WebProNews

Tag: hashtag

  • Selfie, Hashtag, and More Added to Merriam-Webster Dictionary

    If you’re set to have a kid anytime after today, you should quietly weep for it–it’ll never grow up in a world where the word “selfie” isn’t in the official Merriam-Webster dictionary.

    The famous Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary is adding over 150 news words this year, and they’ve just announced a handful of them. The list of new words includes some trendy food words, but mostly tech and social media-related terms, which says a lot about the changing landscape of our society.

    Or something like that.

    Joining “selfie” (Oxford dictionary’s ‘Word of the Year’ last year) are the words “catfish,” “hashtag,” “tweep,” “crowdfunding,” “gamification,” and plain old “social networking.”

    Some example definitions:

    selfie, noun: an image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera especially for posting on social networks

    catfish, noun: a person who sets up a false personal profile on a social networking site for fraudulent or deceptive purposes

    crowdfunding, noun: the practice of soliciting financial contributions from a large number of people especially from the online community

    gamification, noun: the process of adding games or gamelike elements to something (as a task) so as to encourage participation

    hashtag, noun: a word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that classifies or categorizes the accompanying text (such as a tweet)

    Strangely enough, “selfie” or “hashtag” isn’t the most interesting word added in 2014. That would go to “turducken,” which Merriam-Webster has finally added after being in existence for over 30 years. They describe it as “a boneless chicken stuffed into a boneless duck stuffed into a boneless turkey.” Yep.

    Merriam-Webster is no stranger to updating their dictionaries to reflect the kidz speak. In the past, they’ve added words like “F-bomb” and “sexting” to their reference tomes.

    Merriam-Webster is asking people to converse about all the new words by using the #MW2014NewWords hashtag on Twitter. Do you think they want us to using the #hashtag hashtag when discussing that specific addition?

    Image via Miley Cyrus, Instagram

  • Ronald McDonald Gets a New, Hip Look

    Ronald McDonald Gets a New, Hip Look

    McDonald’s fast food restaurant chain unveiled a revamped, more modern rendering of their primary clown-mascot Ronald McDonald, and explained that the character will be “setting out on a global mission to rally the public through inspiring events.”

    The new Ronald now sports cargo pants, a sort of outdoors/adventure-inspired technical vest with many zippers, and a rugby shirt. The new gear is intended to help pull Ronald out of his fantasy realm of McDonaldland and into the domain of social media.

    While the new Ronald doesn’t yet have his own Twitter account, McDonald’s will promote the hashtag #RonaldMcDonald, for the time being. McDonald’s spokesperson Becca Hary commented that the company “felt it was time to evolve his look for his debut into social media.”

    Ronald McDonald, “the Hamburger-Happy Clown” was invented by former Today host Willard Scott in 1959, though McDonald’s doesn’t acknowledge the media personality’s involvement in creating the mascot. Along with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird and The Fry Kids, Ronald McDonald has gained worldwide recognition. In Japan, Ronald is called Donald McDonald due to a lack of a clear “r” sound in Japanese, and there are also “sexy” male and female versions of the clown in that country.

    At any given time, McDonald’s employs hundreds of full-time actors to portray the burger-happy clown, to make appearances in franchise locations, Ronald McDonald Houses and various events. Ronald McDonald mimes have been known to go off the rails here and there, adding to a global collective perception that clowns are unnerving.

    Here is a series of Japanese McDonald’s commercials featuring Ronald:

    Aside from the new tech-vest, Ronald can also don a jacket and bowtie for select appearances:

    McRib enthusiasts are torn over Ronald’s new look:

    Regarding Ronald’s makeover and hashtag launch, Hary commented, “We’ve been pleased with the reaction Ronald has received in the media with his new debut. He’s an important part of pop culture and enjoys being part of the conversation.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Jimmy Fallon Does Hashtag 2 With Jonah Hill

    Jimmy Fallon can’t stop making us laugh. The Tonight Show star recently revisited an old skit that had us all tickled.

    The Hastag 2 follows up his Twitter spoof about folks constantly talking and using hashtags via social media. The original spoof featured Justin Timberlake and while we think he’s hilarious, Fallon’s second guest is just as funny.

