On August 23, the hashtag turned 10 years old. Before achieving internet fame, it was previously known by most as the pound sign, a symbol used primarily to complete requests on customer service phone calls. But a decade ago, everything changed thanks to an entrepreneur named Chris Messina who was looking for a way to organize conversations among different groups on Twitter.
Even if you’re not that active on social media, it’s likely that hashtags are a part of your life – they’ve worked their way into everything from news articles to our daily slang to, as of 2014, our dictionary. It’s estimated that around 125 million hashtags are shared each day on Twitter alone, with other social networks like Instagram and Facebook adopting them en masse as well.
Hashtags clearly aren’t going anywhere. What can the rise, and continued cultural dominance, of this symbol tell us about where consumers, and brands, are headed?
Not only do hashtags tell us a lot about the brands, news, trends, and pop culture that people care about, the mere usage of this symbol online gives us a deeper picture of evolving consumer priorities and behaviors. As social media continues to grow and play an even larger role in our lives, it’s likely that the next ten years of the hashtag will be as important as the first ten.
Rachel Bonsignore is a Senior Consultant on the Consumer Life team at GfK. She can be reached at rachel.bonsignore@gfk.com.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