Reuters: Technology News: Facebook may emulate rival Twitter with introduction of hashtags

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Facebook may emulate rival Twitter with introduction of hashtags Mar 15th 2013, 00:03 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Google to shut Reader web feed application, users vent 2:32pm EDT Insight: On Facebook, app makers face a treacherous path Mon, Mar 11 2013 Facebook puts focus on photos in new look; may boost ads Thu, Mar 7 2013 Google services should not require real names: Vint Cerf Tue, Mar 5 2013 Facebook to showcase new look for newsfeed on March 7 Fri, Mar 1 2013 Analysis & Opinion Disrupting the market for helping people lose money Separating truth from fiction about Facebook The Facebook logo is pictured at the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California January 29, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith SAN FRANCISCO | Thu Mar 14, 2013 8:03pm EDT SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is looking to improve its search and indexing capabilities by adding the hashtag symbol, one of the most recognizable features of its social networking rival Twitter, according to media reports. The hashtag, which appears as the # symbol, makes it easier for users to follow specific topics of conversation within the ever-changing stream of comments posted on Twitter. Users type the hashtag alongside a keyword - such as #election - at the end of a Tweet, making it easy to group comments on the same topic. Facebook could similarly organize the conversations that take place on its more than one billon member social network by incorporating hashtags, said The Wall Street Journal which first reported the news on Thursday citing anonymous sources, thought it noted that the feature wasn't being introduced imminently. Facebook declined to comment. Facebook introduced a revamped social search feature, dubbed Graph Search, in January. The search tool allows users to trawl their network of friends, as well as info shared publicly by other Facebook users, to find photos, interests and places, such as restaurants that are "liked" by people on Facebook. The search tool does not currently allow users to search the contents of the actual conversations that are posted on Facebook. Hashtags could help Facebook make such searches possible, according to the technology blog TechCrunch, which also cited anonymous sources as saying such a feature was in the works. It's not clear that searching the stream of Facebook comments would yield the breadth of results found on Twitter however. Unlike tweets, which are public and viewable to all users, most of the comments posted on Facebook are only viewable to a user's circle of friends. (Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Bernard Orr) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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