Neonjade

#hashtags are handy and potentially powerful tools, when assigned purposefully. Precede any word in your Twitter post with a hashmark, “#”, and you are entering a search term that can be used as a group channel, or data filter, in searches.

Say you are following 2,000 people that have your Twitter page scrolling night and day. Also say that ten of your Twitter friends are coordinating a media party for your latest book launch. You request that everyone use #titleofyourbook in announcing milestones for the effort. Posts like, “William Shakespeare attending the launch! #titleofyourbook,” and “Butter locked in for the venue! #titleofyourbook,” start flying.

Now, when you enter #titleofyourbook into Twitter’s search function, your page populates with only those tweets that contain your assigned #hashtag. Encourage all guests to use that #hashtag and you might get some bonus buzz from Twitter trending term results. Continue to use that #hashtag for every event and announcement for that book, and you will also have an instant historical record of what happened, when, over its lifetime.

There are as many ways of approaching #hashtags in Twitter as there are filing methods. Following are a few ideas to help writers start employing them.

• Defined collaborative efforts and working groups, i.e., “#ptaproposal”, “#crimsonediting.”
• Users channel. “#amwriting” is a group of writers started by @johannaharness as a water cooler area to give and receive motivation and encouragement from fellow writers as they work.
• Reaching a broader audience while providing targeted search terms. #horror and #novel are general terms that could be used to tag a post. When searching, terms used in combination require both terms to be found; for more precise filtering. Would you believe there were no hits on this combination and only 4 hits on #horror #book as of this writing? Plenty of #horror #movie combos…
• Events, from a small town homecoming, i.e., #lchstn09, to world events, such as the #iranelection. Journalists and bloggers can tag updates, creating streaming news channels.

Considerations to ponder in selecting #hashtags:

• Prior to determining your post’s #hashtag(s), always search to see what terms are being or not being used, and how they are being used. If you are trying to create a channel for a small working group of bloggers, you don’t want to choose a general #hashtag like #bloggers. You would never find your posts amid the search results! Also, #cheeseheads might mean a Wisconsin football fan to you, but search results may include conversations between cheese lovers, who are not your target audience. #packers would be the #hashtag of choice in this instance.
• When you start getting the #hashtag bug, restrain yourself from applying every possible connotation associated with your post. General terms may be handy in signing up for directory services, such as http://wefollow.com/, but they clutter up a Twitter post to no good purpose. Example: “The #book I’m #reading now is a #novel by Dan Brown #danbrown” All the hash marks make the post harder to read, and the only useful tag in that entire post is #danbrown. “The book I’m reading now is The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown #danbrown” is much more informative, targeted, and easy to read.
• Many Twitter “friend finders” use the #hastags you post to determine what you talk about most. They then recommend you to tweeps based those #hashtags, so make sure you are using ones that you want to be associated with the most.

Some writer #hastags being used to talk about and find each other:

• #articles
• #author
• #blogging
• #book
• #copywriting
• #fiction
• #journalist
• #nonfiction
• #publishing
• #scifi / #SF
• #shortstory / #shrt
• #truecrime
• #weblit
• #writer

Writer Chat #hashtags

#amwriting
“virtual watercooler” for all types of writers
Ongoing daily
Hosts: @amylundebrek and @johannaharness
More Info

#blogchat
9p to 10pm ET on Sundays – hosted topic based chat – bettering your blog
Host: @MackCollier
Mack’s site – #blogchat info sprinkled throughout.

#kidlitchat
9p ET on Tuesdays – hosted topic based chat
Hosts: @gregpincus / @BonnieAdamson
More Info

#journchat
8p to 10p ET on Mondays for interviews regarding PR, blogging and journalism industries / Ongoing daily for interaction with media folks
Host: @PRsarahevans
More Info

#writechat
3p to 6p EST Sundays on-topic writers’ chat / Ongoing daily for interaction
Host: @WritingSpirit
More Info

#writegoal / #editgoal
Ongoing daily – post your goals for the day here

Some existing Twitter #hashtags being used by writers to announce new content being published with online content providers.

#ac
Writers posting new content at Associated Content

#examiner
Writers posting new content at The Examiner