    The skit started with Fallon knocking on the door to join actor and pal Jonah Hill. Hill of course was consumed by his telephone.

    Instead of chatting like normal people, the host and Hill decided to turn their small talk into hashtag glory.

    “Just having my morning Joe, hashtag livin’ la vida mocha,” Fallon replied. “Hashtag no coffee no workie.”

    “By the way congrats on your Oscar nomination,” the funny man added before shouting, “Hashtag Wolf of Wall Street!”

    “Thanks man, hashtag blessed,” the hilarious Hill replied.

    Still don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out the video here so you can be up-to-speed. #Yourewelcome

    If that wasn’t enough hashtag comedy for you, check out the original skit featuring funny man Timberlake.

    But perhaps the best part of the video (aside form the Harry Potter hashtags) was the awesome surprise cameo made by Wolf of Wall Street director Martin Scorsese who entered the room only to say, “hashtag been done.”

    But of course the skit didn’t end there with the guys firing back even more hashtags. The ending however, is the best part. Check out the video. It’s definitely one to watch.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Instagram’s Top Hashtag and Top Photo of 2013 Is…

    As 2013 comes to a close, the year-in-review lists continue to roll in. We’ve already seen end-of-year stats from Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Spotify. Now it’s Instagram’s turn.

    Instagram has revealed a bunch of data, the most interesting point being the most-used hashtag of 2013. Go ahead, take a guess. #Selfie? #TBT? Nope, the most-popular hashtag on Instagram this year was #Love.

    #Love is no doubt best applied to cute dog photos.

    Instagram also revealed the year’s most-liked photo. With over 1.5 million likes, here it is:

    Definitely not as cute.

    Other interesting end-of-year stats? #TBT, #Selfie, and #Food were in fact among the runners up for hashtag of the year. Also, the most geotagged city in 2013 was New York, followed by Bangkok.

    Image via JustinBieber, Instagram

  • Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake Take On #Hashtags

    Jimmy Fallon is at it again. The funny man has created yet another hilarious skit. And this time, he’s included musician and pal, Justin Timberlake. In the video, the hilarious duo takes on the task of poking fun at the often annoying overuse of the “hashtag.”

    Wether it’s on Twitter, or Instagram, it seems that everyone is cutting their sentences rather short by substituting phrases for hashtags. And it also seems the act is never cut short.

    Throughout the funny skit, the men hastag everything from #chillin #working #homemade #cookiemonster, to #orangeisthenewblack #barney and #dinosaurs.

    It seems everyone liked the video just from the comments left on the Youtube video. One user even said the two should, “do a movie together.” Another Youtube user replied saying, “#sotrue.”

    Justin Timberlake has flashed his comedic talents before, hosting the ESPY’s in 2008.

    He’s also made a few appearances on Saturday Night Live. Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time the two buddies have done a skit together. Here, Timberlake appears in a skit on Fallon’s show.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9F86cAoi3o

    So far, the video’s had over 4 million views on Youtube.

    Photo Credit: YouTube.com

  • Twitter’s Got a Brand New Bird For Its Logo

    In the words of the almighty James Brown, well, kind of anyway, Twitter’s got a brand new bird; at least for its logo. That’s right, according to the Twitter blog, the day of the #Twitterbird is upon us. The idea was to simplify the logo and it looks like Twitter succeeded in doing so.

    They’ve even created a short video to introduce the new, simplified logo, which leads this post. But why a bird, you ask? Aside from the association with birds tweeting, of course. What is Twitter’s fascination with blue birds? The blog post explains:

    Our new bird grows out of love for ornithology, design within creative constraints, and simple geometry. This bird is crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles — similar to how your networks, interests and ideas connect and intersect with peers and friends. Whether soaring high above the earth to take in a broad view, or flocking with other birds to achieve a common purpose, a bird in flight is the ultimate representation of freedom, hope and limitless possibility.

    Does this mean those in command at Twitter view members as part of the flock? It certainly seems that way, and judging by some of the social change Twitter has spearheaded–the Iran and Egyptian protests come to mind–perhaps they aren’t wrong in their assessment.

