It is oftentimes said that one of the most commendable characteristics of people in general is that they never allow themselves to be limited or shackled by any boundaries – imaginary or otherwise. To a great extent, this innate desire to exceed expectations is facilitated and enhanced by the continuous technological advancements being made.
More often than not, these feats of innovation are geared towards some groundbreaking achievements that can essentially make life a lot easier for a particular group, or everyone for that matter. In other instances, however, they are simply out of leisure. With that said, there are very little who can argue with the notion that innovation is truly at its heights (for now anyway) given a recently emerging phenomenon. The phenomenon of “dronies”. Yes, “dronies”. Should be pretty easy to take a shot at what its about, one would imagine.
What is a dronie?
To pretend as though there is an official definition for the term would certainly not be wise, but based on seeing a few, an attempt can be made to describe what the occurrence is. In essence, these are videos taken of an individual or individuals with a drone (well, a camera mounted on a drone), which begins with a close up shot of the subjects in the reel, then extended out further and further to capture as much of the environment as possible.
Taking a “dronie”.
By all accounts, what makes these videos stand out has more to do with the location more than anything else, and from the lot surfacing thus far, it is evident that people will be looking to visit some amazing sites to capture their few seconds of fame.
Sounds familiar…
It doesn’t take much for someone to link this phenomenon to another web trend that simply exploded in popularity over the past year or two – “selfies”. These captured the attention of the world to the extent that the “Selfie Olympics” emerged on all the popular social media platforms – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc –, with thousands of individuals going to extreme lengths to capture the most jaw-dropping picture of themselves.
So popular was the phrase that it was announced as the Oxford Dictionaries “Word of the Year” for 2013, and earned a place in the official Oxford Dictionary. It could easily be argued that no trend will manage to achieve the viral success of the “selfie”, with even the President of the United States Barack Obama getting in on the act on quite a few occasions.
Even President Obama is doing selfies.
Innovation Personified
While on the surface it would appear as though “dronies” are just as trivial as the phenomenon of the “selfie” – with good reason, of course – it must be realized that this latest trend is beaming with innovation. As it is with the latter, taking a “selfie” does not require much given that every smart phone (and many other electronic devices) boasts a camera, but no one can say the same for individuals having drones.
For many, the first introduction to drones – which are actually unmanned aerial vehicles – was not commercial or personal in the least. They were gadgets utilized by various entities, the military included, for purposes of surveillance, rescue and similar objectives. Having said that, it is a known fact that drones are no longer as scarce as when they first emerged, with more and more individuals acquiring one of their own. +++
Whatever the intended purpose for the acquisition in the first place, it would not be too much of a stretch to imagine that owners of these gadgets have found another way to put them to use. As a matter of fact, it would not be too much of a surprise to find that there would be some to purchase a drone of their own simply for the purpose of participating in this latest growing web trend. Throw a few celebrities into the mix, and there will be no containing its popularity.
A drone
Impact of Internet/Social Media
Given the influence and impact that the Internet has on making these trends viral, the phenomenon of the “dronie” may soon capture the attention of those at Oxford, much like its predecessor did. As a matter of fact, were it not for the World Wide Web it would be quite unlikely that anyone would have know about the videos.
With a web connection, and social media platforms by extension, it does not make much for trends to pick up momentum once they have begun. It may seem like some time ago – though it really wasn’t – but the writing was on the wall as to the impact of the Internet with the trends such as “planking” and “owling”.
The difference, however, and the only factor to really consider is the gadget being utilized to facilitate the free-spirited act of a “dronie” versus all others – drones. Not too long ago, Amazon demonstrated the extent of its innovation by announcing that they intend to use drones to make deliveries of items as long as they meet a certain weight requirement, but they could very likely be kicking themselves for not coming up with this idea first.
Latest Web Trend Highlights the Extent of Innovation
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