Nancy Grace's Show Won't Be Missed, But Her Hashtags Will

Nancy Grace will leave HLN when her contract expires in October, according to . Grace, a former Georgia prosecutor, has made her name on television by yelling about open cases involving children, murder, or both. Normally, when there’s not enough detail, she’ll demand answers. From whom, exactly? It’s unclear.

Grace might be leaving behind her show at HLN—she doesn’t say if she has a job lined up yet—but her Twitter account’s hashtags will live forever in my memory. The TV host acknowledged her tendency to boil down a horrifying news story into a couple of pithy words, and said it helps her remember the stories as well as make them memorable to others:

Grace, who comes up with the nicknames herself, first starting employing them in law school to help keep track of the many cases she was studying. She says the habit has “really helped” the homicide and violent-crime suspects she focuses on stick in the public consciousness.

Think of the purpose of a Twitter hashtag. Ideally, it’s a utility to categorize a certain topic for users who want to join or read the conversation. A helpful tool, in theory. Here’s how Nancy Grace’s Twitter uses a hashtag:

These erratic screams to no one in particular are intended to complement her show. Again, ideally, a viewer of Nancy Grace’s show could participate in a second-screen experience by watching a segment about a box of infants, turning on their phone or computer, and joining the conversation with the #BoxOfInfants tag.

Here’s another one:

At a certain point, the hashtags petered out. Maybe Grace’s show hired a new social media manager, or someone felt weird about the practice. The account will still use the occasionally hashtag, and tweet #GoodnightFriend, but it hasn’t been the same. With Grace leaving, here are some of the best hashtags, in no particular order: