Facebook Finally Gives in to the Hashtag

When it comes to the hashtag, Facebook’s closest rival, Twitter, was its first adopter. Or rather, one Twitter user going by the name of Chris Messina, who introduced it in 2007 – only for the very site’s creators to catch on. Hashtags are a great way to follow trending topics of interest and hop on relevant discussion bandwagons. Going by the sign ‘#’, IT IS finally on Facebook!

As the leader in the social networking world with some 655 million active users, the irony is that Facebook has been the slowest in adopting the hashtag feature. Besides Twitter… Google+, Pinterest and Tumblr have all made headway long before Facebook. The use of hashtags has also proved a hit with sister photo counterpart, Instagram. It was only a matter of time. Well, as they always say, better late than never. Although not the most inventive of the never-ending gamut of features introduced on the social networking giant’s interface, it’s probably the most useful, at least in a long time to come. Your ‘Wall’, once a sharing gateway to closed family and friends, is now your “IN” into what would be the world’s largest public forum. Today, when you click on a hashtag or do a search on Facebook, you will be able see a feed of what other people and pages are saying about a particular topic or event. Just when you thought you have Facebook figured, the curtains have come down on another stage. Happy ‘#-ing’!’