Facebook follows Twitter by adding clickable hashtags

[Jack]

Facebook is adding support for hashtags to help its members keep track of popular topics being discussed on the social network,

Adding the "#" sign to a word will turn it into a clickable link which brings up a feed of what other people are saying about the same topic.

Using hashtags to identify a theme was popularised on the internet by Twitter.

Facebook said it offers a "larger view of what's happening". Experts said it might also aid ad sales.

Other services that support hashtags include Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+, Sina Weibo, LinkedIn and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22882119

 

[Ink]

Source: Why Facebook Hashtags should be called Cashtags

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Facebook wants to "surface" - a word only used to mean "highlight" or "identify" by utter, utter arses - "some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people and topics." By "surface" - *spits* - they mean copy Twitter; trending topics are next on the horizon, followed by Sally Bercow being sued for libel *innocent face*.

It's all about the ads, of course. While hashtags won't contain advertising to begin with, it's too tempting an opportunity for Facebook to pass up - and it's too tempting an opportunity for the spammers to pass up too. If you're sharing your updates publicly, hashtags and trends will be hijacked by spammers and scammers just like they are on Twitter.

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What I've long suspected appears to be true: Facebook isn't a social network but a sociological experiment. The goal? To discover just how annoying a service can become without its users buggering off.