Press
I've been a source, subject, and commentator for journalists and researchers since 2005 — first on the open web and digital identity, then on the hashtag and its cultural aftermath, and more recently on AI, social platforms, and what it means to build things that last.
I enjoy talking to press and am generally easy to reach. If you're working on a story, email me at hello@chrismessina.me.
What I'm usually asked about
The hashtag — I proposed using # for grouping conversations on Twitter in August 2007. Journalists have been writing about it ever since: its origin, its cultural spread, its staying power, and lately its reported decline. I've been quoted on all of it, from the first wildfire coverage on Twitter in 2007 to debates in 2025 about whether hashtags still matter on Instagram and X.
The open web and digital identity — Before hashtags, I was deep in the plumbing of the web: OpenID, OAuth, microformats, Activity Streams, and the early vision of a decentralized social web. Reporters working on stories about federated networks, data portability, and the history of social platforms often find me useful here.
Social platforms and product development — I've spent years inside and alongside companies like Google, Uber, and Flock, and have been a close observer of platforms like Twitter/X, Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon as they've evolved. I've been quoted as a source on Threads, Spotify, Peloton, and the broader social media landscape.
AI and what comes next — More recently I've been speaking and writing about AI's impact on software development, product strategy, and creativity — including at the AI Native Dev Conference in 2025.
Selected coverage
2025
- Meet the man behind the ubiquitous social media hashtag — Union Leader
2023
- How Twitter Changed the World, in 25 Tweets — New York Times
- Elon Musk's Quixotic Quest to Turn X Into an 'Everything App' — New York Times
- Messina joins Ride Home Fund's new $15M AI vehicle, backed by Andreessen — TechCrunch
- Google Chrome Dominance Has Mozilla Firefox Searching for Answers — Bloomberg
- Threading the Needle: Social Media Power Users Are Divided About Threads — The Information
- Copy and Kill: The Ex-Tweeps Hatching a Plan to Knock Off Twitter — The Information
2022
- The Instagram Effect — BBC
- 'The Perfect Slot Machine': TikTok's Most Addictive Design Features — The Information
2021
- Clubhouse Is Booming. So Is the Ecosystem Around It — Wired
- Self-proclaimed 'product therapist' Chris Messina is joining crowdfunding startup Republic — Business Insider
2019
- Chris Messina on building and scaling products that matter — Miro Blog
- #WeMetTheInventorOfTheHashtag and #WhatAGuy — Town & Country
2018
- The Man Who "Invented" The #Hashtag And How It Changed Social Media — YouTube
- Hashtag creator launches Molly to make a personal bot from your social media footprint — VentureBeat
- The Global Search for Education: Meet the Communications Disruptor — C.M. Rubin World
2017
- An Oral History of the #Hashtag — Wired
- A Decade Ago, the Hashtag Reshaped the Internet — Smithsonian Magazine
- Chatbots: an interview with Chris Messina, inventor of the hashtag — UX Collective
2016
- The Guy Who Invented the Hashtag Now Works for Uber — Fortune
- Chris Messina: Bots are teaching computers how we talk — VentureBeat
- 10 things I want my personal Facebook Messenger chatbot to do — VentureBeat
2015
- The secret to creative vision is paying attention to what your eyes can't see — Washington Post
- Future of messaging apps spells end to 'Google as we know it' — USA Today
2014
- Former Google+ engineer: We f***ed up — CNN
- Former Google+ designer slams the service for being 'Facebook lite' — Mashable
- 7 Iconic Vogue Images, 21 Hilarious #Hashtags — Vogue
2013
- The Hashtag Is About to Roll Out to a Billion People, and This One Guy Invented It — The Atlantic
- The Inventor Of The Twitter Hashtag Explains Why He Didn't Patent It — Business Insider
- Hashtag creator leaves Google to join a 6-person startup — VentureBeat
2011
- How the Twitter Hashtag Was Born — The Atlantic
- Hashtag creator brings his idea to Google+ — CNET
2010
- Mr. Open Web Goes to Google — GigaOM (already on the page)
- Who Controls Identity on the Web? — MIT Technology Review
- Singel-Minded: How Facebook Could Beat Google to Win the Net — Wired (already on the page)
2008
- So Open It Hurts — San Francisco Magazine
- Chris Messina and Identity in the Network — HTML Times
2007
- Firsthand Reports From California Wildfires Pour Through Twitter — Wired (the piece that first surfaced the hashtag in mainstream press)
- Does the iPhone SDK Point to Impending Touch Screen Devices? — Wired
Press kit
Short bio: Chris Messina is a product strategist, designer, and technologist best known for inventing the hashtag in 2007. He has worked at Google, Uber, and across the startup world, and now coaches founders on product strategy and launch. He has been an advocate for the open web since 2005.
Longer bio and high-resolution photos: available on request at hello@chrismessina.me.