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# A decade of #hashtagging
- URL: https://onemanandhisblog.com/2017/08/hashtag-ten-years/
- Published: 2017-08-23T20:58:05.000Z
- Updated: 2017-08-24T21:26:50.000Z
- Author: Adam Tinworth
- Tags: hashtags, X (Twitter)

A decade ago, the hashtag (as we know it) was born with a single tweet:

> how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in [#barcamp](https://twitter.com/hashtag/barcamp?src=hash&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) \[msg\]?
> 
> — ⌗ChrisMessina (@chrismessina) [August 23, 2007](https://twitter.com/chrismessina/status/223115412?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)

What’s interesting is that the discussion had actually started earlier than that, with Messina pitching the idea to the early Twitter team directly, as [Biz Stone blogged today](https://blog.twitter.com/official/en%5Fus/topics/product/2017/the-hashtag-at-ten-years-young.html?ref=onemanandhisblog.com):

> His proposal was simple, useful, and fun—just like Twitter. Because brevity is essential on Twitter, he suggested using the “pound” or “hash” character common on phones (this was pre-iPhone) to create groups of related Tweets. It was an undeniably elegant proposal, but I really needed to get back to work. I turned back to my computer screen to help get Twitter back up and running, hurriedly ending the conversation with a sarcastic, “Sure, we’ll get right on that.”

It took them a few years to actually “get right on that” and integrate it into the service formally.

Messina himself has bloomed about what [his creation has meant to him](https://medium.com/chris-messina/hashtag10-8e114c382b06?ref=onemanandhisblog.com):

> A hashtag is not a place and is not property (despite some ill-advised attempts to introduce controls on participation and use of certain tags). The lifespan of a hashtag lasts only as long as people animate it with their attention and contributions. Hashtags that no longer inspire participation gradually fade from the collective consciousness. This is a good and natural thing.

A few people need to be reminded that you can’t own a hashtag…