TicketLeap

It was a small step for mankind to go from self-love to selfie-love.

With its eyes prised wide by the sight of a camera on a phone, humanity suddenly realized it could not only record itself, but send the evidence to everyone who wasn't interested.

In the end, though, selfies were all about you. Until now. For along has come a company called TicketLeap to introduce a radical use for the selfie.

It's called the Selfie Ticket. And its purpose is to replace the QR code on event tickets with an image of you.

Yes, now beauty can be in the eye of the ticket holder.

I confess I saw no obvious advantage in seeing my own image instead of a QR code. So I asked TicketLeap's CEO Tim Raybould to explain himself(ie).

"Don't picture getting into a Yankees game," he began. Why would I picture that? Going to see the Yankees is like having a crown inserted without laughing gas, while seated on a pin cushion.

He continued: "Picture going to a 50-person smoked-BBQ event hosted by your favorite local brewery. That brewery is throwing the event to make a connection with the event goers."

Oh, so it's all about the connection thing? It's that modern, social networking, we-all-love-each other-really thing? Indeed it is.

TicketLeap

Raybould explained: "After the event, the event goer is more likely to order that beer the next time they see it on tap, and, more likely to talk about it to the friend they're sitting next to. Events build community and community builds a brand. That brewery wouldn't use barcode tickets. We know because we have many breweries as customers and they don't scan tickets because it just doesn't feel right for their purpose."

In essence, it's like this, he said: "Selfie Tickets allows them to verify the ticket purchase without seeming like a robotic asshole."

It's an interesting thought, a ticket that doesn't look it was produced by a robot, even though it has narcissistic technology at its heart.

But it's that very narcissism that Raybould believes will be helpful to event organizers.

He said: "You can now scan tickets with just your eyes. No need for scanners, the right lighting, or a reliable Internet connection. In other words, a lot less logistics for the person throwing this 50-person event."

You'll be wondering how easy this might be for the egomaniacal purchaser. Well, you get an e-mail 24 hours before the event telling you it's time to say "smile" for your ticket. You download the Selfie Ticket app (helpfully, it's both Android and iOS) and take your picture.

I can sense your concern that this will be like the DMV: you'll take one awful picture and it'll live with you like a cureless scurvy. But no. You can try as many times as you like, until you find that sexy inner you projected in this outer you.

You just know that you'd prefer to have a ticket with your selfie on it, don't you? The whole idea creeps toward your soft spot and makes you think that you'll project even more of your gorgeousness.

And the real joy is, of course, that it helps you to forget such activities as SelfiesAtFunerals.