Startup Blog

Twitter - What's the difference between #mvolpe and @mvolpe?

Posted by Mike Volpe on 10/22/08 12:03 PM

I recently got an email from someone with a question about the difference between a hashtag (#) and a reply (@).  See my reply below in bold, and you can also follow Mike Volpe on Twitter.

Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 11:57 AM
To: Mike Volpe
Subject: RE: Twitter

Mike,

Sorry to bother you but you seem to be a "goto" guy on twitter matters.  I noticed in your tweet last week regarding Seth Godin's book, you had a reference to #hubspot as opposed to @hubspot. What is the significance of the hash mark? Where did I miss that information?

What's the difference between #mvolpe and @mvolpe?

Check out http://www.hashtags.org/.  Basically, #hubspot indicates a threaded discussion on a TOPIC, while @hubspot is a directed message toward a specific person/entity.  Think of "#" as like "about" or "re:"  and @ as like "to".  Typically people will search on twitter for #hubspot to follow a conversation, but not as much for @hubspot.

Mike Volpe

Written by Mike Volpe

Mike Volpe is a startup advisor and angel investor based in Boston.

Topics: Twitter

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