# What is the # before things I see on TV or the net? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-before-things-i-see-on-tv-or-the-net/704359 "2014-11-11T17:49:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-before-things-i-see-on-tv-or-the-net/704359/21 "2014-11-22T16:17:13Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > So it’s like a message board but instead the entire internet can participate in the thread and I get to read a million unmoderated posts. #youwintheinternet ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-before-things-i-see-on-tv-or-the-net/704359/22 "2014-11-22T16:28:29Z")
I suspect that more often than not, it’s used facetiously. #igotaflattiresoimpeachobama ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-before-things-i-see-on-tv-or-the-net/704359/23 "2014-11-22T17:18:39Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Glad I wasn’t the only one a bit confused about this. Since I don’t participate in any social media like Facebook or Twitter (well, I do consider the SDMB a kind of SM) I had know idea what it was. I still sort of don’t understand it, I think I would have to participate in Twitter or Facebook to get it. > > That’s ok. I use Facebook but it doesn’t seem all that useful there. Maybe I need a separate app or something. I also signed up for a Twitter account a long time ago, but never saw the need to log in to yet another website just for that. I think it’s designed more for people who can’t take their eyes off their smart phone. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-before-things-i-see-on-tv-or-the-net/704359/24 "2014-11-22T21:30:54Z")
I’ve been seeing it used more in television. For instance, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon will ask people to tweet funny anecdotes using the hash tag as both the category and the theme, like #ThanksgivingFail. So, then the writers can easily grab the best tweets. Same with live-event shows, asking for polls and other things too. I just recently saw Alton Brown Live, and he had a Q&A at the end of the show for audience goers who tweeted to his aforementioned hash. So, it makes organizing solicited tweets for specific events and shows much easier to aggregate and collate. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-before-things-i-see-on-tv-or-the-net/704359/25 "2014-11-23T01:29:25Z")
Here’s an example: I watch a television show on Saturday nights called Svengoolie. It’s a horor host movie kind of thing. The movies are generally stupid (although tonight’s is The Ghost and Mister Chicken! Yayy!!), and people love to make fun of them. So, one day while watching, I fired up Twitter on my tablet, and searched on #Svengoolie. I didn’t know if there would be any results; I was just guessing. But I got tons of live tweets from people all over the country, watching the same movie at the same time and making fun of it, MST3K style. When I had a particularly juicy _bon mot_ to add to the mix, I appended the same tag to my tweet. Everyone doing the same search got the same results, like a private club in the middle of a public service. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-before-things-i-see-on-tv-or-the-net/704359.md?page=1)