Scott W. Graves

I am not particularly new to Twitter and used it extensively during my tenure as Editor-in-Chief of Red County (www.redcounty.com). I don’t claim to have been there from the start. I use it. I like it. It is an easy way for me to participate in the discussion of political news and commentary.

While at Red County, we would use the service to stream editorial content from the contributors of our 30+ blog communities. I would often augment the feed with personal comments to keep things a bit more interesting. Unfortunately, unlike my close personal friends, @aplusk (1,825,141), @ryanseacrest (1,037,533), and @oprah (1,019,191), our followers numbered in the thousands, not millions. Regardless, Twitter was a very valuable tool in our new media toolbox.

The Proliferation of Hashtags

There are thousands of hashtags, each of which help to better define a tweet and the intended audience of that tweet. According to the Twitter Fan Wiki site, hashtags were popularized during the San Diego forest fires in 2007 when Nate Ritter used the hashtag “#sandiegofire” to identify his updates related to the disaster. My first recollection of using hastags in a meaningful way for political purposes was during last year’s #DONTGO movement (www.dontgomovement.com), during which the #DONTGO hashtag was used to focus public attention on leaders of the U.S. Congress who preferred to adjourn for recess rather than finish working on important energy legislation. Use of that specific hashtag has diminished, but it spawned a movement and it did engage new activists.

Since then, those who participate in political discussions on Twitter have many hashtags from which to choose. #POLITICS is the most broad. Other examples include #TEAPARTY (discussion about the Tea Party movement), #HHRS (Hugh Hewitt Radio Show), #ICON (independent conservative). However, one of the most prevalent in conservative circles seems to be #TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter). While not particularly intuitive, its growth seems to coincide with conservatives flocking to new media in the wake of the 2008 election.

There seems to be some dispute over who started #TCOT, but it was made popular through the efforts of Rob Neppell (@rneppell), founder of The Truth Laid Bear and proprietor of Kithbridge. Rob is ubiquitous in conservative new media circles and he deserves a ton of credit for helping the political Right embrace new media.

Like most things in new media, that which gains traction and becomes moderately successful is quickly spoiled by the mad rush of spammers, self-promoters, and profiteers to get onboard the next big thing. In my opinion, #TCOT is suffering from this phenomenon and its relevance is slowly being diminished.

#RIGHT: Inclusive & Intuitive

My frustration with #TCOT led to my suggestion to friends that #RIGHT would be an outstanding alternative. It is broad and inclusive. It is highly intuitive. It is not tied to a party or personality. It is not likely to be co-opted or commercialized. Most importantly, it clearly and concisely states to Twitter pros and newbies alike, the nature of the content with which it is associated.

Of course, this is not a competition. I am simply advocating on behalf of one hashtag over another for the reasons cited above. People can use Twitter however they like, write whatever they want, and tag their tweets however they feel is the most appropriate. As I write this, the Obama administration is still focused on taking over the auto and financial industries. Until their mission is accomplished and they have time to turn their attention to Twitter, the service should remain a fairly pure example of a free marketplace. Good ideas will rise to the top. Weak ideas will not.

I would welcome your thoughts on the matter, either here or via a Twitter discussion. Feel free to follow me at @scottwgraves. For more information about Twitter and hashtags, visit the Twitter Fan Wiki page here. For a definition of specific Twitter hashtags, or to establish a new one, visit, @tagalus.