whats the # used for when using Twitter. i only know what the @ is for?

[Manderrzzz]

[Gina R]

When you place the # sign before a word, it is called a "hashtag". It is a type of web tag that provides a way to group certain tweets into specific categories, making it simpler to search for and find tweets on a given topic.

Some tweeters think it is fine to simply make any word in your tweet into a hashtag by adding the # sign in front of it. Others think you should list your hashtags at the very end of your tweet. Regardless of where you place it, if you use a hashtag in your tweet and you have a public profile, anyone searching on that hashtag can find your tweet.

While hashtags are not really an "official" Twitter standard, they have become commonplace and many people find them useful. I suspect that they may be made "official" in the future because of how well this tagging method has caught on so far.

For additional information on hashtags in Twitter, see the link below.

Happy tweeting!