The
Oscar
ceremony
in
March
2014
is
considered
one
of
the
turning
points
in
the
popularity
of
the
selfie
stick.
The
reason
for
this
is
a
live
selfie
by
host
Ellen
DeGeneres
during
the
Academy
Awards
with
a
bunch
of
stars:
Brad
Pitt,
Julia
Roberts,
Meryl
Streep
and
the
then
popular
Kevin
Spacey.
However,
this
selfie
was
not
made
with
a
Selfie-Stick,
but
was
picked
up
quite
unspectacular
by
Bradley
Cooper
with
his
outstretched
arms.
It
is
interesting
to
learn
that
Samsung
sponsored
the
Oscars
2014
with
$20
million
and
Ellen
DeGeneres
new
smart-phone.
The
Galaxy
Note
was
a
gift
from
Samsung
on
the
occasion
and
one
of
Samsung
marketing
strategy
in
the
American
market.
But
Samsung's
sponsorship
did
not
quite
get
away:
although
Ellen
DeGeneres's
Oscar
photo
is
today
the
most
famous
tweet
in
the
world
and
received
3,366,101
re-tweets
within
one
year,
Samsung
sales
fell
in
the
final
quarter
of
2014
and
Apple
and
Samsung
sold
Christmas
2014
only the same numbers of smart-phones.
The Oscars march 2014 - source: Ellen DeGeneress@twitter.com
So
why
did
this
photo-event
ever
influence
the
popularity
of
an
invention
that
was
not
even
used
at
the
moment
the
photo
was
taken?
The
Selfie-Stick
was
not
even
a
new
invention.
The
question
for
the
inventor
although,
is
answered
very
contentious
in
the
network
and
mostly
unscientific.
Therefore,
a
quick
look
at
two
examples
of
the
“first
selfie
of
the
world”.
When
we
type
in
the
keywords:
first
selfie
into
a
search
engine,
you'll
immediately
see
black
and
white
photos
that
look
like
they're
being
made
with
a
Selfie-Stick,
and
the
casual
observer,
or
the
excited
and
happy
seeker
can
miss
out
on
details
so
that
rather
the
desire
to
have
found
the
first
selfie
may be greater than the exact look. Its time for a closer look.
The
intimate
couple
in
the
photo,
who
looks
so
kindly
to
the
camera,
are
Helmer
Larrson
and
his
wife
Naemi
from
Wermland
in
Sweden
and
the
picture
is
dated
to
the
year
1934,
which
seems
to
agree
with
the
clothes.
The
crooked
branch,
which
can
be
seen
leaving
the
picture
on
the
left
side,
may
be
the
reason
why
some
websites
claim
they
have
discovered
the
first
Selfie-Stick
photo.
More
likely
than
a
Selfie-Stick,
is
the
assumption
that
Helmer
Larrson
has
used
the
branch
to
actuate
the
shutter
located
on
the
left
side
of
the
camera,
as
apparently
no
one
could
be
found
in
the
Swedish
birch grove, who could photograph the two lovebirds.
Helmer Larrson and his Wife Naemi from Wermland in Schweden
The
same
phenomenon
of
reinterpretation
can
be
found
in
the
photo
of
journalist
Alan
Cleaver,
which
shows
his
grandparents
photogra-phing
themselves
in
1926
in
Rugby,
Warwickshire,
England.
Cleaver
played
the
2014
photo
to
various
newspapers
after
Ellen
DeGeneres
selfie
became
so
popular
at
the
Academy
Awards.
Again
we
see
a
couple
with
a
stick
aimed
at
a
camera.
Helen
Hogg's
rather
doubtful
face
expression
contrasts
with
the
grinning,
smoking
face
of
her
husband
Arnold.
Helen
seems
to
follow
her
husband's
stick
skeptically
and
seam
to
fear
that
he
might
damage
the
camera
instead
of
being
proud
to
witness
the
demonstration
of
a
new
invention.
It's
also
more
likely
that
Arnold
Hogg
used
the
camera
on
a
tripod
with
his
stick
on
the
trigger,
otherwise
he
would
have
used
the
Selfie-Stick
for
more
than
only
one
photo
—
as
his
son
unfortunately
told
the
Dayli
Mail
in 2014.
Alan Cleavers Grandparents, 1926 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England
So
who
really
was
the
inventor
of
the
Selfie-Stick?
Let´s
go
back
120
years
in
history
to
the
year
1898
to
a
shy,
German-Hungarian
composer
and
photographer
Gustav
Szathmáry,
who
dealt
with
the
following
problem:
How
do
I
avoid
being
photographed,
even
though
I
want
to
photograph
myself?
A
question
that
seems
strange
from
today's
point
of
view
and
may
seem
incomprehensible,
since
we
are
completely
familiar
with
the
medium
of
photography
and
the
number
of
photos
shot
every
day
was
never
as
high
as
in
our
time.
