It’s one of those “notice me” thingies. It says, “Yo, I’m over here!” It leaves breadcrumbs and helps you pay attention.
No, it’s not a selfie, Rocky Balboa or your Aunt Edna’s rendition of Hansel and Gretel.
It’s the hashtag.
Now, in your parents’ days, they might-a called it “the pound sign” or “the number symbol”.
But technology has changed and brought a vocabulary all its own.
This isn’t your mother’s shorthand any more.
When you’re a creative trying to attract other creatives, it’s almost like a not-so-secret handshake. And once you learn the lingo, it can definitely draw others in.
Most effective on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, a hashtag is simply the internet’s way of highlighting. Let’s say you want people to know you like coffee. So, you type the hashtag symbol and your word or phrase. But there’s one caveat, and it’s very important. You can’t have any spaces or other punctuation. So if you want to highlight coffee, it would read #coffee. But if, for some example, you don’t like coffee (I know, crazy example, but I hear tell there are actually a few of you out there), then you could write #dontlikecoffee.
On the flip side, using a hashtag helps you find what you’re looking for. Now, most search engines will automatically pull up links and files based on the words you type. “Red ruby shoes” is bound to get quite a bit of action. But what if you’re looking for something a little more personal, or relating to a book?
For instance, when the faux bro and I are challenging each other to keep writing, we might add #gameongansky to our tweets. Or when Honeyvibe releases another song, they tag me and add #goodvibes.
Frankly, My Dear . . .: #Hashtag
You can add the word “am” and whatever you’re doing, and search other like-minded people. #amwriting #amediting #amblogging #amsinging #amdrinkingcoffee #ambaking . . . You get the picture.
Here’s another bit o’ honey from the Social Media Bee Zebra: Don’t use too many at once. Twitter is limited to 140 characters total so tell your message and highlight/hashtag one or two points. On Instagram, write your message first, tag your people second, then add all the hashtags you want.
Finally, don’t go crazy making things up too much. Of course you can have fun now and then, but the object is to be found and recognized, yes? For example, here’s a screenshot of one of my favorite IG (Instagram) posts from last week:
Frankly, My Dear . . . #hashtag
#NOLA and #CitySeries are the title of my novel and my series, of course. Everything else helps direct traffic for and from people searching New Orleans and the like. [And also, just for fun, if you click on the IG photo above, you can read the blog post it references!]
Forty-eight hours ago our weather shifted. The California desert went from 93 and sunny to overcast and windy. Thursday brought winds and cooler temps and, now don’t quote me, but I’m almost certain I heard that midnight carnival train in the distance.
Yup. Autumn is almost upon us.
But wait!, you say. It’s technically still summer! And so it is. At least for one more week.
Here are few ways to celebrate the end of the season:
Host a BBQ potluck. Have your friends, family, and neighbors over. They bring the meat, you bring the grill. After all, food is the answer to almost everything.
Stay out late. Okay, in my neck of the we-don’t-have-trees woods, being out after dark isn’t always a barrel of fun. But getting a carload of peeps to go cruising to the local park, sit on a picnic bench and watch the evening stars shoot overhead? That’s some magic right there.
Clean the house. What?! you say. How can that be fun?! Oh, come on. You know that awesome I-can-breathe-better feeling when the clutter is gone. Am I right? So grab a few boxes and bags and organize those closets. Do it now before the holidays fill your schedule and you’re pulling out flip flops where the scarves should be.
Go somewhere fun. Take a short drive to the beach. Walk the sidewalk. Make a day out of running errands. Find a reason to enjoy the sunshine, before there’s less of it to enjoy.
Buy a Pumpkin Spice Latte. ‘Nuff said.
And now I want to hear from you. What are some of the things you do to wind down summer?
So, my girl Paige and I have been coming up with some great, and I mean great class ideas, on the chance we win the lotto and get to open our much-dreamed-about writers’ cafe. Or more likely, work our tails off and earn it. Oh, you don’t know about that? Well, we have plans. And SuperGirl‘s our baker. But all that’s for another post.
One of the class topics I threw out was my love for animal symbolism. I mean, all y’all already know my affinity for bees and frogs and zebras, am I right? Hulloh, annoyingteasingnoticing everyone with my Bee pen at Blue Ridge two years ago? Priceless. And the Dazzling Zebra theme on social media? It’s just fun.
So now I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of the New Inklings Press Media Menagerie. Ladies and Gentlemen (and lions and tigers and bears), I give you Bruce Allen.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Meet Bruce Allen
Bruce has been around for a while. As long as Nippers, actually. I’m a bear collector. For realz. I mean, how could I not be? My dad had to kill a bear to survive when I was a baby. It was in all the papers. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t all that dramatic, but I grew up with this story. He really did shoot a bear. And now the rug is in my cedar chest. [Read: The Bear Rug ~ A Heritage Story.] I still have the teddy bear my mom gave me for Christmas when I was nine months old. So, yup. I’ve been collecting bears since I was born. At last count, I have over a hundred, although most are in storage.
Thankfully, Bruce Allen (B.A. for short) stayed in the house. And he’s turned into a growly great reminder:
He reminds me that it’s okay to forage my way through the forest.
He reminds me that even when I’m not exactly sure what’s coming next, I just need to know whatever I need will be there.
He reminds me to slow down when I need to, give the body a rest.
He also reminds me it’s okay to bare my soul, to expose those vulnerable parts of me or my characters, that my audience can connect with.
And he reminds me to not be afraid to make some noise.
I mean, people and bears. Not always a good mix. Am I right? But B.A., he’s adorbs. Who doesn’t want his cute little mug around saying, “Go for it!”
And here’s another thing. Remember the A-Team? I’m talking the original TV series created by Stephen J. Cannell, (although the movie was pretty decent, too) and the character B.A. Baracas. Now there was a bear of a guy, but at heart, really just a teddy. Yeah. That’s another reason my bear is named B.A. [read: Why I Write. Every Day.] When I was a nobody, Stephen took my inquiry and made it something. He reached out, and through example on social media, helped me gain courage to claim the title Writer. He networked with me before I knew what networking was, and I was lucky enough to meet and talk with him a few months before he passed.
Frankly, My Dear . . .: Meeting Stephen J Cannell
That was really a foraging moment for me. I knew what I wanted and needed, and I found a way to get there and make it happen. He was the first famous person to call me “Molly Jo”. #suchatreasure
So here’s a little video advice from Stephen to every aspiring writer:
And here’s a little more advice from Bruce Allen: Take the word “aspiring” out of your vocabulary. As soon as you’ve put pen to paper or finger to keys, you are a writer. What you do with it, well that’s your journey through the forest.
My question to you is, what does your foraging look like?
