The Ultimate Guide To Twitter Symbols
Social Media Marketing TipsNot only is Twitter one of the most popular social media platforms, it’s one of the most active websites in cyberspace and this isn’t likely to change anytime soon. This micro-blogging social network employs ‘tweets’ that are 140 characters max to interact with other users, and these tweets make heavy use of symbols, abbreviations and acronyms. Twitter lingo can be confusing for those new to Twitter. So to help you master the vernacular and be “down with the yoof“, take a look at this guide.
TWITTER SYMBOLS
Hashtag – ‘#’:
Also known as an ‘octothorpe’, the hashtag is one of the most prominent symbols to be used on social media. Debutting on Twitter, it eventually evolved to be used on Facebook and Instagram too. They are used to identify key topics and keywords relating to a certain event or subject and connects you to other posts and tweets that have used the same keyword e.g. ‘#Twitter’.
At – ‘@’:
Commonly called the ‘commercial at’, ‘strudel’ and ‘whirlpool’, the ‘AT symbol has no official name. The symbol was used in 1972 in electronic messages for email addressing to separate the user’s name from the domain name. For example: ‘tillisonconsulting@tillison.co.uk’ – the user’s name: ‘tillisonconsulting’ and the domain name: ‘tillison.co.uk’. Twitter uses this symbol to prefix usernames such as ‘@TillisonConsulting’ for example. The symbol allows a user to ‘tag’ another Twitter account and notifies them that they’ve been mentioned.
Retweet – ‘
‘:
This symbol means to share, forward or re-post a tweet sent by another user. Re-tweeting a tweet posts that tweet to your Twitter account. It indicates support of that user, that it’s good content, that you agree with it or even if you deem it newsworthy to pass on. In order to retweet a tweet – all you have to do is click on that symbol.
Like – ‘
’:
Simply clicking on this symbol below a tweet indicates that you ‘like’ the tweet, similar to a Facebook ‘like’. This action was originally a ‘star’ symbol to ‘favourite’ the tweet, but the stars were replaced with hearts in 2015.
Which Twitter symbols do you use?
