What Are Hashtags ("#" Symbols)?
Definition: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.
See Twitter help center
Now which are the most popular Twitter hashtags for the translation industry?
#translation is a great place to start.
Also in popular use is
#xl8 – the ‘x’ meaning ‘trans’ and the l8 forming the ‘txt spk’ ending (as in gr8 (great) or m8 (mate)).
#t9n is also well-used. Diverting from txt spk this time, it’s just a shortened version of translation. The 9 represents the number of letters omitted. After all, that Twitter ‘real estate’ is incredibly important!
In the same shortened vein,
#l10n and
#g11n will also crop up, meaning localization and globalization respectively. And let’s not forget about #i18n for internationalization purposes.
Other obvious hashtags are
#language,
#linguistics and
#languages, while #W3C will keep you up to date with the World Wide Web Consortium’s multilingual web project.
Relevant hashtags can also be used together to find even more specific content. #language and #careers in the same search, for example, will bring up any job-related Tweets. Anything is possible!
Using hashtags based around events can also be a very powerful way for those in the translation industry to use Twitter. They allow you to see quickly who is at an event, and keep you up-to-date with any last-minute changes, meet-ups or cancellations. Earlier in the year saw the first EU Digital Agenda Assembly, and subsequent discussions could be found under the hashtag #daa11eu.
Check the website for your event’s relevant hashtag before you head out to a conference, seminar or expo.
And if you’re not sure on whether to use a particular hashtag, you can check the popularity of a tag on
www.hashtags.org.
Source Lingo24 Blog