Selfie Nation

Selfie noun, informal (also selfy, plural selfies): a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website

In November 2013, selfie was named Oxford Dictionaries International Word of the Year, in large part to the increased use of the word, a whopping 17,000% since the same time the previous year.  Fast forward to today and more than 73 million photos using the #selfie have been posted on Twitter and Instagram according toUnmetrics.  Selfies have become the norm when promoting yourself or your brand; everyone from athletes to celebrities to your mom and dad are taking part in this pop cultural phenomenon.  Even big brands have taken to social media channels to take advantage of the selfie culture and to increase consumer engagement.

In the digital age, selfies are encouraged everywhere we go.  At your favorite concert or sporting event, snap a photo of yourself doing something exciting and instantly share it with the world.  We have the capability to snap a selfie and capture priceless moments; like this lucky fan did at a Beyoncé concert http://on.fb.me/SfYji8(picture via Facebook/Beyoncé).

And everyone is doing it; including 2013 World Series Champion and MVP David Ortiz, who took a very memorable selfie  http://bit.ly/1kLWQeh (picture via Twitter @DavidOrtiz) with President Barack Obama, during the Red Sox visit to the White House.

Who could forget Ellen’s Academy Award® selfie that took a total of 34 seconds to break the world record for the most retweeted tweet of all time.  She was also the first user to top 1 million retweets for a single Twitter post.  In less than an hour the photo had surpassed 1.3 million retweets and temporarily shut Twitter down.   When it was all said and done, the tweet was seen by 37 million people worldwide, according to Twitter numbers.  http://bit.ly/1dRK33g (picture via Twitter @TheEllenShow)

Finally, how about Tampa Bay Rays reporter Kelly Nash who took a beautiful but dangerous selfie at Fenway Park http://instagram.com/p/YnywPVl8jP/ (courtesy of Kelly Nash via Instagram).

Sometimes random and spontaneous, or perhaps entirely orchestrated, the selfie is here to stay so keep them coming! We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store!

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