Hashtag Holidays

The holiday season is upon us and that means a number of annual trends are becoming evident. Holiday music in every store, lights all around, and men dressed up as Santa on street corners, just to name a few. Another holiday trend that has emerged in recent years is the presence of social media and the role it plays among the general public.

A variety of media outlets now seek to take advantage of social media through various holiday endeavors. From Facebook to Pinterest and Twitter, social media platforms are playing a significant role in event planning, shopping, exchanging of ideas and identifying discounts. At the center of it all, the hashtag has been a key element of this emerging trend.

Most people associate the hashtag with Twitter, and it has certainly become a valuable tool there. However, Facebook and almost all other social outlets are now utilizing the hashtag to help users identify trends and join in on larger conversations. Parents can now simply log onto their Facebook account, type in a relevant phrase, and a variety of search results will appear detailing what’s been trending on that topic.

Looking for that hot toy this holiday season or a holiday recipe that will please the family? Google is no longer the only resource for accessing this type of information. The hashtag may even lead you to some other emerging trends that you were unaware of.

A good example is the phenomenon that is Santacon, taking place in New York City this Saturday, December 13. Santacon, if you’re not familiar, is quite the scene; it’s a giant gathering of people dressed as Santas who progressively make their way around Manhattan. While some hashtag trends will last for days or even weeks, the #Santacon hashtag will erupt over the course of a day, but will quickly die out by Sunday. Tomorrow, the tag will without a doubt be trending, and it will be used by thousands as a way of getting updates, following friends, and even viewing photos and videos.

So if you’re looking for ideas this holiday season, jump on your social media apps, type in what you’re looking for, and let the magic of the holiday hashtag take over.

Photo courtesy of thephotoholic/FreeDigitalPhotos.net