Indonesia sparked the selfie trend,

Indonesia sparked the selfie trend, Google says
Mariel Grazella

Contributor, Jakarta | December 08 2014 | 11:55 AM


Looking good:: A man photographs himself with a selfie stick, locally known as a tongsis.
Looking good: A man photographs himself with a selfie stick, locally known as a tongsis.
In an age of unabashed narcissism, the selfie stick now basks in the limelight with great engineering feats such as India’s Mangalayaan spacecraft and Lockheed Martin’s high-beta fusion reactor.

The selfie stick has been named one of the 25 best inventions of 2014, as compiled by TIME magazine.

However, a Google study pointed out that the selfie stick owes its meteoric rise as a “cultural phenomenon”, as TIME puts it, to Indonesia – a nation enamored with social-media profiles and updates.

The study, shared with The Jakarta Post, stated that “people’s interest in selfie sticks started in Jakarta, Indonesia”, with Malaysia and the Philippines propelling the trend further.

Search interest in selfie sticks — locally known as tongkat narsis, literally narcissist staff, and its abbreviation, tongsis — began picking up in Jakarta toward the end of 2013, and in the Indonesian capital was seven times that of the US, the study said.

A look at Google Trends, a tool that displays the popularity of search keywords, shows that the term tongsis hit a score of 10 in Indonesia in December, whilst the term “selfie stick” only started to register a score of one in the US in January 2014.

The score reflects the number of times searches have been done for a certain term relative to the total number of searches performed on Google over time.

Google’s study also noted that the trend spread to Malaysia, where search interest was double that of Indonesia between January to March 2014.

After that, the Philippines caught up, with search interest reaching double that of Malaysia by March to June 2014.

“Note that in all the above months, interest in the US barely budged,” the Google study said.

Google Trends data shows that between Nov. 23-29, Indonesia scored 21 while Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines scored 20, 11 and 10 respectively for search terms related to the localized words for selfie stick.

The selfie-stick craze has not died down in Indonesia, with first-time buyers snapping up the tool.

Fay, a professional in Jakarta, recently purchased her first selfie stick from a popular online store in preparation for her year-end travels abroad.

She pointed out that she would be traveling solo, and bringing a selfie stick meant that she would not have to “bother strangers” when wanting to take pictures of herself.

“Without a stick, your selfies are limited to as far as your arm’s length, which is too close for me,” she said.

Meanwhile, a selfie stick would allow her to take pictures at a wider angle, she noted.

Dewi, another selfie-stick user, added that she preferred using selfie sticks with U-shaped grips, which were far sturdier.

“This model prevents my smartphone from falling down,” she said, adding that her chosen model was similar to those that her friends bought.

“That model is apparently pretty popular,” she pointed out.

Selfie sticks are usually made up of two parts, a monopod and a grip in which to place the smartphone, which can be bought separately. Consumers can choose from a U-shaped grip or an L-shaped grip, both able to accommodate various smartphones.

In addition, consumers can buy Bluetooth-enabled remote controls that allow them to command camera functions on their smartphones.

However, Dewi noted that she did not utilize her selfie stick as often as she should, saying that she had not even bothered taking it when traveling.

“I am lazy to take the stick around because they have turned out to be quite cumbersome,” she said.

Although selfie sticks are retractable for easy storage, users still have to lengthen or shorten the monopod manually.

Given that one might quickly bore of using selfie sticks, Fay made sure that she did not purchase a pricy one.