    To help with the changeover, Twitter does not want people using older logos, there’s a logo page where users can download the version of the logo they’d like to use on their sites. However, these images come with the following disclaimer:

    Do not modify or alter the marks or use them in a confusing way, including suggesting sponsorship or endorsement by Twitter, or in a way that confuses Twitter with another brand.

    Otherwise, a cease and desist will be dropped in your lap. If you’d like to keep track of the reaction concerning the new Twitter logo, just follow the chatter surrounding the #Twitterbird hashtag. An example:

    Verified Cyborg
    @RevezNexus     Twitter kills bubble letter logotype, replaces it with new ‘Twitter bird’ logo http://t.co/szv5EUxf
    5 minutes ago via Buffer · powered by @socialditto
     Reply  · Retweet  · Favorite

    Bronx Zoo’s Cobra
    @BronxZoosCobra     Twitter changed its little blue bird logo! He still looks delicious…nice, I mean nice. http://t.co/UxrnKNmu #Twitterbird
    29 minutes ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto
     Reply  · Retweet  · Favorite

    Stacy Cowley
    @StacyCowley     New #twitterbird rules: Don’t “animate the bird,” “duplicate the bird,” “rotate” the bird. DO NOT TAUNT HAPPY FUN BIRD http://t.co/7swrKhOQ
    1 hour ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto
     Reply  · Retweet  · Favorite

    Pretty much that. Any thoughts on the new Twitter logo or is this much ado about nothing? In other news, for some reason, every time I read about Twitter’s new logo, the following song pops up in my head:


    “Twitter’s got a brand new bird.”

  • Arkansas Razorbacks Football Looks To Twitter For Trend Help

    After the well-publicized Bobby Petrino debacle the Arkansas Razorbacks football team had to deal with, it’s understandable if the athletic department does whatever it can to improve the buzz surrounding the program, even if it means putting Twitter hashtags on the football field.

    The sad thing is, if Petrino had not screwed himself out of his head coaching position, the buzz surrounding the team going into the 2012/13 college football season was going to be very high, and while the team has the talent to warrant such positive outlooks, the previous head coach’s fall from grace took just about all of that goodwill. With that in mind, the University of Arkansas’ athletic department hopes a positive Twitter trend or two will help people move on.

    As pointed out by Dr. Saturday, Yahoo Sports’ college football blog, via Darren Rovell, at the upcoming spring game the hashtag “#GOHOGS” will be painted on the field:

    (image)

    The question is, will a potentially positive Twitter trend help the school/football program overcome the mess Bobby Petrino and Smilin’ Jessica Dorell left behind? Furthermore, what happens if the conversation surrounding the “#GOHOGS” hashtag descends into the “tear Pertino and Dorell down” hour? How can that be good for the program looking to move beyond such a mess?

    This, of course, is the risk you take when you look to the Twitter masses to improve an already-tarnished image. You have absolutely no control over the message once it gets out. As for the hashtag itself, some find the move dubious:

    (image)@erkhart92
    Joey Erkhart    @darrenrovell putting twitter hash tags on your football field (Ark, Miss St) shows you have no tradition in football #truth(image) 21 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@j2lovesfriday
    Jeff J.    @darrenrovell AR on-field hashtag should be #ARNeedsNewCoach(image) 22 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Concerning the first tweet, don’t you just love how anytime someone offers an opinion about something sports-related, their observation somehow becomes the truth?

  • New NBA “Has Handle” T-Shirts Feature Twitter Handles

    Have you ever wanted to show the world who your favorite NBA players is? Normally, you buy a jersey to do that, but what if you want to show the wold who your favorite player is, along with any pertinent Twitter information connected to that player? Well, the NBA now has t-shirts allowing you to do just that.

    Introducing the NBA’s “Has Handle” line of t-shirts, one that playfully toys with the phrase normally reserved for dribbling excellence, altering it to fit the world of Twitter. As pointed out by WithLeather.com, the t-shirts feature the player’s number, and instead of using the player’s last name–the tradition for basketball jerseys–the design features the player’s Twitter handle.

    Get it?

