by Campbell Edstrom, Communications Intern
In the modern day of social media, we have seen many trends come about, including the use of hashtags.
Hashtags can be used on all social media platforms but are most popular on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Hashtags refer to the use of words and/or numbers after a pound sign, with no space in between the letters or words. From a marketing perspective, hashtags can be used to increase the search engine optimization (SEO) for a brand. Additionally, hashtags make posts and topics easier to find for the creator’s desired audience. However, the traditional way of writing hashtags (all lowercase) may keep content creators from including everyone!
So how do I include everyone?
CamelCase is a way of writing words so the first letter of each word is capitalized. By capitalizing the first letter of each word in your hashtag, it is easier to differentiate between each word. Without CamelCase, the hashtag turns into a hard-to-understand blob.
Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist, created CamelCase, formally known as “medical capitals”, in 1813. His purpose for CamelCase was to make it easier to write and identify chemicals in his lab, but the purpose has evolved over the last 200 years.
CamelCase is now considered the accessible way to write hashtags on social media posts. There are many benefits in the practice for a variety of people. CamelCase helps screen readers read the hashtag correctly. By adding those capital letters, a screen reader recognizes that a hashtag is more than one word!
For example:
Not CamelCase: #assistivetechnology #digitalaccessibility
CamelCase: #AssistiveTechnology #DigitalAccessibility
CamelCase also helps people who don’t use screen readers, by making the words of a hashtag easier to differentiate, especially for people who are blind, who have low vision, who have learning or cognitive disabilities, or anyone else for that matter!
According to Laura Clark, a disability advocate, 20% of the world’s population has a disability, 10% of people have dyslexia, and 1 in 6 people over 45 have low vision. Considering these numbers, practicing the use of CamelCase is a great way to create accessible media posts.
Using CamelCase makes hashtags easier for everyone to understand. It prevents confusion by providing a clear message about what you are posting about on your social media.
Summary
It is a social media best practice to use CamelCase when creating hashtags. You should use CamelCase even if your social media post isn’t about something related to digital accessibility. Social media is a community, so make sure everyone in your community can access your media without straining or struggling to read your hashtags by practicing CamelCase.
The importance of CamelCase may not be widespread knowledge for everyone, but it is an easy and effective way to practice digital accessibility on social media. Next time you're making a social media post, use CamelCase on your hashtags. Then, every day can be hump day! Share this post with your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, or anyone you think can benefit from learning about digital accessibility and CamelCase.
Oklahoma ABLE Tech is Oklahoma’s Assistive Technology (AT) Act program. As part of the organization’s mission, the digital accessibility team offers training and technical assistance on topics related to digital accessibility, as well as accessibility evaluations of websites, web applications, and other types of digital content. To learn more about digital accessibility, you can visit the Digital Accessibility Program webpage or send an email to abt.a11y@okstate.edu.