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Are hashtags on Facebook actually useful? Will they catch on?

Now that Facebook hashtags, everyone is on board with using hashtags to let users organize content. But is it actually useful? Or is it a spammers paradise?

Nerdery Post: Do Hashtags Make Social Networks Better or Worse?

I think that they can be useful, and I want them to be, but it depends on the users. They work pretty good on Twitter, but I have a feeling Facebook’s users aren’t ready for this.

Most Facebook users don’t understand them and probably won’t use them. Some will abuse them thinking they are being smart marketers when they are really just spamming. Those of us that actually want to use them may find it more annoying than useful.

Plus, at this time, there is no developer API so asking users to tag posts isn’t useful when you can’t pull them back out for use on your own site like you can with Twitter.

I think Facebook’s user base is a much different from Twitter or Tumblr. I think hashtags are a nice addition, but I’m afraid the users are either going to ignore them or spam them.

Only time will tell though. Being the largest social network, it’ll be interesting to see if hashtags actually catch on in Facebook or if they’re just another under-utilized feature.


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