Hillstrom’s Hashtag Analytics: A Soup-To-Nuts Methodology For Understanding Why Social Media Communities Grow Or Die Over Time

In this quick and fascinating read, Kevin Hillstrom shows us that entire social media communities can be analyzed and understood via a methodology called "Hashtag Analytics". Mr. Hillstrom avoids trendy topics like "followers" and "influencers", focusing instead on the dynamics surrounding a social media community. This unique analytical framework allows one to identify the reasons why a social media community grows and thrives over time. Not surprisingly, Mr. Hillstrom identifies "kindness" as one of the key factors in the growth of a social media community, and is able to forecast the growth of a community based on the amount of kindness offered by community participants. Mr. Hillstrom walks us through a case study of the #blogchat community, a weekly discussion group hosted by esteemed social media expert Mack Collier, illustrating fascinating dynamics behind tweets, statements, re-tweets, amplifications, conversations, and links. The reader gains a thorough understanding of the reasons why a social media community grows or dies over time.