Dive summary: 

• Hashtags can be a valuable resource if leveraged with the correct tools available online.
• Starting with Twitter, where hashtags began, there are 10 great tools to maximize the value of hashtags.
• Hashtags are increasing in importance as they expand from Twitter to other platforms like Google+.

From the article: 

"Hashtag was the word of the year, there was a baby named Hashtag, and the word was outlawed in France (mot-dièse). Hashtags continue to have benefits for use in social media – especially as their use has expanded from Twitter to also Google+. Just as a keyword is essential for finding information online, hashtags are important as well. We’ve written about what a hashtag is in the past. People and businesses utilize hashtags to get found, but they also use hashtags to find others utilizing social search technologies."