When it comes to the Assembly elections it will be useful to have appropriate hashtags for Twitter. Some already write themselves. Fermanagh South Tyrone is already shorthanded to #FST, though it could probably bear some testing to see there’s no obvious replications. Here’s a list of opening suggestions. If you object to any of them, please offer an alternative:
North Belfast – #NBel
South Belfast – #SBel
West Belfast – #WBel
East Belfast – #EBel
North Down – #NDown
South Down – #SDown
Strangford – #STFRD
Newry and Armagh – #NARM
Upper Bann – #UBN
Lagan Valley – #LNV
Fermanagh and South Tyrone – #FST
West Tyrone – #WTYR
Foyle – #Foyle
East Londonderry – #ELD
Mid Ulster – #MULSR
North Antrim – #NATRM
East Antrim – #EATRM
South Antrim – #SATRM
Local Elections should (in theory, I haven’t tested any of these yet) be tagged: #LE11
We’ll leave council hashtags for another day… But please be vigorous in testing or criticising these suggestions. It’s what works that matters more than who makes the suggestion.
If you have a better idea please share it?
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty