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That's what I'm trying to figure out. Basically, as I've used it here in the comments, it doesn't make any sense. If I reply to your comment like here, this will be shown under Replies (this means visibility for me). The additional mention by means of @ is probably too much. But basically it is a mention, which is also displayed with chrome plugins like "Steemit More Info". However, since this does not include any remuneration, I currently have to assume that no mentioning represents a direct value. I might miss something, though.

Shortcut? The shortcut is "@ oliverschmid" (without spaces and quotation marks). This results in @oliverschmid. It couldn't be shorter.