Using Twitter: An Example Using Hashtags and a Widget

You probably have heard about "hashtags." It is pretty common for people to make fun of them because of how often people use (or misuse) them.  Do you know what their purpose is?

In Twitter, if you have an account, you can go to your account and do a search on a specific hashtag, and will then see those tweets that use the tag.    Another useful way this can work is that in Twitter you can create a "widget" (a window) that will show just those things on which you have searched.   So, for example, I have been using the hashtag  #socbdl on any tweet I share that has to do with sociology. Then, if I (or anyone else) does a search on that hashtag, they see just those specific tweets.    You can also do this kind of search based on usernames as well. So for example if you did a search on @bdl08, you would see all of my tweets, or any tweets that mention me.  You can also, then, create a widget that does this for you-- which you can then cut-and-paste into a webpage or an email.  

Below is such a window. It is live. Any time I (or anyone else) posts a sociology tweet with the hashtag #socbdl, it will quickly show up in that window.  Try it, if you have a twitter account.  Tell us if you use hashtags this way yourself. 




#socbdl Tweets