MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Whether it’s shining a light on global movements and events, connecting people everywhere to like-minded communities or just establishing a direct path to the content you’re most passionate about, it all happens on Twitter thanks to the power of the global cultural phenomenon that has shaped the way we communicate: the hashtag. Born on Twitter in 2007, the hashtag celebrates its 14th anniversary on August 23rd, otherwise known as #HashtagDay.
People around the world continue to make Twitter their microphone and popular topics that dominated conversations on Twitter across Asia in the first half of this year were K-Pop and gaming. Most of the countries in APAC had at least one K-Pop related hashtags in their top 10 list in the first half of 2021 – from #BTS in Australia and Indonesia, to #bambam in Thailand. Another popular topic across the region was gaming, which saw hashtags like #GenshinImpact and #Nintendoswitch making the list. 
To celebrate its impact in shaping important conversations and creating communities that unite millions of people across the globe, Twitter launched a #HashtagDay emoji that will be live for the day and available in multiple languages, allowing users across the globe to join in on the conversations.
Filipinos have used hashtags to connect to like-minded communities and shape culture or conversations that matter to them most on Twitter – spanning from art to entertainment. As we celebrate this year’s #HashtagDay, here are the top three topics that have kept Filipinos talking in the first half of 2021.
#WhatsHappening around the world
Significant events and moments may happen at the same time. Through hashtags, Filipinos can easily join and learn about the conversation whether it’s a local or global topic. For example, people around the world are joining the #stopasianhate movement to protest the increasing violence against Asians amid the pandemic. Filipinos also show solidarity and concern for fellow Asians and kababayans abroad by using the hashtag to amplify their support. The said hashtag was Tweeted more than 500k times in the Philippines.
Despite the delays, Filipinos’ support and excitement for the Miss Universe never wavered as they used #aribarabiya to cheer for Rabiya Mateo as she represented the country in the international pageant scene.
The MUHI set takes inspiration from the #StopAsianHate campaign, reminding our fellow Filipinos that we, too, have been subjected to hate, dehumanization and prejudice throughout history.➡️#ALAMATMulingPagyanig pic.twitter.com/N1uplob6kU
— ⏩ ALAMAT ᜀᜎᜋᜆ᜔ (@Official_ALAMAT) June 27, 2021
“Failure is not the opposite of success, it is the part of success that teaches you the best lesson in life”
– Rabiya Mateo, Miss Universe Philippines 🇵🇭 #MissUniverse #AribaRabiya pic.twitter.com/x6He6A99V6
— kxth (@kxthnielfltrd) May 17, 2021
The power of entertainment
Entertainment, be it on local music, celebrities, or K-Pop, is a widely discussed topic among Filipinos on Twitter. Fandoms unite their voices to boost support for their favorite artists, especially when there are new releases, endorsements, and projects. For one, A’TIN consistently show its power by dominating the PH trends with their creative hashtags alongside #SB19, which has been included in over 31 million Tweets.
Apart from SB19 (@SB19Official), fans of #BGYO, #DarrenEspanto and #MaineMendoza also made waves on Twitter, sharing updates to keep fellow fans in the loop and spearheading hashtag parties and projects to show love for their favorite artist.
to all #Atin maraming salamat for being kind to fearless and brave girls !! #SB19 "What?" is an amazong song. I hope the boys will continue to make this kind of song that will make their kababayan proud to be a PINOY. When I listened to what, I felt that. Hwaiting to all of us
— Queen YUNA 🌸 (@BraveYuna0406) April 18, 2021
Maraming Salamat Team Bet si Maine @teambetsimaine
4 Orphanages today plus our donation for the Community Pantry.
Sis Con @tintirintin22 we love you❤️MadamdaMAINE Pasasalamat#MaineMendoza #LetCONtinuetheLove@mainedcm @macmendoza75 pic.twitter.com/483KuPPwpC
— TitaEls (TNG)💗💛💗 (@elsma29) May 9, 2021
Passion-driven communities
Since stringent social distancing measures are still in place, Filipino gamers and artists head over to Twitter to find like-minded people and discuss more about their passions and interests. Gamers love talking about #GenshinImpact, wherein they share game progress and show character-inspired cosplays or fan art. In fact, over 2.7 million Tweets were tallied with this hashtag, showing how big the fanbase here in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the Filipino art community is another solid group on Twitter. Through #artph, these artists specializing in diverse formats — from digital art, comics, to traditional painting — showcase their art to inspire fellow artists, promote their works, and even use it as a tool to express one’s stand or opinion.
I still don't have my nun 🙏😳 I just cosplay her instead 😭 @GenshinImpact#GenshinImpact #GenshinImpactcosplay #Rosariacosplay #Rosaria #GenshinImpactRosaria pic.twitter.com/tcAaWnxNTC pic.twitter.com/0kOB1wAodu
— Roxanne Kho (@roxanne_kho) April 12, 2021
T u m i n d i g ✊🏼 pic.twitter.com/ODYkPqRn0T
— Tarantadong Kalbo (@KevinKalbo) July 17, 2021
More on the Birth of the Hashtag
14 years ago on August 23, @chrismessina Tweeted #barcamp, the first time a hashtag was ever used on Twitter. Over the past 14 years, it has evolved from a user-created way to categorize or ‘tag’ Tweets, to become part of our everyday speech, changing the nature of communication online and becoming one of the most influential symbols of the digital age.
how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp [msg]?
— Chris Messina 🐀 (@chrismessina) August 23, 2007
Top hashtags in the Philippines from January 1 – June 30, 2021 (in alphabetical order)
