The term
Internet meme is a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the
Internet, much like an esoteric
inside joke.
The term is a reference to the concept of
memes, although this concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.
Description
At its most basic, an Internet meme is simply the propagation of a digital file or
hyperlink from one person to others using methods available through the Internet (for example,
email,
blogs,
social networking sites,
instant messaging, etc). The content often consists of a saying or joke, a rumor, an altered or original image, a complete website, a video clip or animation, or an offbeat news story, among many other possibilities. An Internet meme may stay the same or may evolve over time, by chance or through commentary, imitations, and
parody versions, or even by collecting news accounts about itself. Internet memes have a tendency to evolve and spread extremely quickly, sometimes going in and out of popularity in just days. They are spread organically, voluntarily, and
peer to peer, rather than by compulsion, predetermined path, or completely automated means.
The term may refer to the content that spreads from user to user, the idea behind the content, or the phenomenon of its spread. Internet memes have been seen as a form of art. There exist websites that collect and popularize Internet memes as well as sites devoted to the spread of specific Internet memes. The term is generally not applied to content or web services that are seen as legitimate, useful, and non-faddish, or that spread through organized publishing and distribution channels. Thus, serious news stories, videogames, web services, songs by established musical groups, or the like are usually not called Internet memes.
Types and uses
Self-promotion
One common form of Internet meme is created when a person, company, product, musical group, or the like is promoted on the Internet for its pop culture value.
Vanity sites, for example, are among the first recognized Internet memes.
Inadvertent celebrity
Often, a person or company becomes infamous (or indeed famous) by virtue of an embarrassing video, e-mail, or other act.
Urban rumors and hoaxes
Many Internet memes are
urban legends,
fraud schemes,
slander or false news stories that are either planted deliberately to become an Internet meme, evolve by mistake or rumor, or that jump from an offline source to the Internet. A relatively common example is the
2012 doomsday prediction. It is also common to create fake "for sale" listings on sites such as
Craigslist or
eBay for no other reason than to amuse people.
Web sites such as
Snopes collect lists of such hoaxes or offer services by which users can fact-check popular claims they find on the Internet in order to determine their source and whether or not they are true. Sites like
Urban Dictionary and Snopes collect user-generated information about rumors, neologisms, and other popular culture phenomena, many of which could be considered Internet memes.
Advertising and marketing
Public relations, advertising, and marketing professionals have embraced Internet memes as a form of
viral marketing to create marketing "
buzz" for their product or service. Internet memes are seen as cost-effective, and because of their (sometimes self-conscious) faddishness, a way to create an image of cleverness or trendiness. Marketers, for example, use Internet memes to create interest in films that would otherwise not generate positive publicity among critics. The film
Snakes on a Plane generated much publicity from this method. Political operatives use Internet memes to shape opinion. Used in the context of public relations, the term would be more of an advertising
buzzword than a proper Internet meme, although there is still an implication that the interest in the content is for purposes of trivia, ephemera, or frivolity rather than straightforward advertising and news.
Image editing
Perhaps the most popular Internet memes are made by editing images (pictures, drawings, portraits, etc.) because of the ease that editing an image implies; these kind of Internet memes acquire a broad significance rapidly because they can be shared easily over the Internet. These images usually depict a same original image edited or modified in several ways. For example, some accessories may be added, colors or dimensions changed or the background/foreground replaced. Also, an existing image may be turned into a parody of a
motivational poster using various websites, which gives a picture a background, title and brief description without needing to open up image editing software. Another trend is to create a totally new image or version of the original concept. Many of these images originate from sites such as heavily-frequented
Internet forums.
References to pop culture
Often Internet memes will include references to current items of
pop culture, such as popular movies, celebrities or news. Some examples of this are the
Chuck Norris facts or the "Sparta!" meme, quoting (or 'referencing') popular lines from the movie
300, especially in places where they don't make sense. Some common lines quoted are:
- "This is blasphemy. This is madness!"
- "Madness?... This! Is! SPARTA!"
Sometimes, but not always, accompanied by images from the film, most commonly depicting one figure kicking another into a large black pit (such as a picture similar to common yellow-black warning signs: a stick-person kicking another into a pit with the warning "CAUTION: This is Sparta!" on the top and bottom). Another common variation of the Sparta meme involves that of editing images by superimposing
Leonidas' face over someone else's, and then add an
image macro caption using lines from the film. In 2008, there was even a
Facebook group set up to encourage students to insert "This is Sparta" into their
Advanced Placement tests.
Another example of a pop culture reference meme is the insertion of the name "
Leeroy Jenkins" accompanying an ill-advised charge, following the staged events that occurred in
World of Warcraft during a routine gone horribly wrong after the actions of "Jenkins". This meme and its typical usage prior to a catastrophic strategic failure has become popular enough to appear on the prime-time
NBC comedy series
My Name Is Earl. In the show's 2008 Halloween episode,
Randy Hickey charges into a fight with an angry mob with the battle cry, "Leeroy Jenkins!"
See also
- ROFLCon, a convention of the people central to the memes and their fans
