This is not news. But it is a new piece of information. In May last year, a two-seat Cessna 150K plane crashed in a wheat field in the US State of Colorado and killed the pilot and the passenger. That is a minor accident by many standards, but the tragedy is that they were victims of technology, nay, fad.
Recent reports from the US National Transportation Safety Board confirm that the pilot was using a cellphone at the time of the accident.
He was not communicating with the Control Tower, but was taking selfie pictures, or selfies, with a cellphone. “Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction due to his cellphone use while maneouvering at low altitude,” news agencies quoted an NTSB report.
US federal rules prohibit commercial pilots and aircraft crew from using cellphones or other personal electronic devices while at their duty stations, during takeoff, while landing or when below 10,000 feet.
While selfies led to the death of the 29-year old pilot, in Kenya, one company is hoping that they can be instrumental in motivating staff. You can take that to the bank, literally.
Bank of Africa is encouraging its employees to team up and take selfies in interesting poses. The selfies are collected and the best ten circulated internally and voted for. Members whose selfies emerge tops are given two live goats, and then they can celebrate away.
“The exercise is meant to encourage team work because it is one of our key values,” explains Jimmi Wanjohi, BOA’s head of marketing. “We want to grow as a business and have the staff believe in the brand. The group photos are meant to be as creative as possible and I believe this will encourage interaction.”
That might sound ourageous or innovative, depending on which side of the lens you are, but Mr Wanjohi believes “this exercise will bring staff together” as it is aimed at motivating them. “All our branches and departments have participated and staff members can vote for the shortlisted pictures.”
Ideally, selfies are not new as people have been taking self-portraits for ages — and that is what inspired companies to develop cameras with timers.
However, they were never a fad, and even the word selfie itself, was “inducted” in to the English dictionary just two years ago after it became clear that people wanted to click at the slightest opportunity and capture and document every moment of their lives, themselves, and in interesting poses. Many a time, it is difficult to capture “the bigger” picture, thanks to limitations of the arms. But since our reach must exceed our grasp, someone has come up with “new” technology to aid selfie lovers capture panoramic views of themselves and their surroundings. As a matter of fact, BOA employees who want to take winning photos in the most interesting poses, might find this “new” technology very handy, literally. This gizmo is a handheld extendable pole for smartphones which enables one to take pictures from angles or heights which he/she could not otherwise manage with outstreched arms. It also helps fit more people into the frame.
Enter the selfie stick. Also referred to as a monopod (though that is too mainstream), the selfie stick is Bluetooth-enabled, thus it is paired with the cellphone and one just has to press a button on its handle, and, Voila! a moment, and a panoramic view is captured.
Selfie sticks are gaining popularity and are available in Nairobi. “Some clients were asking for them towards the end of last year so we started stocking them in January,” says Brian Mburu, a manager at Avechi Electronics. “We show them to clients who come to buy mobile phones and give them a demonstration.”
Brian says more people are showing interest, and the price tag of Sh 600 is not a hindrance.
But not everyone is amused. In some places, people are getting sick of the stick and are banning its use within their premises. Art museums across the United States have banned it inside galleries because it can damage priceless art pieces as people fall over themselves to strike poses and take the best selfies.
According to New York Times — which referred to the stick as “the wand of narcissism” — museums are also concerned about the safety of their clients.
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With the entry of the wand of narcissism into Kenya, it will not be long before institutions spoil the picture by joining the ban wagon.