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Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Selfie and Not

Selfies are all the rage on many social networking sites. For those not in the know, a selfie is a type of self-portrait typically done using a digital camera or camera phone. 

This past August, the term debuted in the Oxford Dictionaries Online's quarterly update. It's usually defined as a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone, webcam and uploaded to a social networking site.

Selfie was the Urban Dictionary's word of the day on October 12, 2012 where it was also described as a self-portrait uploaded to social media. There is was more humorously defined as a strange phenomenon usually conducted because the subject cannot locate a suitable photographer to take the photo, like a friend.

Estimates are that selfies account for 30 percent of pictures taken by those aged 18-24. And in a twist on popularity contests, friends can click to "like" or "unlike" it.

So according to the above definitions, this photo I took of myself showing my new glasses is a selfie.

And, this one taken over the weekend by me (and of myself) from the F&P front porch is not.
Our good friend, Thomas, has been practicing these selfie shots regularly. He recently asked my opinion on what it would be called IF there were MORE than 1 person in the self-taken photos. His thought was to call them "selfie+1."

Just wondering — what are YOUR suggestions ?

13 comments:

Latane Barton said...

I think 'selfies'. I've done that before and never knew it had a name. Lordy, so much new in this world.

Montanagirl said...

I agree - Selfies would do.

MadSnapper said...

day before yesterday on the news, they showed the Pope with 3 girls, it said it was the first Papal selfie ever taken, so i assume from this, it is a selfie if you take the photo yourself no matter who is in it. i had no idea what a selfie was until a few months ago i posted web cam pics of myself on my blog and was told they were selfies and i looked it up.
our granddaughter has 1 zillion selfies on her FB page. we thought she was just vain and stuck on herself, until i read about the selfie thing. she is 23

The Odd Essay said...

I'm still stuck on "they can't find someone to take a photo... like a friend". I can't begin to list the number of times I've asked strangers if they'd like their picture (they are obviously a "selfie")... nor the number of times folks have asked us if we'd like them to do the same (usually I'm taking a photo of Bill, and the passer-by thinks we'd both like to be in the photo). Of course if a person is taking a photo they'd prefer no one else sees, that might be a whole 'nother thing... and "selfie" might have another meaning.

NCmountainwoman said...

I think it's a selfie anytime you take your own picture, no matter how many others are in it. It's a selfie for you but a photograph for the others.

Debbie said...

i am not a fan of pictures of myself but i do them because in years to come, i know, i will be happy to have them!!

L. D. said...

The selfies that I have done of myself on the mac computer are too distorted to share. Wrong angle, distorted closeup or I don't like photos of my self.

Triumph said...

Here's some selfie tips. If you're holding out the camera but having trouble reaching the shutter button without getting your hand in front of the lens, turn the camera upside down so the button is closer to your arm. Also it looks better when you're at one side or the other and not in the middle. Your camera's Smart Auto mode is the best to use for selfies.

Ludwig said...

Selfies are nice because you can complain about the poor representation without having to blame another photographer. Of course, none of us every like our selfies. I use a selfie as my avatar, or profile photo - it serves well in discouraging "friend requests" from "young ladies" ;-)
When it comes to more that one face in the photo maybe they should be called "friendies".

Cicero Sings said...

I never heard of "selfie" - learn something every day!

Elaine said...

Technology has certainly changed our vocabulary! Perhaps I need to resort to more selfies as I'm in very few of the thousands of photos on my computer. I usually make Marty take a couple of me when we're traveling. That was a result of coming home from a trip one time with not a single photo of me--you'd never I was even there.

BTW, I've been playing catchup, and was just looking back through your posts. I really like your collage work. Well done!

jp@A Green Ridge said...

selfies...definitely selffies!...:)JP

Anvilcloud said...

I need to get with the times.