Facebook To Twitter: #WeCanDoThisToo!

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is turning up the heat on its rivalry with fellow social media titan Twitter, in a big way: Facebook is working to introduce the hashtag system to its program, the same system that made Twitter huge in the first place.

The hashtag allows Twitter users to associate their posts under a common theme or keyword. For example, if the tag was #twitter, than all posts flagged with “#twitter” become visible under one thread, and would presumably be related. Using this system has been a terrific method for users and businesses to generate conversation (even if it is limited to 140 character notes) among the Twittersphere, and now Facebook wants to share the wealth.

Details on how far along Facebook’s progress was on incorporating the feature were unclear, and it likely won’t be introduced in the near future, sources told the Wall Street Journal. Facebook and Twitter were once a good arms-length from each other — Twitter was more for public broadcasting, and Facebook for more personal interaction — have found themselves battling for traffic and advertising, and the rivalry is growing more intense constantly.