Chris Messina, inventor of hashtags leaves Twitter

Following Elon Musk’s decision to remove historical blue badges, Chris Messina, the originator of hashtags, has decided to leave Twitter. Messina explained that he decided to leave Twitter not because his blue tick was withdrawn, but because of how the whole verification process was handled.

“My decision isn’t based on the badge; it’s based on everything that has led up to the badge and how it has been handled.” Twitter deserved more honour and attention than it has received in the previous six months,” Messina remarked while speaking to The Verge. His account has been made private.

In 2007, Messina proposed the usage of hashtags, which allowed users to search for subjects by using the hash sign (#). The action went viral on social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The hashtag allows a user to simply search for a topic and also helps to increase the reach of the post. Twitter now has a separate area that displays hot hashtags in real time.

Why are hashtags so important for our digital lives?
A hashtag is a word or keyword phrase that is put after a hash symbol (#). It can be used within a post on social media platforms to help those who may be interested in a certain topic. People can search for a hashtag to find posts related to it. Hashtags on social media platforms have been an important tool to push interactions.

Messina suggested in 2007 that people can use the # symbol to organise groups. Since then, hashtags have gained popularity on platforms like Twitter and Instagram.On Twitter, there is a dedicated space where people can see what hashtag is trending.

They can further be used to check how many tweets have been posted using a particular hashtag that essentially tells us what is the topic of discussion on the social media platform. Furthermore, hashtags can be used to find top tweets, latest tweets, photos and videos regarding a particular hashtag.

Musk is no fan of hashtags
Twitter CEO Elon Musk has stated in clear terms that he hates hashtags. While replying to an image that had a tweet created by ChatGPT on SpaceX, the tweet had hashtags and Musk replied with a tweet suggesting he doesn’t use hashtags.

Following this, people are speculating if Musk will eventually get rid of hashtags on the platform, or worse yet put it behind a paywall.