Monday, October 07, 2019

hashtag hash


I was challenged to describe my day in a hashtag. Before you smirk and brush off this exercise, consider: Do I describe my day realistically, ironically, science-fictionally, interpersonally, solitarily, monetarily, spiritually, figuratively, or so-on-ally? You get the picture. It's not as easy as it first appears. Another factor to weigh is at what point in the day this is composed. If you it upon first awaking, that's almost cheating. Yet only a literalist would wait until the end of the day, when sleep might be intruding. And would a hashtag describing your day, say at noon, be an influencer on the day's remains?

One ridiculous, and unfair, way to accomplish this feat would be to write a hashtag consisting of many words, forming a quasi-sentence or a lengthy sentence (grammar note: most people don't realize that a run-on sentence has nothing to do with the number of words; it's a punctuation error). Why bother using a hashtag. It's phony. This made me research rules and protocols concerning such matters. I learned that the hashtag was invented by Chris Messina in 2007. But I couldn't see anything other than etiquette and common sense dictating how many characters are allowed in a hashtag.

#uneventful

As you can see, you don't want to be so generic as to leave readers in the dark. Also, from a purist standpoint, I will self-impose the rule that describing my day in a hashtag has to be a one-word affair.

#fair

Again, #fair and #uneventful couldn't be more gray, leaving you in the dark. Fair? Really. Is this a weather report? Please.

#etymological

At least that's specific. It says something. But it's a lie. I did receive my two-volume compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) today, but I can't say I plunged into it.

#introspective

Not bad. True enough but not for all portions of the day.

#solipsistic

Too harsh. Too much hyperbole.

#grateful

Can't ever go wrong with that, but it's not specific, doesn't paint a picture.

#verbose

No doubt, though that could be any day.

#curious

Clearly not the best choice, yet not the worst. I'll stop here.

#I_tried
 


No comments:

Words, and Then Some

Too many fled Spillways mouths Oceans swill May flies Swamped Too many words Enough   Said it all Spoke too much Tongue tied Talons claws sy...