Twitter hopes you’ll pay to be trendy

Twitter has launched its first series of television adverts that highlight the use of new hashtag pages that people can use to discuss specific topics.

The advert, broadcast during this weekend’s Pocono 400 NASCAR race, alerts users to new pages called Twitter Events. The sponsored pages look similar to standard Twitter profiles but will showcase live tweets, photos and information from selected users.

Twitter hopes the new pages will tie in with television broadcasts of live events, allowing people to follow other people’s discussions on what they’re watching on screen.  With sports events like NASCAR, users will be able to see photos and messages uploaded by drivers and race officials.

Announcing the partnership with NASCAR, Omar Ashtari, Twitter head of Sports & Entertainment, said, “During the Pocono 400, Twitter will give fans an all-access pass to all of the excitement happening at Pocono Raceway. The raceway’s creative Twitter campaign offers fans at the race a new way to connect with each other and get even closer to the action of race day.”

The use of hashtags on Twitter has been a key part of how the service works, enabling topics to trend as more users add their thoughts to a particular hashtag.

However, they have often been confusing to new users, who can be overwhelmed by the volume of tweets from random users when a topic is particularly popular.

Twitter has also been struggling to find ways to make money out of their service, with advertisers unsure of how best to attract new customers through the social network.

With many broadcasters trumpeting hashtags around their programmes in the hope of harnessing the snowballing effect they can have with promotion when trending, Twitter believe the cleaner interface and sponsored pages will be more attractive to new users.