One of the uses in computers was to label the following text as having a different interpretation (such as a command, or a comment) from the rest of the text. It was adopted for use within internet relay chat (IRC) networks circa 1988 to label groups and topics. This usage inspired Chris Messina to propose a similar system to be used on Twitter to tag topics of interest on the microblogging network, this became known as a hashtag. Although used initially and most popularly on Twitter, hashtag use has extended to other social media sites.