Have you noticed a new popular hashtag being used across social media? #trademarking seems to be in wide use on Twitter and Instagram these days. But does it have anything to do with the business we happen to be in?
We first noticed a mention of the hashtag “#trademarking” recently on TMZ.com, which referenced a photo of professional basketball player Dwight Howard “#trademarking.” TMZ’s post explained that ‘“trademarking” is the latest in social media photo trends — a la Tebowing and planking — and all the crazy kids are doing it.”
Twitter is full of #trademarking references and a lot of Tweets are asking exactly what we want to know, “What is #trademarking?” We found one Tweet that called #trademarking “that lame fad for the moment.” Our Webstagram search came up with more than 2,500 photos that use the hashtag #trademarking. Most of the them show people posing with their arms up in the air.
To try and track down how this all started, we went to the Urban Dictionary to find out if we’ve fallen behind on definitions for “trademark.” We found one entry that might apply to this new fad: “the act of stealing/claiming/borrowing something from someone else. (T)to make something your own/keep it for yourself.”
Where/how did this #trademarking fad start? What’s its origin?
Please tell us – we really want to know.
