In just a few years hashtags have emerged from their nerdy origins on IRC to become the way we organize the never slowing flood of information and conversation buzzing around the Interwebz. Most sites now recognize hashtags and more and more people understand what they are all about. Sure, I still use hashtags most for Twitter punch-lines and Instagram lolz. But, as time goes on the world of hashtag-ery becomes more and more mainstream. You can’t watch TV these days without a bombardment of networks telling you to use #GLEEfan4lifeyall to discuss the latest episode. This growing understanding of how hashtags work means their purpose has expanded and culturally, they matter. They helped propel the Arab Spring, fight bullying, and take down a warlord (kind of).

As with anything digital, people are constantly finding intriguing new ways to use #hashtags. They are organizing chaos and re-imagining how we collect memories and retell stories.

I was in a wedding last week. It was a whimsical affair with a petting zoo and a bluegrass band. Most in attendance had a smartphone and the majority of those use Instagram. As we started capturing the evening through our omnipresent glowing LCDs we decided to use a hashtag to collect all the photos in one place. #Hathawed was born.

We all watched as a flood of photos slowly painted a picture of the wedding that is impossible for even the best wedding photographer to capture. All the private moments, conversations, and progressively more inebriated shenanigans were thrown together. Our intermingled shots told a story that was personally relevant and covered the night from every angle.

 

Two buddies of mine recently chronicled their 24-hour, balls-to-the-wall trip to Denver (and back) to see the Kickstarter backed Five Iron Frenzy reunion show using #denverandback

 

One of my best friends is currently galavanting across Europe, sharing her train trips and long nights with friends using the tag #Euromon

 

Today, the photos we share are forgotten in an instant. We check in on them from time to time to scope new comments but in reality our digital memories have very little permanence. They are lost in the vapor of timelines, streams and feeds that never slow to allow for reflection. Hashtags help collect the photos that matter and preserve them in a nice, re-mixable package. Services like Storify allow people to collect all these ancillary pieces to recount an event or tell a story. By fleshing out the narrative with relevant videos, images, tweets and links you can create a story infinitely more immersive and enjoyable than any post-event blog recap. People track breaking news, social movements and pop culture milestones with a level of depth and detail never before possible.

Hashtags are the glue that holds it all together. #Awesome