Ready everyone? It’s time to play a hashtag game! Today’s challenge: #RejectedHeroSidekicks .
No, I am not kidding. That is an actual trending hashtag on Twitter today. Here are a couple of my favorite contributions:
NEWMAN!
#RejectedHeroSidekicks pic.twitter.com/HBMtTtTP3p— ✌Mark Bonnet🤘 (@Mytquinn69) September 15, 2017
#RejectedHeroSidekicks Bill pic.twitter.com/1tlktqKfCQ
— Lynn Without an E (@Moon_River05) September 15, 2017
For those of you who are like me and prefer your social media without much of the social part, participating in #Hashtag games can be a lot of fun, and a pressure-free way to interact with strangers around the globe.
These games seem to pop up randomly, and spread like wildfire around the Twitterverse until they appear in the list of top trending tweets. They sometimes originate with organized hashtag game groups, like the now retired @midnight, or @TheHashtagGame. Other times, they begin with a celebrity comedian, or even ordinary folks who managed to kindle a hashtag fire while bored at work one day.
Most #Hashtag games are simple, and easy to jump into. For example, #FriendsTVin5Words drew all sorts of Friends TV show fans out of their shells, and was so fun to play.
“We were on a break!” #FriendsTVIn5Words pic.twitter.com/jZSnXuyhJa
— TIN (@tintran87) November 17, 2016
I Ross, take thee Rachel 😅💍 #FriendsTVIn5Words pic.twitter.com/2gk7Gu2L3E
— Sophie (@SophieAR1995) November 22, 2016
Another good one was #MakeaMovieSmarter:
Schrodinger’s Cat in the Hat #MakeAMovieSmarter
— Neil Melrose (@MetalMelrose) April 15, 2016
A Few Good Mensa #MakeAMovieSmarter
— Lowkey Loki (@lowkeyloki) March 28, 2016
Some #hashtags seem to get recycled from time to time, such as #RuinaBandWithOneLetter or #AddBacontoaMovie . And once in a blue moon, you get an esoteric #Hashtag game that requires you to be very clever, or maybe have a college degree to play. My favorites? #Doublewise (Best #Hashtag ever!!) and #LessAmbitiousCriterion (Most of you are probably scratching your heads right now. WTH is Criterion?).
A bird in the hand is worth two birds with one stone. #doublewise
— Donovan Twaddle (@donovantwaddle) February 16, 2011
WINNER: “The Red Crocs” #lessambitiouscriterion (@dmachado)
— Criterion Collection (@Criterion) January 6, 2011
Cléo from 5 to 5:15 #lessambitiouscriterion
— Richard Moore (@Southbounder) January 6, 2011
Why play #Hashtag Games? Well, for starters, it’s a great way to express your creativity. Or, for the less-creative, to push yourself to think creatively for the amusement of others. Secondly, you can get a good laugh from hashtagging. There is a world of clever, creative people out there who are just dying to share their humor with you. Besides, science has proven that laughter can reduce stress and improve your quality of life. It also makes the workday go by a little faster. Not that I’m advocating playing Twitter games during the workday.
Anyway, ready to stretch your imagination? Let’s go tag some hashes!