Santa Rosa economic development officials are asking residents to send photographs of themselves holding signs proclaiming what they love most about their fair city.
The effort, announced last week on the city's website, urges residents to "Show your love for Santa Rosa with a selfie!"
The idea for the promotion grew out of the news that Oxford Dictionaries recently named "selfie" as the word of the year for 2013, said Danielle O'Leary, the city's economic development manager.
Oxford defines selfie as "a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website."
The idea was to use social media to help the city get real residents in its promotions.
"We really wanted to have the people's voices versus the city's voice when it comes to local pride," said O'Leary, who appears on the website holding a hand-written sign that reads "I love Santa Rosa's Local Food."
The photos may be used to promote the city as a visitor destination and for "boosting local pride," according to the site.
Residents are encouraged to take a photo of themselves, or have someone else do it, holding an easy-to-read sign naming their favorite thing about the city.
Examples include "I Love Santa Rosa | Beautiful Parks" or "I 'heart' Santa Rosa & shopping downtown!" or "I love Santa Rosa's Wine Trail."
Other suggestions include having just one person per photo. Another good tip?
"Make sure the photo is well-lit and you're fully clothed," the site suggests.
The city has received about 10 submissions so far, and nudity has yet to be an issue, O'Leary said.
"We were trying to keep it above board as best we could," she said.
Photos can be sent to downtown@srcity.org. From there the city can pretty much use the photos however it wants to promote the city, including in print or online.
You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @citybeater.
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