‘Tis the season. I have lots of time on my hands now and I am using it wisely for sure. For instance, a question that’s been niggling at me for months has now been answered, but not without considerable sarcasm from my very own private google system. We call her Jamie Lynn.
Again, I am so reluctant to google stuff because of my fear of being tracked and mocked by the google staff, eventually resulting in badgering solicitations in the form of “Windows for Dummies” and whatnot.
So I googled my kid to find out exactly what a hashtag is and why do people use them. I begged her to keep silent about my request, but ten seconds after I sent the email the phone rang. She was calling from work, and it was already too late. Apparently her coworkers were noticing and inquiring as to why she was blushing. And the rat fink ratted immediately.
So much for blood loyalty. I was not shy in reminding her that she was born in the 80’s when the entire country was hellbent on natural childbirth. No epidural, no choice of a ‘C’ section conveniently scheduled to comply with a busy schedule, no “take the edge off” feel good drugs, not even a Valium. Just scream and push. For days. She totally still owes me but sometimes forgets.
So anyway, back to this hashtag business.In my day the # sign was actually utilized to represent a number. Easy peasy. It then progressed to simply the pound sign (no idea why, too afraid to ask), and it’s the symbol you are asked to push on the telephone for different options. Again, simple.
Now along comes some computer geek to mess up the works and call it a hashtag. And now Wikipedia—forwarded to me by my still chuckling daughter—describes it as follows: Hashtag: “….word or phrase prefixed with the symbol #….a form of metadata tag (huh?)….hashtags provide a means of grouping such messages, since one can search for the hashtag and get the messages that contain it.
Jamie provided me with a quick example: Mom’s hashtag question, followed by #parents are old…”.
Now anyone who inquires about old parents can find my question. Thanks Baby Girl!!! Way to keep my privacy rule intact!
Darn kids think they know everything. She insists that Google does not pay attention to me or anything I do, but I know in my heart she’s wrong, wrong, wrong.
Why, then, when I call to refill the prescription for My Condition doesn’t the recording say, “When you are finished, press hashtag?” Got an answer for THAT, dear daughter? I’m guessing no, you do not.
But I thanked her for her prompt response nonetheless, because I love her more than life and quite frankly don’t care if her entire office is sharing a laugh at my expense.
#meany pants that make fun of their elders…..tweet that one folks!