Reflection on Social Media Case 1

I was a little late to the hashtag game. I have only ever used hashtags when I was asked to promote a specific event or activity. Hash-taging is a very effective way to conveniently group information. I think using hashtags can be a really effective way of organizing ideas and groups. Out of interest (and a desire to escape the homework from my other classes) I have explored hashtags on Instagram. It is an easy distraction to try #boxerpuppies or #USUSUMMER.

Hash tags also have the potential to be what seems like pointless. Generic hastags do not make sense to me. #Orwhenpeopleusethemtowriteoutasentencetomakeitfarmorecomplicatedthanitneedstobe.

 The classic con to hashtags can be seen in the McDonalds model. When things don’t go as planned. The internet loves to use hashtags to ridicule people and companies. This Article shows how the #MyNYPD hashtag took on a different angle than its original design. The hashtag was supposed to highlight the achievements of the NYPD but instead the hashtag was used to speak out about police brutality.  The hashtag #ILoveWallgreens was made fun of in a similar way when customers made fun of the company’s use of the hashtag to gain attention.

Another Article   explains the issues that came up when Twitter users altered the meaning behind Vodafone’s #MadeMeSmile hashtag. Users used the tag to “publish tax avoidance allegations directly to the company’s website.” This reaction was definitely what they were expecting. Like the marketing team at McDonalds they were only seeing their own perspective of what the hashtag meant to them. They did not see the other means that were going to be brought to the surface.

More recently hashtags have been used to do more than just mess around. Hashtags have been an important component as a social platform for people to band together. Time Magazine      shared an article about the #metoo movement against sexual assault. This hashtag was a way to share with the world people that had been sexually assaulted and to hear others and tell their stories. Worldwide attention was brought to the movement with millions of people using the hashtag to share their stories. It’s stories like the #metoo hashtag that show us how social media can share ideas and how powerful it can be.

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