Trying to make its experience more palatable to new users, Twitter is testing hashtags with explanations of their meaning.
The trial, spotted by The Wall Street Journal, provides a concise translation of trending hashtags. For example, #ointb is rendered "Orange Is the New Black" for the uninitiated:
The WSJ, which spotted the trial in the UK, also saw translations for #smh (shaking my head), #tbt (Throwback Thursday) and #mantud (Manchester United, the UK soccer team). However, other trending topics, like #MH17 for the downed Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 didn't get the same treatment.
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Reps from Twitter could not be reached for comment. The company's standard line for such efforts, though, is that it's always testing various features.
For Twitter, the impetus for such a feature might be the fact that the service often confounds and frustrates new users. Hashtags, a convention that is used both for trending topics and witty asides, is one of the elements that may be limiting growth and further adoption.
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