The long-circling rumors can be put to rest as Facebook announced today it will be supporting the use of hashtags in posts...

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It’s Official: Facebook to Implement Hashtags
http://tier10lab.com/2013/06/12/its-official-facebook-to-implement-hashtags/
June 12, 2013
By Xavier Villarmarzo
The long-circling rumors can be put to rest as Facebook announced today it will be supporting the use of
hashtags in posts, giving users the ability to sort their discussions and discover shared interests. While
users have already been using hashtags on Facebook – mainly for humorous effect – they will now be
clickable links, like on other social platforms, and will take users to a separate feed with posts from other
users using the same hashtag. According to the company, this and other related features will arrive “in
the coming weeks and months.”
Facebook users’ personal privacy settings won’t be affected, as a user’s post with a hashtag will not show
up on a public feed unless indicated. Additionally, if a user clicks on a hashtag, the feed will not only
include public posts, but posts from their friends, as well. Specific hashtags will now also be searchable
via the platform’s search bar, much like it is on Twitter.
Twitter, Google+, Foursquare, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine and Facebook-owned Instagram have also had
hashtag functionality, making Facebook relatively late to include what the company itself called a “vital
part of popular culture.” However, the company’s size alone can further push the popularity of hashtag
use.
This news is just the most recent change announced by Facebook, which will soon be launching an
updated news feed. Hashtag support is just the first phase of other changes planned to bring more public
discussion to the platform, according to the company. This signals an obvious push by the company to
enter the real-time marketing arena, which has been dominated by rival Twitter.