How a Playboy Playmate helped 'selfie' become word of the year

Nowadays, nearly everyone's doing a selfie. While there's no denying that everyone in the social media generation is familiar with the word that's been making the rounds of cyberspace practically the whole year round, did you know how and who originated this self-adoring craze? 

 

“Selfie,” for those who aren't familiar is the term used for taking your own photo usually through a smartphone equipped with a front-facing camera which is then uploaded to social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter.

 

The word became so popular in 2013 that it won Oxford Dictionary's “word of the year” beating out its rivals for the award, including “twerk” and “bitcoin.” 

 

“Twerk” means to dance in a sexually provocative manner, and it was popularized by Miley Cyrus in the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, while “bitcoin” is a type of digital currency invented in 2009.

 

So what did it take to make “selfie” Oxford Dictionary's word of the year? It only took an ingenious blonde Playboy Playmate named Shera Béchard.

 

Playboy Playmate? That's right. You wouldn't think these girls would be dabbling much with words, but apparently Béchard also has the uncanny ability to make words go viral.

 

According to an article from Coed, Béchard propelled “selfie” to its current popularity through her social media posts called “Frisky Friday.”

 

Back in 2010, Béchard posted “selfies” following the hashtag format of #FriskyFriday where she would upload a revealing photo of herself on her Twitter account. 

 

The concept was birthed by Allie Sullivan, Playboy's social media manager according to an article from The Next Web.

 

#FriskyFriday was Sullivan's golden ticket to the job when she was required to present a two-year social media plan and initially thought of #FlashFriday as the catch phrase but eventually went with the former. 

 

She then asked various Playboy Playmates including Béchard to post “selfies” on their Twitter account on a weekly basis. Béchard was among the first playmates who complied, and after the first “selfie” hashtagged with #FriskyFriday rocketed to virality, Playboy fans were quickly asking for more.

 

The move proved to be greater than a one-hit wonder as it boosted the online engagement of fans with Playboy.

 

“In 2011, I grew our Twitter account by 300% and the majority of that growth has #FriskyFriday to thank for,” Sullivan told The Next Web.

 

She added that they used to re-tweet eight to 12 images on Fridays during the beginning of the concept.

 

Today, they re-tweet close to 60 images, garnering 50, 000 mentions on #FriskyFriday alone backed by weekly storify posts hauling an average of 50,000 views.

 

Not only did Sullivan's #FriskyFriday through Béchard's “selfies” generate more profit for Playboy, it also created an “interactive” word of the year used not only by Playboy Playmates, but by everyone who ever wanted to aspire to be a viral meme. — KDM, GMA News