1. The Selfie Stick Evolution
Currently it is no longer a spectacle seeing people walking around in 3-foot extensible metal
monopods used to take selfies by positioning the camera, often a smartphone, beyond an arm’s
length for that perfect individual or group selfie. The advent of selfies brought masses into the
limelight on Instagram and many other photo or video sharing platforms; from presidents to
laymen, and celebrities to common folk all alike.
Early selfie sticks dubbed “telescopic extenders for compact held cameras” were patented in as
early as 1983, and featured a mirror behind the adjustable clamp to allow the composition of
self-portraits. Typical selfie sticks are usually extensible to position the phone as far as possible
to encompass all members of the group selfie in the frame. It also collapses back into its handle
for portability. The adjustable clamp on the other end holds the phone in place as the user
clutches to the handle up in the air when in use. A mirror behind the view-screen is incorporated
in selfie sticks designed for cameras so that the shot can be properly lined up. Of late there have
been improvements is the selfie stick including remote or Bluetooth controls that allow the user
to direct the time when the picture should be taken.
“Selfie” was hailed as 2013’s international word of the year while the selfie sticks are among the
Time magazine’s 25 best inventions of 2014. And for some reasons, tourists of today rarely ask a
stranger to take a picture of them - probably because of language barrier or the just the will to
take that individual or group selfie all by themselves without some other photographer having to
come in - seems to be the trend in recent times. In my view – despite the much publicized selfie
stick-narcissism relation - if it weren’t for selfie sticks, then the world would be devoid of a
gallery as rich in life as selfies provide. To learn more about selfie sticks please visit shop selfie
stick website.
