It's an app that claims to be for "capturing and sharing the world's moments". But in early April astronaut Steven Swanson, aboard the International Space Station, uploaded the very first Instagram photo posted from out of this world.
No prizes for guessing that Swanson was the star of a unique selfie. In orbit, as on the surface of the planet, the selfie - or self-portrait, as it used to be known - is fast becoming a defining feature of global culture. Do you know anyone with a smartphone who's never shared a selfie?
Selfies are now so common on social media that they've often become controversial; the White House is thinking of banning all selfies with President Barack Obama after a recent snap with baseball player David Ortiz was tweeted by his sponsor Samsung. It went viral.
The selfie has lost its innocence, and is fast becoming shorthand for any photo of people that has been taken with a smartphone, but the casual self-portrait refuses to lose its mass-appeal. You might not have planet earth as your backdrop, or a president by your side, but taking better selfies is now a core photography skill.
Luckily, there is plenty of advice and lots of gadgets to give us a hand, chief of which is the aptly named #The Selfie (HK$148,
amazon.com Designed to make taking a selfie less awkward, it has a remote trigger on the grip that operates the shutter release within the camera app, Instagram or Snapchat on the iPhone and iPad, which it attaches to via the headphones slot.
You might feel a little self-conscious while using it, but it ought to help you avoid the common error of not looking - or, worse, appearing distracted and confused - at the camera lens while taking a selfie.
Also replacing the smartphone's touch screen shutter button is Muku Shuttr (HK$310,
mukulabs.com This is a selfie remote that uses Bluetooth to command Android and iOS devices wirelessly.
