The humble hashtag: a useful tool for navigating the dizzying social web, or just another layer of visual clutter we’d be better off without?
A New York Times social media editor’s contention that hashtags are “aesthetically damaging” and that tweets without them are “more pleasing to the eye” spawned some playful chatter and discussion from online media watchers Tuesday as they pondered the usefulness of the Twitter-spawned — and oft-overused — prefix:
Hashtags considered #harmfulThe noble hashtag is cursed by a problem Yogi Berra could appreciate: Too many people use it, so no one goes there. Presumably, most Twit…
NYT: Hashtag "aesthetically damaging." WTF? So is italics. <a href="http://t.co/egCdcGlhZ7" class="">niemanlab.org/2013/03/hashta…</a>Jeff Jarvis
Henceforth only to be used sarcastically > Hashtags considered #harmful » Nieman Journalism Lab <a href="http://t.co/76RH9dE4QT" class="">niemanlab.org/2013/03/hashta…</a>Cliff Gerrish
@corybe @jeffsonderman No disputing it can be effective for marketers. Question is if it’s useful for people using the hashtag. Sometimes.Daniel Victor
IMO, they help foster #community. Nothing wrong there. RT @jeffjarvis: NYT: Hashtag "aesthetically damaging." <a href="http://t.co/nlNprODpQh" class="">niemanlab.org/2013/03/hashta…</a>Michael Nathanson
Totally agree with @bydanielvictor analysis of hashtags. They’re useless except in very specific circumstances. <a href="http://t.co/vxDBBxB5wX" class="">niemanlab.org/2013/03/hashta…</a>Megan DeMarco
#Disagree RT @stkonrath: Attract no audience, “are aesthetically damaging": Hashtags…#harmful, by @bydanielvictor <a href="http://t.co/eDGHKL3Wg9" class="">niemanlab.org/2013/03/hashta…</a>Erik Bernstein
Are hashtags harmful? @bydanielvictor raises some great points: <a href="http://t.co/DDIpw9Rz83" class="">bit.ly/XaasFV</a> I tend to skim over tweets bogged down w/ hashtags.Lauran Berta
@StKonrath @bydanielvictor @derekantoine Hashtags are widely used in Canada by social movements to aggregate and coordinate communicationsSuzy Waldman
A spot-on piece about Twitter hashtags: <a href="http://t.co/YFyDhNdLL5" class="">bit.ly/10g3KvF</a> (Hint: Most are useless, and all hashtag-heavy tweets look absurd.)Lyndsey Lewis
TBH I think that these are fair criticisms of #hashtag overuse: <a href="http://t.co/N0OJWtHfpB" class="">niemanlab.org/2013/03/hashta…</a>Richard Nevins
Hashtags also look bad because we associate them with #people who don’t get #twitter & do #this. <a href="http://t.co/jUYA4GhE2y" class="">niemanlab.org/2013/03/hashta…</a> via @bydanielvictorMeghan Frick