He
hated
the
back
than
new
medium
of
photography,
that
Szathmáry
encountered
in
his
adopted
home
of
Paris
/
France
on
all
street
corners.
The
“wild
shooting
around”
in
public
was
a
“nuisance”
to
him.
In
general
Szathmáry
showed
an
interest
in
technically
new
developments.
His
problem
was
the
unwanted
image.
Being
photographed
by
a
stranger
and
thus
preserved
for
eternity
on
a
glass
slide
or
a
zinc
disc
but
not
knowing
where
this
duplicate
of
his
self
is
located
and
who
is
looking
at
it,
awakened
pure
horror
in
him.
His
photographic
interest
took
place
in
the
hidden.
In
1898,
ten
years
after
George
Eastman
had
developed
the
KODAK
No.1
in
the
US,
Szathmary's
version
of
the
roll-film
camera
was
created
in
Paris:
BABÁM No.1 (Hungarian for: Darling no.1)
Gustav Szathmáry with the Távkioldö and his camera Babám No1
A
camera
type
equipped
with
a
roll-film
that
could
take
up
to
50
shots.
Eastman's
KODAK
No.1
even
shot
100
pictures,
but
then
had
to
be
sent
back
to
the
KODAK
factory
for
development
and
would
have
been
sent
back
with
a
new
roll-film
and
the
developed
photos.
During
development,
however,
the
camera
could
not
be
used,
or
one
had
the
luxury
of
a
second
camera
as
a
backup.
On
the
other
hand,
Gustav
Szathmáry's
BABÁM
No.1
had
a
flap
on
the
back
of
the
camera
where
the
user
could
exchange
the
film
himself
after
the
50
shots.
The
camera
was
the
first
step
towards
the
photographic
self-determination
of
Szathmary.
The
second
part
he
developed
was
the
Távkioldö,
(Hungarian
for:
remote
control).
On
a
two-
piece,
curved
wood
with
a
leather
handle,
the
BABÁM
No.1
was
mounted
with
leather
straps
on
a
wooden
plate
and
triggered
by
a
loop
system
guided
by
eyelets.
Unlike
today's
smart-phone-cameras,
which
have
a
self-portrait
mode,
the
user
of
the
BABÁM
No.1
had
to
have
a
great
deal
of
judgment
about
the
position
of
the
camera
and
the
associated
section
of
the
image.
The
Távkioldö
was
patented
in
1897
by
Szathmáry
in
London,
which
expired
in
1917,
long
after
Szathmáry's
death
and
was
not
renewed.
As
with
today's
selfie
stick,
the
characteristic
pole
runs
centrally
from
below
into
the
picture.
In
the
illustrated
self-portrait
of
Gustav
Szathmáry
you
can
still
see
the
strap
around
the
neck
to
stabilize
the
considerable
weight
of
the
Távkioldö
and
the
camera.
A
problem
that
is
no
longer
of
concern
with
today's
use
of
aluminum and plastics in the production of the modern Selfie-Stick.
Filmstill:
„I
killed
Albert
Einstein“
(Zabil
jsem
Einsteina,
pánové)
-
source:
Ceskoslovenský
Státní Film, Filmové studio Barrandov
In
the
1960s
we
bump
into
a
cinematic
anecdote
that
enjoys
great
popularity
on
YouTube.
The
Czechoslovakian
sci-fi
comedy
“I
killed
Einstein”
(Zabil
jsem
Einsteina,
pánové)
was
created
by
the
director
Oldrich
Lipsky
at
the
Barrandov
Studios
in
Prague.
In
the
peculiar
plot
of
the
film,
women
suffering
in
1999
by
the
growth
of
beards
and
infertility
due
to
nuclear
power.
But
it
is
not
a
problem
because
they
have
the
possibility
of
time
travel.
The
scientists
decided
to
extinguish
the
cause
of
harmful
nuclear
power,
Albert
Einstein.
A
group
of
knightly
time
travelers
is
sent
to
Prague
in
1914
to
kill
Einstein.
In
the
first
third
of
the
movie,
there
is
a
scene
in
which
a
woman
with
a
kind
of
retractable
antenna
takes
a
picture
of
herself
and
her
companion.
The
form
and
handling
reminds
from
today's
point
of
view
strongly
of
a
Selfie-Stick,
with
integrated
camera,
including
flash
and
Polaroid
image
ejection.
Unfortunately,
the
film
has
not
been
widely
shown
in
the
West
in
its
time,
which
can
be
considered
the
reason
why
this
innovative
presentation
of
a
pioneering
camera
by
the
Czechoslovak
prop-
makers also not widely spread.
