@Mention vs. #Hashtag

You have “mentioned” someone, someplace or something in the last 24 hours even if by accident (assuming you own a smartphone). A “mention” is a hypertext. A hypertext is a highlighted word phrase on your screen that if clicked leads you to another destination on the Internet. At least that is how a hypertext was originally designed in 1990…

In 1980, physicist Tim Berners-Lee, then a contractor at CERN, proposed and prototyped ENQUIRE, a system for CERN researchers to use and share documents. In 1989, Berners-Lee wrote a memo proposing an Internet-based hypertext system. Berners-Lee specified HTML and wrote the browser and server software in late 1990.

Mentions are extremely easy to use and powerful. Today, the power of the mention is not so much in making it profoundly easy to find related information BUT that the “mentioned” (the receiving end of the mention) is NOTIFIED! You have experienced the power of the mention every time your smartphone NOTIFIES you.

The real power of the mention is in its associated NOTIFICATION. 

Here a few everyday examples:

1. You see an EVENT on Facebook that you would like to share with a friend. Instead of using the INVITE functionality you simply MENTION your friend in the comment section. You know they will see it because you know they will get a NOTIFICATION. The reason you mentioned your friend in the comment section is NOT to lead you to another destination on the Internet (which it does btw) BUT to NOTIFY your friend.
2. You see a PHOTO on Instagram and you’re not sure what that person / place or thing is. If it is properly “mentioned” in the caption OR “tagged” in the photo, you can very easily navigate to the referenced account (person, place or thing) on Instagram.  NOTE: The best way to MENTION A PLACE on Instagram is to use the ADD LOCATION feature.
3. You discover a tweet on your favorite obscure topic (i.e. super massive black holes) by using the search capabilities on Twitter. You found a tweet. That tweet MENTIONED two other Twitter accounts. You click on both and before you know it, you now know THE subject matter experts for super massive black holes.

I could continue all day long describing the power of the mention but I think these three make my point. In conclusion,

MENTIONS ARE PROFOUNDLY POWERFUL and EASY.

Once you get use to mentions, you will ask yourself “What did we do before mentions?”

Here a few tips and techniques to make using mentions even easier:

1. Regardless of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. always start with “@”. This tells the software that you are trying to mention (not hashtag).
2. Like and Follow the accounts you mention often. By liking and following your popular accounts they will “pop up” quickly (even before you finish typing).
3. If you cannot mention someone it is most likely that their privacy settings are set high OR because you have not followed them or completed the friend process.

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