2007·Early YouTube
The hashtag
One tweet in 2007 proposed a punctuation mark for grouping conversations, and the whole internet adopted it.
You might remember it as pound sign channel tag, Chris Messina hashtag proposal
A trend people joined in with
This Moment began as a post on social media, not as a video upload. Originally published on Twitter.
- SourceNot an upload originally
- MediaNo longer publicly available
What this was
A phenomenon classified under reactions.
It first appeared in 2007, during early YouTube.
It is the clearest case of a platform convention invented by a user rather than a company, and of an idea being adopted because it was obvious rather than because it was promoted. Messina declined to patent it, saying it was born of the internet and owned by nobody — a decision he has been asked about ever since.
The hashtag spread to Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and eventually television captions and shop windows. It entered the Oxford English Dictionary in June 2014. It also became the standard mechanism for organising political movements online, which is a weight nobody was proposing for it in 2007.
More from 2007
- Kelly Shoes 2007Early YouTube
- Lolcat 2007Early YouTube
- Charlie bit my finger 2007Early YouTube
- Battle at Kruger 2007Early YouTube
- Don't Tase Me, Bro! 2007Early YouTube
- Rickrolling 2007Early YouTube
- EVO Moment 37 2007Early YouTube
- Potter Puppet Pals 2007Early YouTube
- This Is Sparta! 2007Early YouTube
- Benny Lava 2007Early YouTube
Early YouTube
- Bilibili 2009Early YouTube
- r/IAmA 2009Early YouTube
- Maru the cat 2008Early YouTube
- Pepe the Frog 2008Early YouTube
- Dove Evolution 2006Early YouTube
- Nico Nico Douga 2006Early YouTube
- Grass Mud Horse 2009Early YouTube
- I'mma let you finish 2009Early YouTube
Related
- The GIF 1996Early web, before YouTube
- Moldy showers and no soap: Military families OUTRAGED by conditions on USS Lincoln 2026The last few years
- Romantic Surprise Wedding Proposal Caught on Camera 2016The platform era
- Watch The Most Cringeworthy Marriage Proposal Fail 2016The platform era
- Surprise Proposal at Olive Garden 2012The social era
- Greatest moment from my dad's surprise party caught on camera 2011The social era
- Funny dog video - Tickling dog, you will SMILE! 2011The social era
- 004 Throwing a Surprise Party 2010The social era
Grouped by explicit relationships where evidence exists, and by shared theme otherwise.
Behind the recordWhere it came from
There is no original upload to identify: this Moment did not begin as one. What it began as is recorded here, and what is shown is a later copy.
Nothing here is claimed to be the first publication of this Moment, because the first publication was not an upload. This Moment began as a post on social media, not as a video upload. Originally published on Twitter.
Not established. This index only names a creator where the evidence supports it.
- What happens
- A phenomenon classified under reactions.
- When
- The sources below date the original to 2007-08-23. ViralWorld records this as a cited claim rather than an established publication date, because it holds no copy to check it against.
- Where
- Known on X.
Where this survives
The same thing, held on another platform. Each link says what that copy is; none of them is claimed to be the original, and Share above stays with ViralWorld either way.
- View this upload on X not playable