Until
the
beginning
of
the
1980s,
the
developments
of
a
self-photographer
remained
the
exception
of
an
introverted
German-Hungarian
Composer
and
inventive
Czechoslovak
prop-builder.
Then
Paris
once
again
was
the
place
of
action
of
the
Selfie-Stick
development,
when
MINOLTA's
Japanese
technician
Hiroshi
Ueda
with
his
wife
and
two
children
visited
the
Louvre.
When
the
family
wanted
to
take
a
souvenir
photo
of
themselves,
they
did
ask
a
little
french
boy
for
his
help.
The
friendly
little
one
took
the
high-quality
and
expensive
camera
and
was
no
more
seen.
For
Hiroshi
Ueda,
this
crucial
experience
was
the
key
to
develop
a
device
that
would
allow
him,
to
no
longer
rely
on
the
help
of
others
in
creating
souvenir
photos,
and
to
keep
his
cameras.
The
Telescope
Extender
Stick,
patented
in
the
US
in
1983,
came
at
the
wrong
time
and
was
a
financial
flop.
The
telescopic
pole
with
handle,
device
to
attach
a
camera
and
control
from
the
handle,
reminiscent
of
today's
Selfie-Stick
in
almost
all
points.
However,
Telescope
Extender
Stick
was
considered
so
unnecessary
in
its
time
that
it
was
included
in
the
book
of
“101
Ineffective
Japanese
Inventions”
—
along
with
dust-slippers
for
cats
and
the
bathing-suit
for
hydrophobic
(to
take
a
bath
take,
without
getting
wet). The patent for the telescope extender stick expired in 2003.
Hiroshi
Ueda
mit
seiner
Frau
und
seinen
zwei
Kindern,
fotografiert
mit
dem
Teleskop-
Extender-Stick
In
2002,
another
inventor
went
on
holiday
with
his
wife,
this
time
Florence
in
Italy
was
the
place
of
action.
When
the
Canadian
Wayne
Fromm
wanted
to
take
a
souvenir
photo
of
himself
and
his
wife
at
the
Ponte
Vecchio,
they
experience
what
everyone
has
already
experienced,
too
many
people
and
no
space
to
set
up
the
camera
and
the
tripod.
So
they
took
turns
taking
pictures,
cause
they
felt
uncomfortable
to
ask
someone,
and
went
to
the
hotel
in
frustration.
Back
in
Toronto,
this
experience
gnawed
at
his
ingenuity
for
a
few
years
and
in
2005
he
finally
patented
the
QUICK
POD.
Fromm
tried
worldwide
to
interested
people
in
his
product
and
even
though
he
got
a
lot of attention the time was still not ripe for the Selfie-Stick.
Wayne
Fromm
with
his
invention,
THE
QUICK
POD
-
source:
Financial
Post
Foto:
P.J.Thompson/National Post
So
what
did
happen
after
the
Oscar
ceremony
in
2014
and
after
that
photo-
tweet
by
Ellen
DeGeneres,
that
this
invention
suddenly
soared
in
popularity
so
much
that
today
it
is
impossible
to
imagine
everyday
life
without
it,
especially in connection with mass tourism.
The
answer
to
this
is
made
up
of
several
factors
that
together
allowed
a
change
in
social
behavior.
The
first
factor
that
Hiroshi
Ueda
missed
in
1985
and
Wayne
Fromm
in
2005
for
their
economic
success
was
the
development
of
the
smart-phone
and
the
associated
mobile
access
to
the
Internet.
The
first
smart-phones
were
already
out
in
the
late
1990s,
but
only
with
the
introduction
of
the
iPhone
in
2007,
they
gained
significant
market
share.
Due
to
the
permanent
Internet
access,
this
triggered
a
change
in
Internet
usage
behavior.
But
only
with
the
establishment
of
the
first
big
social
networks
as
Facebook
in
2004,
Twitter
in
2006
and
Instagramm
in
2010,
the
decisive
factor
for
mass
dissemination
of
the
selfie
fever,
and
thus
the
Selfie-Stick,
was
given.
This
selfie
fever
was
sparked
in
the
Oscar
Night
2014
and
is
still
burning
today.
So
it's
not
surprising
that
the
biggest
seller
of
Christmas
2014
was
the
Selfie-Stick.
What
Ellen
DeGeneres
sold
to
all
the
people around the world on that Oscars night was the feeling of being part of
a
worldwide
community
that
keeps
you
'in
the
know'.
A
star
sold
together
with
other
stars,
the
feeling
of
being
a
star
and
thus
the
promise
that
everyone
can
be
a
star
who
also
makes
a
selfie
and
puts
it
online.
And
they
did it in that night even went without a selfie stick.
The future of the Selfie-Stick - source: Privat
Imprint
Selfie-Stick-Selfie
