App users can now add hashtags to their own photos in the caption or comment fields. Each hashtag has its own page where all photos with the same hashtag are displayed. Hashtags also have corresponding RSS feeds -- http://instagr.am/tags/[hashtag name]/feed/recent.rss -- which allow web users to view pools of Instagram photos outside the app for the first time.
Hashtags are just as straightforward on Instagram as they are on Twitter, where the notion of tagging content with the #hashtag syntax for filtering purposes gained widespread recognition. Co-founder Kevin Systrom believes that there's even more opportunity for connecting content and people through hashtags on Instagram.
Hashtags should be a welcome added feature for users, some of whom have already gravitated toward the idea -- #nofilter, for instance, has become a hashtag Instagram users have claimed to indicate that their photos are filter free.
Even more potentially significant, however, is the opportunity hashtags create for brands and organizations. News media and brands have already begun experimenting with the service, but hashtags allow them to tap into Instagram as a platform for social media campaigns.
"We looked around and thought, how can we build something that's flexible for both users and brands?" says Systrom on the startup's somewhat unexpected departure from more typical filter and feature releases. "This [addition of hashtags] shows that the company is innovating in an interesting direction," he says.
To illustrate the brand possibilities, Instagram has forged relationships with Charity: Water, Brisk Iced Tea, NPR and others, who are each launching hashtag campaigns Thursday.
Charity: Water is asking users to share images of water in their life using #charitywater, and NPR is on the lookout for photos that capture the ideas of #love and #hate. Brisk Iced Tea is adding a product design element to their campaign. The beverage maker is soliciting photos tagged with #briskpic. Selected photos will be featured on a limited edition can of Brisk at SXSW.
"This an interesting mechanism for larger brands to collect content under a hashtag," says Systrom, who admittedly believes the feature addition will spawn exciting, unexpected use cases in the months ahead.
Instagram is now focused on building an API and complimentary web service, Systrom says. In December, Instagram hit 1 million registered users after just 10 weeks. The service is still growing very rapidly, at the same pace if not faster, according to Systrom.
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