I'm the first to admit that hashtags can be ridiculous.
However, they can also help you quickly cut your way through the avalanche of Twitter, Instagram — even Facebook — to find information that is actually relevant to you.
In an election, they can be invaluable.
Here on the balmy south Island, the #yyj tag is heavily used to identify anthing specific to the region. (You can try #victoria, but you may find yourelf in a land of lingerie and David Beckham's wife.)
In the runup to the civic elections on Saturday, the Times Colonist has adopted #yyjelections as the standard for idenfitying civic election information relevant to residents of the capital region.
There are others: #yyjvotes #yyjvote and #yyjpoli (a derivation of the very popular #bcpoli).
It's important to have a tag that is specific for the event that's happening. That's why I shy away from the too broad #yyjpoli and #yyjvote(s).
There are also very generic tags that won't work, like #vote or #election. There are simply too many returns.
You can use #metchosin #colwood #langford and are likely to get results for those cities. However, they don't seem to be widely used. Also, some candidate names (#deanfortin #lisahelps) have been used, as well as issue-specific tags, such as #mayorofvictoria and #johnsonstbridge.
But for us, it's going to be #yyjelections. Follow along and enjoy the show.
