I got your #hashtag right here!

If you don’t know what a hashtag is, don’t feel bad, you are not alone. “A hashtag is a type of metadata tag used on social networks such as Twitter and other microblogging services, allowing users to apply dynamic, user-generated tagging which makes it possible for others to easily find messages with a specific theme or content,” according to Wikipedia. Excuse me? My online dictionary breaks it down more simply by defining the hashtag as: “A word or phrase preceded by a hash sign (#) used on social media websites to identify messages on a specific topic.”

It’s all still relatively new, in the grand scheme of things. Remember Myspace? I thought the grandfather of social media sites was long defunct, but according to www.lifewire.com is still limping along, looking for a way to “get back on top” to where it all started in 2005, when the site was “reportedly responsible for nearly 80 percent of all traffic related to social networking sites,” and a hashtag (#) still symbolized the word pound. Nowadays, we’re inundated with newfangled words and phrases associated with social media, whether we’re online or not, and I interact with Facebook and Twitter like a pro, but I hadn’t yet ventured to the Insta-world when The River Reporter’s graphic designer Amanda Reed told me I had to get an Instagram account. “I mean, you know, IMHO,” she said with a wink. “Facebook is for kids, and let’s face it,” she continued, “you’re not a kid anymore!” Reluctantly, I agreed, and three days in, I’m seeing the hashtag, (which according to www.hashtags.org, I kid you not, first made an appearance in 2007) everywhere.

“Join us for our fourth #Winterfest,” I read online last week, “a great way to get out and enjoy winter in the #Catskills,” the online flyer read. “We’ll have our ice carvers from #Stumpdevils back plus live music featuring #hillbillyparade and #sunseteastmusic after 4 p.m.” Promising family fun and a #bonfire, Winterfest would include activities, live entertainment, food and hot cocoa, along with plenty of (duh) beer. I had a great time last year at #roscoebeercompany and asked a pal to come with. “I don’t drink beer at all,” I told her, “and had a blast regardless—let’s go!” Clicking the new Instagram app on my phone, I noted the hashtags for #RoscoeNY, #TroutTown and #Catskills, of course, and “checked in,” informing the world at large that #Dharmathewonderdog would be making an appearance at #Winterfest.