Louise and Clark: The Evolution of Memes. Internet Explorers. Issue I, An Introduction to Memes

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Frederick King
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Yolo Publishing Editor in chief: Janae Roberts, Supporting editors: Emily Soule and Quinton Cole Louise and Clark: Internet Explorers Issue I, 11.15.

1 Yolo Publishing Editor in chief: Janae Roberts, Supporting editors: Emily Soule and Quinton Cole Louise and Clark: Internet Explorers Issue I, The Evolution of Memes An Introduction to Memes Memes--pronounced MEEMS-- have made people laugh all around the world since the internet s conception. Memes can entertain people with anything from a music video to a single picture and a changing caption. Frequently, well known and well loved characters or cartoons grace the face of a meme. For example: Hipster Ariel, Success Kid, and Bachelor Frog skyrocketed into popularity (Coffey). Memes can spring from nearly any source and achieve widespread viral popularity. Everything from funny cats to the President is fair game. pg. 3

To understand internet memes, one must first know their history and definition.

The term meme itself was invented by a scientist called Richard Dawkins. His memes are biological units of inheritance that gradually change and evolve due to the culture they are developed in.

Memetics may be a more biological and scientific approach to internet procrastination, but there are definite parallels between the two.

Some of the first memes such as Rickrolling or LOLcats are still alive and growing today based on google searches for recent results.

2 To understand internet memes, one must first know their history and definition. An internet meme is defined as a piece of content or an idea that's passed from person to person, changing and evolving along the way (Know Your Meme). The term meme itself was invented by a scientist called Richard Dawkins. His memes are biological units of inheritance that gradually change and evolve due to the culture they are developed in. They are described as viruses of the mind that start as one behavior pattern developed by culture and environment, but then continue to replicate until the society is overrun (Journal of Memetics). Memetics may be a more biological and scientific approach to internet procrastination, but there are definite parallels between the two. Memes start out as one image, caption, or idea, but they grow and replicate and evolve as people tweak them and pass them on to their friends. Longstanding memes continue to evolve today. Some of the first memes such as Rickrolling or LOLcats are still alive and growing today based on google searches for recent results. Although it is incredibly difficult to pinpoint the exact moment memes came into being, some enthusiasts have suggested memes first appeared on an image board called 4chan. 4chan is an image based bulletin board that became extremely popular after its conception in 2003 due to its anonymity and ease of use. Unlike Facebook, Myspace, Pinterest, and other sites of this kind, 4chan requires no address or personal information from its users. The company owner, Christopher Poole, says that this allows the users of 4chan to be completely unfettered in their creativity and to keep their internet lives separate from their real world lives. The site has contributed a great deal to the rise of the internet subculture, and birthed extremely popular memes such as LOLcat and Rick Roll (Warren). The site has fallen into disfavor because the anonymity allows users to post uncensored graphic content, but in its wake other sites have taken the internet culture and meme developing torch. Tumblr and Pinterest host several thousand memes that are re-pinned and reposted all around the world on a daily basis. Users at sites such as Facebook and Twitter have started creating separate accounts and pages used for the sole purpose of passing along internet memes. They can be found at any of these websites with a simple search. A complete list can be discovered at Know Your Meme, but the task becomes more and more impossible to complete because more internet memes are created and passed on every single day. 2

Why Do We Need Memes: Need may be a strong word, but there is no doubt that internet savvy individuals crave these random bits of humor that make up the internet subculture.

