Twitter Hash Tags Leave Me A Liitle Confused :-(

[Nightwing]

Good Afternoon from 9 degrees C wetherby UK

I'm trying to get a better understanding of how search results are retrieved in Twitter. Take this scanario for instance. Via twitter search (see screen grab for illustration [IMG]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc53/zymurgy_bucket/hash-tag-query.jpg[/IMG] ) you enter Vintage Clothing. The results
show tweets where some have #Vintage #clothing in the text whilst others just have the term vintage clothing in the tweet.

So my question is please... "If your client asks how do i get my tweets picked up by searchers looking for vintage clothing should i ad hash tags or not bother and just mention the term in the tweek"

Put another way, why do some tweeters hash tag a key pharse and place term in the snippet. I'm, a bit confused...

[IMG]http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc53/zymurgy_bucket/confused.jpg[/IMG]

[Jinx14678]

Hi,

Hashtags are just trends, or groups of Tweets/Posts that are all lumped together due to a trending topic or event.

Lets take a currently trending item

#StupidThingsPeopleDo

So what a business might do is find a way to insert themselves in a funny and witty way.

**Disclaimer the following example may be neither funny nor witty, but it is just an example

A Skate shop might do something like...

The #StupidThingsPeopleDo when skateboarding {link to video hosted on your site of skateboarding accidents]

That was probably a pretty weak example, but it is the way businesses can capitalize on trends, but only if done in a genuine way and not just throwing in a a semi relevant trending hashtag.

A good way to look at it is possibly categories of a blog, the hashtag is the category tag, but it references the entire twtterverse, instead of just referencing your blog.

In your exact example of Vintage, I would suggest the including of the hashtag vintage when it makes since

Sale today on 70's #vintage clothing click for details (link)

This also is kind of a weak example, but it is Friday, and out of Ideas....

Hope this helps a little

w00t!

[Nightwing]

Thanks Shane great example. But i wonder who creates the hash tag? I mean could i just pluck one out of the air now like #flashphotography and begin to use it and after time it begins to be used a bit like a new word in natural language.

I'm feeling chicken and the egg syndrome with a large dollop of confusion

[Jinx14678]

You can create it, but it is better to use a currently trending one unless you have access to a very authoritative twitter account.

If you have an event or conference then yes you would need to register it, other than that I would just watch the trends with ideas in pocket with a few different scenarios of good content you have to distribute.