New Google functionality makes it easier to search for hashtag content on Twitter and Facebook. But not every time, because that would make life too easy. If you include a hashtag Google provides new search options that it's keeping fairly out of the way. Over in the right hand menu you may see something like this:
You can then click on the appropriate link (Google+, Twitter or Facebook) and get taken directly to the site to run a search. What's particularly noteworthy is that you're running the search on Google, it's actually ON Facebook/Twitter. In this respect Google is almost acting like a traditional multi search engine, giving you different options that you can run a search on.
Of course, it's not that simple. I didn't consistently get the option coming up; the second time I tried #ipad as a search I was playing with, there was nothing to see. If you add in other terms (hashtags or not), this feature doesn't seem to appear. Just adding in a hashtag didn't always work - my #CILIP search didn't give me anything extra. So - another useful idea from Google, badly let down by their usual incompetent and slipshod approach.
I tried #rikmayall and got a twitter bar on the right in the google search results page. But when I tried #fakelibrarystats and #medlibs - nothing doing. Maybe it is only for #'s that are trending heavily?
Posted by: Catherine | June 16, 2014 at 01:24 AM