Twitter tests new feature to explain hashtags

A feature introduced by Twitter aims to provide greater insight into the popular hashtags that have become part of the site.

When some users opened their mobile Twitter apps on Friday, they found Twitter testing a new feature that showed a hashtag and, its meaning right underneath.

The Wall Street Journal, which saw the feature, posted a screenshot, showing searches for different hashtags and their meanings underneath.

It appeared the feature was meant to offer context for those who would otherwise not know what #tbt (Throwback Thursday) or #oitnb (Orange is the New Black) would mean.

The feature appears to be only in its initial testing phases. Twitter generally tried out new features with a small number of users to see how they were received, which did not necessarily mean, they would be rolled out worldwide and become standard features in its apps.

However, hashtags that helped users find tweets on subjects they were interested in from users they did not necessarily follow, had become increasingly popular on the service, with most tweets now containing the descriptors. It was not clear, however, how Twitter was using the hashtag feature and whether it would apply only to more popular hashtags or any that might come along.

Any user could create any hashtag, so it could probably not be expected that Twitter could identify the meaning of every single one.

The feature was rolled out on Friday for users of the Twitter app on iPhones.

Twitter explained that, #tbt was defined as ''Throwback Thursday,'' in which every Thursday people posted photos from their past, and #oitnb explanation was ''Orange is the New Black,'' the popular Netflix series.

However, it seemed Twitter was giving explanations for only certain hashtags, such as #smh (shaking my head). No explanations were given for hashtags such as #NotOneMore (used to express messages against gun violence in the aftermath of the Santa Barbara shooting that left seven people dead) and others.

According to commentators, the hashtag feature had yet to be rolled out for desktop or mobile Android users, which suggested Twitter was still experimenting and the feature might not be rolled for all users.