Twitter Launches Stock Symbol Cashtag Feature

Posted on July 31, 2012

CNBC reports that Twitter has launched a stock symbol feature. CNBC says users are calling the feature a Cashtag. The stock symbol links a Twitter search result containing other tweets mentioning the company, so there is the potential for spam and malware infusion here as with hashtags. Twitter announced the feature with a tweet on its main Twitter account. In Twitter's tweet the cashtag $GE is linked to the Twitter search results for $GE.

CNBC also notes that Howard Lindzon, CEO of StockTwits, says Twitter has hijacked its $STICKER feature. Lindzon wrote in a blog post, entitled "The Twitter Hijacking of Stocktwits $ ...The Cashtag," that he is "disappointed of course that Twitter is hijacking our idea and time."