3 Why Do We Need Memes: Need may be a strong word, but there is no doubt that internet savvy individuals crave these random bits of humor that make up the internet subculture. Not much is written on internet memes academically, so we do not have a source to back ourselves up on this, but as a group we would hypothesize that this psychological desire to spend time looking at pictures of cats and bad spelling instead of spending time at other activities has a great deal to do with inclusion. Memes function, in a way, as inside jokes. When someone references a meme, generally people who are already familiar with the material laugh, while those who aren t have no chance of understanding the humor until they have seen the meme for themselves. From personal experience, those who know about the meme feel included, while those who do not know the meme feel like they have missed out on an opportunity to laugh that they should have had. This is how sites like Know Your Meme have gotten so popular, and partly explains the tendency to pass the meme on to friends and family. An inside joke does no one any good without anyone in on it. Another way that people use memes is to find out more and comment on with what s going on in the world around them. There is so much going on in movies, books, pop culture, TV, news, the world of cuteness, and of course the raw stupidity of humanity, that it is impossible to witness it all first hand, and join in the commentary. People like to talk. Talk. They enjoy discussing the things that they have seen, and memes allow them to not only pass on information, but to provide commentary on it. For example, recently, Romney s comment in a debate about cutting the funding for PBS has created a flood of Big Bird inspired memes that have skyrocketed in popularity (Know Your Meme). These Big Bird memes not only make people laugh, they also tend to carry political opinions, and educate. People who stumble upon a Big Bird meme will look up the event that inspired it in order to understand the joke. This contributes to the idea that memes somehow, despite being mostly used for procrastination, save time. Not only do memes sometimes educate, they can also relieve stress. According to stress statistics, 77% of Americans regularly experience physical symptoms associated with stress, and 73% regularly experience psychological. The number one factor is job related (Stress Statistics). To maintain their lifestyle in a recession, people are working more than ever. This gives them more stress, and less time to relieve it. Those who enjoy memes generally want not only to be entertained, but to be entertained quickly. Because a meme is often only composed of a single image and takes only seconds to peruse individually, it is more accessible as a quick stress reliever than a book or a movie. People today feel that they don t have much time so they want something fast and funny to look at between classes, shows, or waiting on the bus. The danger in this is that because memes can be viewed so quickly, it is easy to lose track of time viewing multiples. 3

Memes: Time Savers or Wasters? Memes comply with the tiny cookie theory.

Because memes are so addicting the time spent looking at them is continually increased and improved upon.

Because so many memes are created, keeping up to date on the latest meme trends can be time consuming in and of itself.

4 Memes: Time Savers or Wasters? Memes comply with the tiny cookie theory. Big cookies are more calories, but if you make small cookies, you may feel that you can eat more of them and end up consuming more calories anyway. Because memes are so addicting the time spent looking at them is continually increased and improved upon. In an effort to be included, to relieve stress, and to find a laugh it is easy to lose track of time. Because so many memes are created, keeping up to date on the latest meme trends can be time consuming in and of itself. The feeling of inclusion as far as memes is concerned is always in constant jeopardy as new ones are continually developed. What Makes Them Popular: Most memes are simple and feature characters that are either very familiar, such as a celebrity or pro sports player; or they are cartoons that have become so common that meme viewers know them by name. With each picture there is usually a dialog or quote that is humorous or outrageous. The range of memes is endless and yet they seem to bring all cliques and genres closer because they intermingle and use crazy antics to apply to different kinds of media or pop culture. Some may make fun of Justin Bieber while others are explaining why Chuck Norris can do the impossible. Anything and everything can be made into a meme. That flexibility is the key to the memes success. Without clear limits other than what is voted on most, there are endless references that could be applied to a meme to make it different and yet retain the catchy type of flash humor that many are looking for. With the increase in social media sites, web searches, and smart phones full of apps, the accessibility of memes has never been easier. The readiness of individuals to share or tweet something funny they saw and enjoyed helps cement memes into our culture and everyday interactions and conversations. Because memes are so easily understood they are often great for getting a point across, or being rude in a more friendly manner. Among their simple roots, their uses and connotations are becoming more and more accepted and appreciated. 4

Why Do They Work: The increasing sharing and influence of memes is like a wild fire of creative energy that has the potential to move past borders and languages and genres as more and more people

Many are simply pictures or scenes which allows readers of other languages to immediately understand the context and meaning behind the image and enjoy it just as an American would.