“I am thrifty when it comes to smartphone accessories, and that is why I bought one that only cost Rp 49,000 [US$4],” she said.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Indonesia memicu tren selfie, Google mengatakanMariel GrazellaKontributor, Jakarta | 2014 08 Desember | 11:55 AM Mencari yang baik:: seorang foto dirinya dengan tongkat selfie, dikenal sebagai tongsis.Terlihat baik: seorang pria foto dirinya dengan tongkat selfie, dikenal sebagai tongsis.Dalam zaman jelas narsisme, tongkat selfie sekarang memiliki pusat perhatian dengan prestasi teknik besar seperti India Mangalayaan pesawat ruang angkasa dan Lockheed Martin tinggi-beta fusion reaktor.Tongkat selfie telah bernama salah satu penemuan terbaik 25 2014, yang disusun oleh majalah TIME.Namun, Google studi menunjukkan bahwa tongkat selfie berutang kenaikan meroket sebagai "fenomena budaya", seperti waktu itu, Indonesia – sebuah bangsa yang terpikat dengan profil sosial-media dan update.Studi, bersama dengan The Jakarta Post, menyatakan bahwa "minat masyarakat tongkat selfie dimulai di Jakarta, Indonesia", dengan Malaysia dan Filipina mendorong tren lebih lanjut. Cari minat dalam tongkat selfie — secara lokal dikenal sebagai tongkat narsis, secara harfiah narsisis staf, dan singkatan, tongsis — mulai mengambil di Jakarta menjelang akhir 2013, dan di ibukota Indonesia itu tujuh kali Amerika Serikat, kata studi.Lihat di Google Trends, sebuah alat yang menampilkan popularitas kata kunci pencarian, menunjukkan bahwa istilah tongsis memukul Skor 10 di Indonesia pada bulan Desember, sementara istilah "selfie tongkat" hanya mulai mendaftar Skor satu di Amerika Serikat pada Januari 2014.Skor mencerminkan banyaknya penelusuran yang telah dilakukan untuk istilah tertentu relatif terhadap jumlah pencarian yang dilakukan pada Google dari waktu ke waktu.Google's studi juga mencatat bahwa tren yang menyebar ke Malaysia, dimana kepentingan Cari adalah dua kali lipat dari Indonesia antara Januari sampai Maret 2014. Setelah itu, Filipina terperangkap, dengan bunga Cari mencapai dua kali lipat dari Malaysia oleh Maret sampai Juni tahun 2014."Perhatikan bahwa semua bulan di atas, bunga di AS hampir tidak beranjak," studi Google kata.Google Trends data menunjukkan bahwa antara November 23-29, Indonesia mencetak 21 sementara Jepang, Malaysia dan Filipina mencetak 20, 11 dan 10 masing-masing untuk istilah pencarian yang berkaitan dengan kata-kata lokal untuk selfie tongkat. Menggila selfie-stick tidak mereda di Indonesia, dengan pertama-time pembeli gertakan sampai alat.Fay, seorang profesional di Jakarta, baru-baru ini dibeli tongkat selfie nya pertama dari toko online populer dalam persiapan untuk perjalanan akhir tahun di luar negeri.Dia menunjukkan bahwa ia akan bepergian solo, dan membawa tongkat selfie berarti bahwa ia tidak akan "mengganggu orang asing" Bila ingin memotret dirinya."Tanpa tongkat, selfies Anda terbatas sejauh panjang lengan Anda, yang terlalu dekat untuk saya," katanya.Sementara itu, tongkat selfie akan memungkinkan dia untuk mengambil gambar di sudut lebih luas, Dia mencatat.Dewi, pengguna lain selfie-stick, menambahkan bahwa ia lebih memilih menggunakan tongkat selfie dengan genggaman berbentuk U, yang jauh lebih kuat.“This model prevents my smartphone from falling down,” she said, adding that her chosen model was similar to those that her friends bought.“That model is apparently pretty popular,” she pointed out.Selfie sticks are usually made up of two parts, a monopod and a grip in which to place the smartphone, which can be bought separately. Consumers can choose from a U-shaped grip or an L-shaped grip, both able to accommodate various smartphones.In addition, consumers can buy Bluetooth-enabled remote controls that allow them to command camera functions on their smartphones.However, Dewi noted that she did not utilize her selfie stick as often as she should, saying that she had not even bothered taking it when traveling.“I am lazy to take the stick around because they have turned out to be quite cumbersome,” she said.Although selfie sticks are retractable for easy storage, users still have to lengthen or shorten the monopod manually. Given that one might quickly bore of using selfie sticks, Fay made sure that she did not purchase a pricy one.“I am thrifty when it comes to smartphone accessories, and that is why I bought one that only cost Rp 49,000 [US$4],” she said.