According to Wikipedia, the ‘Selfie’ is short for a self-portrait which is usually taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone. The phenomenon is commonplace today, as people snap away about whatever it is they are doing. There are two simple steps for taking a selfie. First, you take a picture of yourself with your phone or camera by holding it at an arm’s length. Secondly, you post the photo on the various social media mediums you have, such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, just to name a few.
Selfies are commonly taken when someone is eating something they deem delicious or weird, wearing something cool or uncool, celebrating an occasion, traveling or even just socializing. However, the well-known Selfie has now evolved into many forms. If it’s two or more people in a Selfie, then it becomes a ‘Wefie’ or an ‘Usie’. If it’s a bigger group of people, like the famous shot Ellen DeGeneres took this year at the Oscars, then it’s a ‘Groufie’.
Then there’s the “The Donut Selfie” (basically a 360-degree selfie), invented by Karen X.Cheng and the ‘Dronie’ (a Selfie taken by a flying Drone camera). Various travel companies, such as Tourism New Zealand, are now allowing its customers to take ‘Dronies’ to share across social media. Technology firm, ACER, has also created the first Selfie hat, but it’s not very pretty or practical.
There’s even a new ‘tool’ that will help you take the picture: it is called the Selfie Stick. According to CNN, this simple device is one of the Top 20 travel gadgets of 2014. If your arms aren’t long enough to include everyone into the picture, attach the camera phone or digital camera onto the stick, extend it outwards and take the shot. Simple enough. There’s just one rule – you have to make sure that no part of the stick is visible in the picture.
“The Braggie,” however, is the newest form of the Selfie. Hotel companies have recently identified this trend and are now using it to their advantage. A Braggie, for those of you who don’t know, is a selfie taken somewhere fabulous that people post on their social media sites to ‘show off’. In effect, they are ‘bragging’ about where they are and what they are doing.
According to the World Travel Market Annual Trend Report 2014, this trend is now on the rise. Depending on which hotel you stay in, you can even get perks like reward points, free Wifi, discounts, and hotel credit if you post a ‘Braggie’ during your stay at their property. The best type of Braggies’ to post is of a hotel’s fancy bedrooms, its cool amenities, the design-led lobby, the public spaces, and its views – maybe even of yourself enjoying a drink at the bar or checking out the spa. Extra points if you manage to get the hotel staff in on the action (makes it more personal).
I personally think the selfie is a great way to capture the moments that you cherish and to share them with your friends and family – but the phenomenon has certainly evolved over the years. What’s next for the Selfie? Who knows.
