The week in hashtags, global edition

It's hard to compete with We <3 Justin, which has topped the charts in Twitter popularity for the past month.

But impact and value can't always be measured by numbers alone. And although the terms that blaze, then burn out may be passing crazes, hashtags sometimes herald infamy — which is why we lead this look at some of the week's best Twitter news terms with two clever bits of satire.

#MuslimRage

Headlines are typically the loudest element in a news story. But Newsweek may not have gotten the equally loud response it was looking for when their invitation to discuss cover story "Muslim Rage," using a hashtag of the same name, was answered. Twitter users instead seized the opportunity to mock the characterization — many with great insight and clever humor — that the magazine's questionable cover suggests.

#RomneyEncore

After Mother Jones magazine released a secret tape of Mitt Romney bad-mouthing the 47 percent at a fundraiser (thus was born #47percent), the Romney campaign was faced with the Sisyphean task of trying to contain the scandal. Then the media outlet released a second installment, this time sharing Romney's thoughts on prospects for Palestinian peace. Finally, the full tapes were revealed (except for a #missingtwominutes — conspiracy theories abounded), and with the snowballing reactions came #RomneyEncore. Surely there's more?

The meme kept on rolling when a suspiciously-bronzed Romney made an appearance on Univision, and with the Friday release of Romney's 2011 tax returns.

iPhone 5

Not quite a hashtag, but still worthy of a mention. If there's any company out there that can get buyers to sleep in the streets with anticipation, it's Apple. This week's release of the iPhone 5 saw consumers from Hong Kong to Paris to New York happily wasting their days for the latest, slimmest, lightest edition. Haven't showered in days because you've been standing in line? #ButUGotThatiPhone5Tho.

Honorable mention goes to #spottheshuttle, used by those who witnessed space shuttle Endeavour's historic final flight to share their stories.

But the Twittersphere is vast, and this is just a few of the news terms that made it big in the media. Which others do you think should have made the list? Tell us about your week in hashtags in the comments below.

And scroll down to see some of the best uses of this week's featured terms.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/culture-lifestyle/120921/the-week-hashtags-global-edition