The Betty White Challenge Shows How The Power Of A Hashtag Is Alive And Well

Just when you thought a hashtag was a relic from the past.

On Twitter, the trending hashtag #BettyWhiteChallenge went viral recently, in part because we’re all remembering the beloved comedian, it was an easy challenge to compete (just donate $5 to your local animal shelter), and because we all like trending topics. And, believe me, this one was trending.

I noticed how #BettyWhiteChallenge kept popping up in my own feed as other comedians, news agencies, celebrities, and other famous people kept talking about it, especially last Monday (the day Betty White would have celebrated her 100th birthday). I once interviewed the creator of the hashtag (his name is Chris Messina) and I remember how he intended it as a way to cut through all of the noise and help us find information faster and easier.

I bet he never imagined it would help us raise money for animals in need.

With any technology that sticks around, there is always a good side and a bad side. As for the positives, hashtags like this make it easier to see what other people are saying, and it works just as well on Twitter as Instagram and Facebook. With a click you can see which friends are participating and what the fuss is all about. I sometimes forget to use them, but when it comes to a viral challenge like this, it’s great to see who is making a donation.

With technology, sometimes it’s the simple things that work. When the hashtag first came into prominence, it seemed like a novel invention. We take it for granted today, of course, but it is a way to unify and rally around one topic without much effort.

I wrote about the game Wordle the other day and it has a somewhat similar impact for Internet users. We are doing the same puzzles, then sharing the results on social media. Sometimes we even add the same hashtag.

This is when I think technology has a chance to do something great, to cause people to rally around a cause and share common experiences. I know at least two dozen people who are sharing their Wordle results on a daily basis. 

In the past, I’ve found hashtags to be incredibly useful. And, we all know how they help when there is a major event in the world, such as a natural disaster. We use hashtags as a way to find people in need (or to donate to animal shelters).

The only downside?

I have noticed the hashtag has not evolved much over the last 10 years. It’s simple and elegant, and it works, but I’ll be curious if more apps start figuring out how to make them even more useful than they are now. Hashtags help unify us. 

Now we need to figure out how to become more productive using them.