Celebrated on Aug. 23, International Hashtag Day marks the symbol that turned scattered posts into searchable online conversations.
In 2007, designer Chris Messina suggested using # on Twitter to group topics, asking about “#barcamp” for event messages. The idea borrowed from chat channels and was not immediately embraced by Twitter, but users adopted it anyway during conferences, breaking news, jokes and news. Writer Stowe Boyd soon used the term “hash tag,” and Twitter made hashtags clickable and searchable in 2009.
Since then, hashtags have spread across Instagram, TikTok, movements, fandoms and advertising, turning a simple mark into shared digital shorthand across platforms.
– Staff report with AI assist*, The Today 100
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