We see the idea of ‘super publics’ described in Boyd’s reading for this week defining an ever changing public. Thus using examples of Bloomberg dressing the ‘local’ paper as The New York Times, and referencing his audience as New Yorkers, not a village in Kenya.  This idea of dressing an audience is very pertinent to the selfie world.  The particular facial expression, smile, or random object in the background is  inherently trying to market and be shared with a particular public.  However, we can see this go terribly wrong when selfie etiquette is not properly met.  We often see this within the controversial Obama selfie at Mandela’s funeral or the Auschwitz selfie.  While  both may have been done in good taste, does that mean that they are actually okay?  When searching selfie etiquette on google the first thing that pops up is a list of 8 simple rules that selfie takers should be aware of and take precaution to.

1.Get permission. If you want to take a photo of yourself, with no one else in the picture, by all means, go ahead. However, if someone else is in it, make sure the other person is okay with it. Let her know what you plan to do with it and stick to your plan. Don’t post anywhere different without her permission.

2. Safety comes first. Never take a selfie in a situation that can put your life or health in danger. For example, you may think you look really cool driving along the highway with the window open, your hair blowing in the breeze. If you pull out your camera to shoot a selfie, you’re putting not only your own life in danger, you’re risking anyone else who just happens to be on the road.

3.Don’t succumb to bad taste for humor’s sake. If you are in a situation that you think is funny, stop and consider how it will appear to others. Never take a selfie in a public restroom where someone else may be in an embarrassing position or situation.

4.Be respectful. If you are at a holocaust museum, taking a selfie in front of an exhibit shows a lack of respect for those whose lives were lost in this horrific era. People’s emotions are still raw over what happened, and they are likely to be that way for centuries. There are places where selfies are never appropriate, including a funeral, ICU or critical care unit in a hospital, and disaster site where people died.

5. Show kindness. When you see someone who is less fortunate than you, don’t stop and pose for a selfie. Instead, do something nice like give a blanket to a homeless man, offer to get something off a top shelf for a handicapped person, or hold a door for a young mom struggling with toddlers and packages.

6. Offer help, not a photo. If you witness an accident or someone getting injured, call for emergency help and stay with the person. Don’t whip out your cell phone and start snapping selfies as you assist. The only time you should take a picture of the situation is if it can be of some help later to show what happened. Never post the photos of a tragedy or accident on social media.

7. Don’t post intimate selfie shots. I’ve recently seen some selfies that have made me blush, and I don’t get embarrassed easily. My first reaction is to block those people from my social media feed because it’s clear that they have bad taste. It might be fun to make out with your boyfriend on the bus, but it’s inappropriate to share it with the world.

8. Don’t overdo selfies in social media. If you want to snap photos of yourself waking up, eating your morning cereal, working out at the gym, walking into your cubicle, having lunch with friends, leaving work at the end of the day, and having drinks with friends, go right ahead. Just don’t think everyone wants to see every single aspect of your day. Choose one good one (preferably one that is interesting to someone other than you and your mama) and post it. If you do more, people may see you as narcissistic.

http://etiquette.about.com/od/Manners/fl/8-Selfie-Etiquette-Tips.htm

This list seemed to me the most logical and practical way of taking a selfie.  We often see crude things such as these unfortunate photos that don’t take other human beings into consideration.  While the selfie may be for you, you need to think about the public around you before you share that photo.

(How not to selfie)

http://www.oddee.com/item_99032.aspx

While reviewing the images on the link above, I became really angered that someone would actually think it was okay to take a photo at that particular time.  Especially the selfie of the homeless man, as well as the selfie of the suicidal man.  These two examples are done in bad taste and make you question what public was there target audience?

Selfiecity clearly demonstrated the demographics of the selfie and how cities can demonstrate a particular emotion through a photo.  However, it would be interesting to see if they came across selfies in bad taste, or what they categorized as inherently a ‘bad selfie.’