    Here’s an example of the shirts, and for this one, we’re featuring the dunking machine that is Blake Griffin:

    (image)

    Notice the hashtag on the front of the t-shirt? The NBA loves them some Twitter, clearly. Other players subjected to the “Has Handle” t-shirts are Jeremy Lin (@JLin7), Chris Paul (@CP3), Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5), Carmelo Anthony (@CameloAnthony), and Dwyane Wade (@DwyaneWade), and for the low, low price you can support your favorite player, and their Twitter account as well; or, as WithLeather puts it:

    …the only upside I can see to them is how much more awkward it makes me going into a team store to ask for an awful player’s merchandise and having to say his username outloud. “Uh, excuse me, you guys got any at-sign ianmahinmi shirseys?”

    And yes, the “shirsey” misspelling is intentional.

    The shirt(s) can be yours for 23.99.

  • McDonald’s New #Shamrocking Campaign Shows They Never Learn

    McDonald’s just can’t seem to learn their lesson after two botched Twitter campaigns. In recap, the restaurant launched a Twitter hashtag campaign in January called #McDStories that soon devolved into Twitter users bashing the fast food restaurant. They tried it again a week later with a new, less innocuous campaign called #LittleThings. Too bad for them the campaign was again hijacked by those wanting to mock the brand.

    Things have been silent lately on the Twitter front, but McDonald’s launched a new campaign this week to celebrate their annual Shamrock Shake. The hashtag is #shamrocking and it encourages fans of the shake to take a picture of themselves dancing an Irish gig while holding the drink.

    The pictures over on their Buzzfeed are pretty humorous and show people having fun. All seems good for McDonald’s now and nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

    As it turns out, Shamrocking is already slang in use that’s defined over at Urban Dictionary. Let’s just say it’s an adult form of art class.

    Fortunately, most of the tweets seem to be playing along in good fun. There were some people, however, who took the opportunity to make fun of McDonald’s or their misinformed choice of hashtag.

    Look McDonald’s, I like the Shamrock Shake more than most people do, but next time, read up on what the Internet thinks of your words. Chances are Urban Dictionary has already defined it, and it will be something filthy. I don’t want to dissuade you from using social media, but be prepared for the Internet to turn whatever you do into something completely different.

    [Source: PaidContent]

  • #iusedto – The Best Of Memory Lane

    #iusedto – The Best Of Memory Lane

    Twitter has been all a-flutter with memories people are posting with the hashtag #iusedto. The thing seems to have caught on because of all the surprising things that people are finding that they thought were unique to them, but are happy to learn someone else did too. You might call it an experiment in sameness.

    Or not.

  • Twitter Hashtag for Researchers Made

    A Vancouver researcher has started a Twitter hashtag that is taking off in the research community.

    Raul Pacheco-Vega is a Vancouver-based researcher, educator and consultant in environmental politics and policy. He has conducted research in the field of environmental public policy and politics for over 10 years. His main teaching interests include environmental politics, public policy, water governance, urban and economic geography and comparative and global environmental politics.

    Pacheco-Vega blogged about his observations that many scholars have taken to blogging and social media recently. He talked about the “old way” of collaborating with researchers via email and list-servs, eventually meeting in real life. He noted how slow and painstaking that old process was. He then outlined for his students the advantages of using something like Twitter to collaborate. He put out the call:

    Researchers have taken him up on the challenge and started a hashtag that keeps on rolling. Pacheco-Vega realizes that, in the world of research grants, some people might be hesitant to Tweet their plans.

    “A number of scholars (yes, I’ve read your tweets) seem to be skeptical about people wanting to broadcast their plans for a research grant (the closed view of the world in academia where you need to be FIRST to publish something probably needs some expansion). I don’t think that any scholar needs to post exactly what they are planning to do…”

    But, there’s one more use of Twitter for the sake of higher research, not just #whyyoweave tweets.

  • People Have Fun With #WhenSkipMeetsTebow Hashtag

    Earlier today Skip Bayless, ESPN’s First Take shock value on air personality, crossed something off his bucket list, he finally talked with Tim Tebow.

