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Billionaire CEO of X (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk recently criticised the use of hashtags on the platform, calling them unnecessary and ugly. His remarks were in response to a discussion ignited by an X user, who shared insights on hashtags based on feedback from Grok, X’s AI tool. According to Grok, hashtags are “as useful as a screen door on a submarine” and a “ticket to nowhere”. “Nothing screams ‘I’m trying too hard’ like a tweet littered with hashtags, each one like a desperate cry into the void of the internet where your content will absolutely not get lost among the other million posts using #blessed or #justgirlythings,” it said.
Reacting to this post, Mr Musk wrote, “Please stop using hashtags. The system doesn’t need them anymore and they look ugly.”
Take a look below:
Please stop using hashtags. The system doesn’t need them anymore and they look ugly. https://t.co/GKEp1v1wiB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2024
Mr Musk’s response quickly garnered several reactions. While some users supported his stance, others defended the continued utility of hashtags for content organisation and discoveribility.
“My job is social media management- one of the first things I explain to brands is that I don’t use hashtags because they’re ugly and just make their account look spammy. I also recommend to not use gifs, and try to stay away from links,” commented one user.
“Hashtags are useful for hyperlinking posts about a topic and can be used to identify topics that are trending,” explained another. “The great thing about hashtags is that you can simply click on them and see posts with the same hashtag. In this respect, I don’t see any alternative for certain topics and areas of application,” wrote a third user.
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“It’s easy for Elon Musk to dismiss hashtags with millions of followers at his fingertips, but for smaller accounts, hashtags can still play a strategic role,” said one.
“This kind of stuff is exactly why certain accounts get millions of undeserved impressions. The fact that the algorithm doesn’t ‘need’ hashtags is proof the algorithm over manipulates the content we see. We should be seeing everything posted by the accounts we follow, with the option (to) search hashtags, not force-fed the content the app wants us to see, even though it’s coming from accounts we don’t follow,” wrote another.
“One thing you have overlooked imo is that they are still the easiest way to find related posts – one click and you find them, therefore hashtags are helpful from a user pov. Is there another 1-click way if you don’t like them?” asked one user.
