Hashtag inventor Chris Messina quits Twitter: Here's why
What's the story
Elon Musk kept his word. The era of legacy blue checkmarks has come to an end on Twitter. The move, however, has irked many. One of whom is Chris Messina, the inventor of hashtags as we currently use them. Messina, one of the first users of Twitter, has left the platform over Musk's decision. Let's look at what led him to that decision.
Context
Why does this story matter?
One of the first promises Musk made when he acquired Twitter was to get rid of legacy blue ticks. The Twitter CEO called them "corrupt." Earlier, only celebrities and people of importance received blue ticks. Now, it has become a paid feature. Critics of Musk believe getting rid of legacy blue checks will result in more impersonation and misinformation on Twitter.
Reason
Messina did not leave Twitter because of the badge
Messina is one of the people who were not ready to pay for the blue tick. As a result, he lost the checkmark. However, it wasn't losing the checkmark that prompted him to leave Twitter. "My choice isn't about the badge; it's about everything that leads up to the badge and how it has been handled," he said.
Hashtags
He first suggested using hashtags in 2007
Messina has been on Twitter for a very long time. He came up with the idea of using hashtags to group messages, trends, and events on Twitter. The idea was proposed in 2007 via tweet. "How do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp [msg]?" he wrote on Twitter. That tweet started the hashtag phenomenon as we know it now.
Importance
Messina did not want to patent hashtags
Hashtags have made searching on the internet much easier. Now, almost all of the top websites by traffic use hashtags. Messina, a technology evangelist, did not want to patent his invention. "I had no interest in making money (directly) off hashtags. They are born of the Internet and should be owned by no one," he said in 2013.
Twitter called his idea 'too nerdy' at first
When he first came up with the idea of using hashtags to simplify the usage of Twitter, many were not excited. Messina approached Biz Stone, one of the co-founders of Twitter, with his idea. Stone termed it "too nerdy." But he kept promoting it on Twitter, and sooner than later, it took off. Now, Twitter has a dedicated section for trending hashtags.
Present
Messina's Twitter account is now private
Fast forward to now, Messina believes Twitter and Musk could have handled the legacy blue tick business in a better way. "Whatever Twitter was before deserved more dignity and consideration than it's received in the last six months," he said. His Twitter account is now set to private. His header image is a tweet of Musk saying he hates hashtags.