    ESPN had been promoting the event with the hashtag #WhenSkipMeets Tebow. As I’m sure you can imagine, it started off harmless… but as with anything else on the Internet it veered toward NSFW and quickly began trending worldwide.

    You can check out some of the funnier ones below:

    @BarackOMamba
    Bizzle    #WhenSkipMeetsTebow somebody is leaving sore 1 day ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @PeytonsHead
    Peyton’s Head    Uh oh, today is #WhenSkipMeetsTebow. I’m glad I’m not near a tv. If you don’t see @RealSkipBayless , he’s probably under the desk. 2 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @Fuhrer_Wokda
    Wyell Okda    #WhenSkipMeetsTebow he goin blow da booty hole 1 day ago via Twitter for Android · powered by @socialditto

    @JCarterology
    J Carter    #WhenSkipMeetsTebow we may witness immaculate conception live on #ESPN2 1 hour ago via UberSocial for BlackBerry · powered by @socialditto

    @jemelehill
    Jemele Hill    #WhenSkipMeetsTebow he will hand him a note that says: Do you like me?…check yes, or check no 1 hour ago via Twitter for Android · powered by @socialditto

    @Antonik2
    Chris Antonik    @jaycrawfordespn #WhenSkipMeetsTebow Skip will need to seek immediate medical attention for an erection lasting longer than 4 hours 1 day ago via Twitter for Android · powered by @socialditto

    @Bosoque
    Bosoque    #WhenSkipMeetsTebow he asked him on a date. No kidding. 39 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    @THEKIDMERO
    The Kid Mero    #whenskipmeetstebow THEY ARE GONNA RECREATE THE SPAGHETTI SCENE FROM LADY & THE TRAMP 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    @Hippie_Love88
    Kev’s Lady!    #WhenSkipMeetsTebow he’ll get down on one knee & propose marriage! 36 minutes ago via Plume   · powered by @socialditto

    @APersonNamedSam
    Sam Frommer    @espn #WhenSkipMeetsTebow @ESPN_FirstTake will look like the finale of @TheBachelor 37 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @MaxBaker17
    Max Baker    #whenskipmeetstebow he’s gonna need a new set of pants cause he will cream his 1 day ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    @UnDeseanJackson
    Desean Jackson    #WhenSkipMeetsTebow Skip will lose his virginity to Tebow. 1 day ago via web · powered by @socialditto

  • Lionsgate Using Twitter To Push Labor Day Weekend Preview of Warrior

    Lionsgate is testing Twitter. The movie studio wants to see if a 140 characters or less can help sell movie tickets for their fight film Warrior.

    The film, which is set to open nationwide on September 9th, will have a Labor Day weekend preview on September 4th at 7 p.m. In an attempt to drum up moviegoers, Lionsgate created the hashtag #WARRIORMovieSneakPreview to see if this would help spread the word of mouth about the film.

    @lionsgatemovies
    WARRIOR    EXCLUSIVE! @Lionsgatemovies and @Twitter Present a Special #WarriorMovieSneakPreview Sunday, Sept 4th at 7pm Nationwide http://t.co/VdbG9vT 5 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    In addition to the Labor Day weekend preview of the movie, they’ve also created a dedicated site specifically for September 4th ticket sales. It’ll be interesting to see how the films preview showing does, as Twitter does seem to have an effect on the box office, as we’ve discussed before.

    If you’re not familiar with Warrior, IMDB gives the following summary — you can also check out the trailer below:

    “Two brothers face the fight of a lifetime – and the wreckage of their broken family – within the brutal, high-stakes world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting in Lionsgate’s action/drama, WARRIOR. An ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, Tommy Riordan returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh and enlists his father, a recovered alcoholic and his former coach, to train him for an MMA tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. As Tommy blazes a violent path towards the title prize, his brother, Brendan, a former MMA fighter unable to make ends meet as a public school teacher, returns to the amateur ring to provide for his family. Even though years have passed, recriminations and past betrayals keep Brendan bitterly estranged from both Tommy and his father. But when Brendan’s unlikely rise as an underdog sets him on a collision course with Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense, winner-takes-all battle of their lives”.

    The film stars Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte and Jennifer Morrison among others.