The hash tag, also known as ‘#’, as used in
this context, is an invention of the social media hub ‘twitter’. And that, on
twitter, is where it should remain. Too often do I see the (overused) #lad, #LOL,
#OMG, #hashtagsarethebaneofmylife. Well, perhaps that last one is not used all
that often, but nonetheless my point stands! Hash tags were invented as an accessory
for twitter, something that made twitter different to other sites. Therefore,
and please correct me if I am wrong, (don’t, not that you would be able to,
anyway), is it not a fair request to ask that hash tags remain on twitter, in
their natural environment? Something like the hash tag should be endemic, not pandemic!
I wonder to myself what exactly people are
trying to achieve by using hash tags outside of the ‘twittersphere’. On twitter
the use is fairly clear: it is a way of organising the various topic threads that
can be created on twitter, an aim I am happy to support. However, when used
during instant messaging, for example, I see not the point. To be more than
frank, if someone is trying to express an emotion, as #’s seem to be used for
now-a-days (#LOL, #OMG, etc.), or hoping to describe something or someone,
which again was not the original function of the ‘#’ (#lad, #hero, etc.), they
can, alternatively, pull their thumb out of their @$$, as some might say,
and type the full sentence. The English language has already been deteriorated
by text talk (something I may cover in a future essay), social media sites, television
and the Americans (something I will
cover in a future essay), that it angers me to see, or read, as it may be, someone
trying to justify the use of a hash tag in a perfectly rational, up until that
point, conversation. Gone are the days when people would speak directly and uninterrupted
by keyboard symbols which really have no business lurking around a face to face
conversation. Which brings me rather nicely onto my next point (although connected with the former): it is already ridiculous that people use ‘#’ in instant
messages, but I do not think that anyone can justify, not even myself if I so
wished (which I certainly do not), their use in real
life, real time conversation! How on earth can you say to me, ‘I drank half a
pint without vomiting, hash tag lad, hash tag beer, hash tag crazy night out’
without expecting me to respond with a rather swift, ‘hash tag f off with your
hash tags you uneducated pleb’? The short answer: you can’t. Now, for all of you out there who have not been able to understand exactly what I am trying to say, for whatever reason that may be (perhaps due to lack of hash tags…), I will simplify it for you – that’s right, for you, because I am such a gentleman: anyone caught using a ‘#’ on anything other than twitter will have their trousers filled with fire ants. A bit odd, you may think, but here is my reasoning: if you can take a ‘#’ out of its natural environment, why can’t I do the same with poisonous ants? #LOL…
