On Twitter, a "hashtag" is a keyword with a "#" sign in front of it. There are millions of Twitter users sending out messages and it's hard to keep track of them all. By tagging a Twitter message with a hashtag it lets other users follow a stream of information is on a single topic.
I'm proposing to use a new hash tag, #hostelchat, for conversations on Twitter that involve things like:
I'm going to invite a lot of travelers and hostels to follow the hashtag and see what happens :)
Benefits for travelers: they can ask their questions about hostels and immediately get replies
Benefits for hostels: they can answer travelers questions, meet travel bloggers, and meet other hostels
How to Use the #hostelchat Hashtag
To view all messages in the virtual "#hostelchat" room, use this page:
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23hostelchat
Or, if you're using software like TweetDeck, CoTweet, Seesmic, or Hootsuite, you can create columns in the software that list only tweets (twitter messages) that contain the #hostelchat hashtag. The best way to use Twitter is with one of those programs...
To send a message into the "hostelchat" stream on Twitter, just put #hostelchat at the end of your Twitter message. Everybody who is following the #hostelchat hashtag will see your message and be able to reply.
If there is interest, we could set up an event where hostel enthusiasts can meet and chat for an hour each week (or month).
See also:
How to Use Twitter
14 years
For people who aren't familiar with Twitter, here is a screenshot of how the columns in TweetDeck work. You just add a custom column to search for the keyword #hostelchat and then it automatically updates you every time someone posts something to twitter with the text "#hostelchat" in it. It works something like a chat room...
Click here for the screenshot.
14 years
For a quick example of how to monitor streams of information on Twitter, check out this free tool:
http://monitter.com/
Type in words into the headers of the 3 columns, e.g., "hostels", "#hostelchat", and the name of your city, like "london"... The columns will then filter the information on Twitter by the keyword that you enter. TweetDeck and the other programs do the same thing, but with more features.
14 years
I think that is a great idea, we will start using #hostelchat to identify hostel related tweets.
14 years
Since I didn't get much response (not many hostels using Twitter regularly... yet :)), I'm wonder if it's better to just use #hostels hashtag for now and save #hostelchat for scheduled chats?
I'm following both #hostels and #hostelchat...
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