Sochi Social: How the 'Sochi Selfie' is Hitting the Russian Slopes

Combining a hot trend and a cold location, social media users have taken to Twitter to share images of themselves in Sochi with their followers.

For those who managed to miss the trend, selfies are pictures people take of themselves, usually in order to spread them via online platforms like Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. The term was picked as the Oxford Dictionary's word of the year in 2013, with linguists saying its use had increased by 17.000 per cent within one year.

Three days before the Sochi Games kick off, a quick search already brings up hundreds of tweets marked #SochiSelfie, some from several months back. These include posts from participants, spectators and journalists covering the events.

Tanith Belbin, who won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics, tweeted a selfie of her current work as a television reporter.

Canadian sports reporter Andi Petrillo posed in front of the Olympic countdown clock for her selfie. 

Not every Sochi selfie is as straightforward, though. One selfie shows a Twitter user's reflection in his ski goggles, while U.S. bobsled athlete Bree Schaaf even managed to do a double-selfie.

Meanwhile, fellow American athlete Sage Kotsenburg, who will be competing as part of the Olympic snowboarding team, went for the full-out pun.

With selfies being the phenomenon they already are, and Sochi set to be one of Twitter's major trending topics of the month, the Sochi Selfie is likely to become even more prevalent once the Olympic flame is lit. Think King Kong and Godzilla joining forces.

And then taking a picture of themselves and tweeting it afterwards, obviously.