events.
The use of hashtags has expanded from Twitter to other platforms. In the 2013Also Facebook introduced support for hashtags, allowing users to index their content by topic, then followed by Instagramwhere their use has become crucial for the visibility of posts. In fact, hashtags offer users a powerful aggregation tool, which allows them to connect discussions and easily follow conversations on topics of interest.
Today, hashtags are an integral part of digital culture. Many use them for marketing campaigns, international events use official hashtags to allow anyone to participate virtually, and social movements use hashtags to raise awareness of issues of global relevance. The same television proposes the use of hashtags during live evenings to allow greater involvement from the public. The original function of the hashtag, therefore, has expanded, becoming a true “global label” that allows topics of common interest to be cataloged and highlighted.
