A very good application of the hashtag is in following events or workshops. A weight loss coach could announce a seminar or webinar and request that all those responding add a hashtag to their posts. In this way all responses are effectively 'labelled' and thus searchable. Other users have thrown online Twitter parties by issuing invitations with a hashtag (eg #slimfocus) for everyone interested to get together online at a set time and discuss a particular topic or to share experiences.

How to use it

 
Looking to start a topic? First create your hashtag. Think of an appropriate keyword to flag the content of your tweet. (for example, #weightloss). Keep is short – remember the 140 character limit - and try for something a little different to distinguish it from other hashtags on similar subjects.

Looking to follow a topic? Search for conversations that interest you. Go to Twitter's search function and enter the relevant keyword such as #weightloss #diet or #slimming and there you will see the all the tweets containing that particular hashtag. Twitter updates with hashtags are indexed at Hashtags.org

Looking to connect with others? Then head for a hot trending topic of interest and join in the conversation. Either scroll through the trending topics listed on your Twitter profile page or head to Whatthetrend.com where you will not only be presented with a list of currently trending topics but will also find a quick overview of why it's trending – what all the fuss is actually about.

You can also opt to subscribe to the RSS feed for your favourite tagged Twitter updates which will automatically send them to your news reader (such as Google Reader).

Any downside?

As with any exciting online development the potential for abuse always exists. The main problem emerging on Twitter seems to concern tweet overtagging; hashtag etiquette is still in its infancy so don't irritate users by peppering your tweets with tags – as a basic rule of thumb three tags in one update is probably too much and before deciding to hashtag your update ask yourself if it's really necessary – would tagging help to clarify your comment? To illustrate let's look at the following tweets:

@slimfocus great advice
@slimfocus great advice #weightlossseminar

In this instance the use of the hashtag informs users that the update relates to advice given at a seminar and thus is a helpful addition. The first tweet is pretty unclear as a stand alone comment.

Happy Tweeting.

Twitter Yourself Slim part 1