5 Why Do They Work: The increasing sharing and influence of memes is like a wild fire of creative energy that has the potential to move past borders and languages and genres as more and more people become aware of and participate in creating memes. They work because anyone can find one that is related to one of their interests and because they make people laugh. Many are simply pictures or scenes which allows readers of other languages to immediately understand the context and meaning behind the image and enjoy it just as an American would. With the creation of certain meme characters such as Rage Face or Yao Ming smirk, words aren t necessary to produce a strong meme because the essence of a scene is summed up in one face. These universally recognized meme characters are spreading quickly because applying them makes users feel like they are a part of the elusive internet clique. Societal Impact: Is the Meme Here to Stay? Since 4chan, the meme has infected every major website on the internet and it continues to grow. There are Facebook memes, Tumblr memes, Pinterest memes, LiveJournal memes, Twitter memes, and Youtube memes. Every website generates a new kind of meme subculture based on the format of the website. Youtube memes are video based. Livejournal memes are writing based. Pinterest memes are picture and writing based, whereas Tumblr memes are usually only pictures.. Memes change based on the website, and when you talk about memes on LiveJournal you are not talking about the same thing as when you are talking about memes on Tumblr. Part of what makes the meme portion of internet subculture so prevalent is that it transcends other cultural barriers. The beauty of memes is that you can share them with your friends on a variety of social networking websites; everything from to Facebook. This ease of access and sharing combined with the world wide availability invites people from Hong Kong to share their humor with people in Alaska. While old memes fall by the wayside in favor of the latest meme trends, the meme itself seems here to stay. According to a graph of meme views, every year the rate of overall meme views grows (Figure). Children are getting exposed to them at younger and younger ages because they are joining the internet scene at younger and younger ages. Companies have started requiring that their employees are not only members of social media sites, but that they are active in them as well. Memes are a way that people stay active in social media and gain followers. Since many employers look for employees with a high number of followers on social media to determine whether they can maintain them, memes are starting to help people get jobs (Flor). Memes may seem insignificant. They are just pictures or images with minimal text that receive a reaction. But they have remarkable staying power. 5

6 People in California share with people in France. With roughly 196 countries in the world the opportunities for sharing a laugh are endless. Quite literally, memes are developing a new common language that people from everywhere understand. The people that you find on the internet are no longer being defined by their age, occupation, or country of origin. Instead, they are defined by what memes they post, and which ones they pass over. A thirteen year old girl from China and a thirty five year old woman from Germany can exist in the same cultural group based on their mutual interest in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Memes are still a relatively new concept, and the benefits and the consequences of memes will become more evident over time, but for better or worse, the meme, or mind virus is here to stay. 6

7 Works Cited "About Know Your Meme:." Know Your Meme. Cheezburger, Web. 07 Nov Brophy-Warren, Jamin. "Modest Web Site Is Behind a Bevy of Memes." Technology. The Wall Street Journal, 09 July Web. 7 Nov Bruce, Edmond. "A Brief Overview and History of Memetics." Centre for Policy Modelling Home Page. Journal of Memetics, 12 Nov Web. 07 Nov Coffey, Sarah. "J99 Social Media Strategies Class." J99 Social Media Strategies Class. (2012): n. page. Web. 31 Oct Flor, Nick V. "Web Business Engineering: Memetic Marketing." InformIT: The Trusted Technology Source for IT Pros and Developers. Pearson, 11 Dec Web. 07 "Stress Statistics." Statistic Brain. Seth Harden, n.d. Web. 07 Nov Image Sources "Big Bird." Cartoon. Know Your Meme. Cheezburger, n.d. Web. 7 Nov < "Chuck Norris." Cartoon. Know Your Meme. Cheezburger, n.d. Web. 7 Nov < "Hipster Ariel." Cartoon. Know Your Meme. Cheezburger, n.d. Web. 7 Nov < "LOLcat." Cartoon. Know Your Meme. Cheezburger, n.d. Web. 7 Nov < Meme Graph Cartoon. Know Your Meme. Cheezburger, n.d. Web. 7 Nov < "RickRoll." Cartoon. Know Your Meme. Cheezburger, n.d. Web. 7 Nov <

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