No Rule to Hash Tags (Sorta)

Ryan    Uncategorized     Hash Tags, Twitter, www.hashtags.org

So I’ve recently been in conversation with Elliott regarding the use of hash tags (#) in Twitter posts. What are they for? What do they do? Is there a strict syntax or rule to using them? In short, and to answer pretty much all of these questions… NO. When it comes to hash tags, I don’t think any kind of rule has, or really, CAN be made. It’s all up to the way you use them.

Hash tags, or number signs, or Pound signals, or (#) can be traced primarily from IRC channels and later, Jaiku channels. (Got that bit of juice from pbwiki.com) Some in the twittersphere use hash tags for aid in Twitter search, while others, for channels or groups, and yet others use hash tags for just telling people how they feel.

Lonely Twitterer

So what does this mean?

While I’ve been looking at hash tags with Elliott, I’ve been wondering if there really is a syntax or optimum time to use these little buggers in your tweets. Conclusion… not really. Though groups, websites, conventions, and other social objects can dictate what they follow or what they want their users to abide by, there is still no universal rule. And because twitter is so current, I don’t really see that changing. As more and more events unravel, and more people begin to create their social profile, set rules and syntax guidelines are going to be as favorable as Facebook telling you what you are advertising for them.. for free.

During the time it took me to write this little blurb, I also stumbled upon www.HashTags.org. If you want a bare bones search engine of whats happening in real time in the twittershpere, check them out. Not only can you see trends, and hot issues, but you can also get a feel for how people are using hash tags in general through the site’s search feature. It searches the hash tags, as well as the posts, and other bits of juicy content! Give it a go! No rules!!

www.HashTags.org

Cool huh? Yeah I know you might not be able to see it real clearly… I’m sorry. Any ways, and moving on, if there is any kind of piece of advice you should get from reading this little blog entry, it is simply… Use hash tags the way you would use H tags in HTML. Haha. You can construe that sentence however you want depending on how ethical you are at SEO. I suppose in my personal preferences… the more ethical the better. It’s content tagging in it’s most organic form (kinda)… people can choose to use/search/abide by them or not. It’s really your call.

Peace

Sitting in a Google Blog Search Session at SMX

Ryan    Uncategorized     Blogsearch, Google, SMX

Chris Pennock – Senior Software Engineer – Speaker

So I wanted to do some live blogging while I was at SMX this year, but as you may have noticed.. notta. This session being on Google Blog Search, however, I couldn’t have found a better opportunity. That being said, Chris is now talking.

“Who uses Blogsearch”? – Somebody looking for more raw or opinionated data.

“How does Blogsearch Work”?

Blog author publishes, Google ges a Ping, Crawl the post, Index, user searches, finds it… takes about 10 minutes. Should I publish now? Sure, why not, stay tuned.

– Saved

High quality content is the most important aspect in Google Blogsearch. Actually, if you think about it, in all search. What am I talking to a bunch of 1st graders? No! I shouldn’t be telling you this. I guess it’s just the only thing I can think of writing at this point. This session is kinda hard to listen to, especially while I’m trying to live blog. Looking up at the PPT now… … I’m too far away. I think there is an image of a Google Blog Search page. Chris is talking about ‘Related Blogs’ now. Whoops now he’s talking about Meme Tracking… what is it?

MeMe Tracking: Part of the page that talks about blogs. How long somethings been going on, … tracking for about a day… …working to updo that… … one thing, similar to Google News, and it is… …no bias between niche blogs, if you have a great post, Meme could pick it up…? …can also look up by topic… …whats going on…

Man this guy is all over the place. Either that or I just am not a good live blogger. I think probably the latter. I’ll stick to Twitter.

– Saved

So yeah, I just wanted to write a new post since it’s been a good long while. Sorry the content kinda sucks. I’m wrapping up day 2 at SMX and like yesterday, I’m running on fumes. Sorta. Actually, I was able to it up Alex Chen at Google in San Francisco for lunch today. Oh My Gosh! I want to work there. Well who doesn’t? So their cafeteria is quite impressive. Couple different ‘hot bars’ with Italian, Asian, etc… sandwich bars, a couple salad bars, dessert bars, and then the view. Man the windows look right on San Francisco Bay and it’s just amazing. I’m sorry I didn’t get any pictures. Let me look at Google Image Search for a possible example….

So yeah I realize this isn’t the view of San Francisco Bay at Google, it is the slide that goes from the 3rd floor to the 2nd! Yeah I know. Apparently this person does not no how to ride a slide correctly, but as Alex mentioned, people can use lunch trays for maximum sliding efficiency. Anyways… best thing I could find in Google Image Search.

– Saved

So Chris is done talking now. Now we’re all trying to get him to open up on what Google sees or uses as an important aspect to blogs… links, comments, titles, etc. Yeah he’s not opening up too much.. “You know, just the normal stuff… tough to get into a lot of detail.” Alright.

“Is Google reader/feedburner a factor?” Answer: “We have lots of data about blogs… we’re data driven.”

“If you get flagged for spam, is there an appeal process?” Answer: “Yes, we will look at it and help”

“How much of a challenge to identity a blog versus a forum versus a website that updates frequently?” Answer: It’s a challenging problem, especially with forums. Can’t talk to much on that.

“If your site if hosting it’s own blog, is there any way to differentiate or block Blogsearch from crawling your blog versus a forum?” Answer: Is that a problem? No.. Okay… Yeah No (I added that one)

Okay I’m sure I’m not the only one writing about Google Blogsearch at the Google Blogsearch Seminar at #smxwest. I’m done, and I’m ready for some food, and sleep… and then flying back home to Phoenix tomorrow! Yay!

Lupin III – Man, That is Some Good Theme Music

Ryan    Uncategorized     Electone, Lupin III

Gosh this song is catchy. I remember watching a few episodes of Lupin back in the day… like weren’t they on the International Channel or something for a while. Didn’t Lupin have a smirky and smart-alecky personality? Still, you can’t beat the awesome theme. It makes me want to learn how to play it on the Yamaha Electone!….

Man I want one of those. Yeah, I know they are pretty funky sounding, but holy kaw. Think of the theme musics and diddly doos you could create with something like that! And you know you’d look totally cool with your feet pumping away at the food pedals, all while you’ve got your two keyboards and total access digital display.

If anyone is selling an Yamaha Electone, please let me know!

Peace