What is a hashtag? Well, on Twitter – and increasingly everywhere else – a hashtag is a word or phrase (with no spaces or punctuation) prefixed with the # symbol which gives users an easy way to communicate around a single theme.

Example: #Twitter.

The use of hashtags in social media originated back in August 2007, when designer Chris Messina asked his Twitter followers how they felt about using the pound sign (#) to group conversations on the micro-blogging platform, and thus became the first person to use the hashtag in its modern capacity.

Fast-forward to the heady days of 2013, and hashtags are, well, everywhere. And not just Twitter – you’ll also find hashtags on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn and Vine.

But what’s the right way to use them? This infographic from Gremln takes a closer look at hashtag etiquette.

(Source: Gremln.)