Facebook Introduces Hashtags

In a sign that the company could be changing direction, Facebook announced that it will introduce clickable hashtags on the site. Most other social sites such as Twitter (the originator), Tumblr, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram have incorporated hashtags already. On the surface this may not seem to be such a big deal, but there's more to this announcement than meets the eye.

Up until now Facebook was all about the friends you know electronically banding together to share insights on their lives. It was intimate, and kept that way by the fact that in order to friend someone, both party's had to agree to it. Want to cut someone out of your Facebook life? Just unfriend him. Want to narrow the list of who could see certain posts? Put them on a list.

Hashtags change that dynamic by making whatever you post a broadcast to the world where someone can find your topic with the click of the keyword that your hashtag uses. This means that the emphasis of the network is gravitating more towards public conversation and interaction than private, a change that many already disgruntled Facebook users may not embrace.

It will be interesting to see if this leads to those disenchanted with FB to find another service. The only one that's presenting much of a challenge at the moment is Google+, and even though it also incorporates hashtags, it also provides more personal intercommunication with its Circles feature.

Facebook keeps on adapting, which you have to admire them for, but as far as many users are concerned, it's not always for the better. It still remains the 800 pound gorilla of social networking with over a billion active users, so the company isn't always be wrong. We'll see how hashtags play out in the coming months.

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