If you thought the #hashtag was just for the twitter universe, think again.  Facebook officially announced that hashtags will be a functioning part of their website.  They thought since so many of their users were already using them why not make them practical.  It can now help users to look up certain conversations and stay up to date with trending topics all over the world.  The mobile facebook app, however, will not support the hashtag feed quite yet.  Users however can still place the hashtagged phrase in their posts from the app; they just will not be able to see the feed on their phones yet.

With this update, facebook users can now search for specific hashtag topics in the search bar and compose posts directly from that hashtag feed.  But one-concern users are having is if their privacy settings still be respected. The answer, yes!  If you only post to your friends with a specific hashtag, then only your friends will see that hashtag feed.

But is it all too much? It seems like all of these social media applications are just copying off of one another and hoping to stay on top.  Twitter started this with introducing the option of filters to uploading images, just like the ones a person could find on Instagram.  And now, starting today, Instagram just introduced the app’s newest feature; 15 second videos.  This update comes with all new filters and gives the users the opportunity to stop and start the shooting of the video as many times as they want.  This is exactly like the Vine app, except the videos can be longer and users can change the filter of the image. Hashtags, filters, videos – social media is taking over in a big way and you either love it or hate it.  Either way, there is no denying its influence and it looks like its here to stay.