Tag, You're It!

Can I just say, that coming up with the titles for my blogs posts is one of my favorite things about it? I love puns anyway, so it's like an extra little challenge for me each time!

Obviously from the title, I want to address tags in this post. I started this thought over on the discussion board and I think that it's something that I never really thought about until actually thinking about it - hope that made sense. From my time on the internet, both as a producer and a consumer, I have realized that tags are enormously helpful but are just as equally harmful as well. When I first joined Twitter, hashtags were parts of your tweets that were funny. I don't think that I ever really used them for what they were intended for, which was to find similar tweets. Then Facebook started allowing clickable hashtags for similar reasons, to find like-minded posts. And Instagram had them as well. Again, I never used them for what they were for. I was never, and still am not, a person who uses 100 hashtags on their posts on Instagram. One, because I'm not patient enough to sit there and think of that many, but two because I never needed that type of interaction on my posts. Here's where I think that they are helpful and harmful:

Like I said on the discussion board, I think that tags are helpful in a sense that they can provide an alternative source of information for learners who want to explore other sources rather than library articles and Google scholar. However, I also pointed out that I think tags could be misleading and would take more time to sort through ALL of the things associated with it, because users don't always use the tags the way they are supposed to be used.

All this to say, what are your thoughts on tags? Do you like them? Do you use them? Are you a 100 hashtagger on Instagram? Let me know in the comments! 

Comments

  1. LeelocinJune 1, 2022 at 10:14 AM

    Hi!Ve Mind!
    Hehe, I like your post title! Also, We're on the hive-mind because I've been thinking about and posting about tagging for 2 blog posts already... probably because of our great readings. I, like you, think I use tags in my own original way than the standard #influencer ways. I too remember when hashtags were #insidejokes and there for funny reasons rather than as 'keywords'. Honestly, I was thinking about doing an entire post about how I'm an OG tagger... (lol I keep trying to make OG work in our HiveMind class.) But essentially, like in one of the readings, I use hashtags to categorize things in an 'experts' way that I hope other people will one day also use the same tag I have... I don't know how much more into it I can explain without going overboard... but I like original hashtags. What it makes me think about is, pop-punk song titles as hashtags. I think I miss the cultural niche that I desire and what would really give my unique hashtagging their own folkonomy... I hope we can find our people. #originalhashtag

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  2. Trev WilliamsJune 1, 2022 at 2:23 PM

    Puns are just so puny!
    I totally agree that tags are a great tool but sometimes they aren't used correctly. On some social media sites, like Instagram for example, allow you to search for specific tags but sometimes to content includes content that isn't super relevant. Maybe we can have more training or information on how to use tags effectively? Maybe even social media sites helping regulate and ensure the content tags are relevant?
    I see many solutions here!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Melanie YurewitchJune 2, 2022 at 7:02 PM

    Ohh I know exactly what your talking about with the people who have a 100 tags. Do they have this saved in note and just paste it in? Are they really sitting there going #awesome #socool #wow #neat #wild #wellyougetit. I just don't understand it. I like to use tags in my photos of my children. Since I can't tag them, I want my friends and family to know their names. I'll do #MargotMarie #WaylonRichard. I like when other friends do that too! Then I know their kids names and how to spell it haha. I also like tags for following tv shows. I loveddd following #thebachelor #thebachelorette #bachelorinparadise. I knew I could also click those tags and see what everyone else was thinking while watching the show.

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