Internet meme
An Internet meme, or simply meme (/miːm/, MEEM), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behaviour, or style) that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. Internet memes can take various forms, such as images, videos, GIFs, and various other viral sensations. Characteristics of memes include their susceptibility to parody, their use of intertextuality, their propagation in a viral pattern, and their evolution over time. The name is from the concept of memes proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1972.
Mike Godwin coined the term Internet meme in 1993 when he discussed memes as spreading via messageboards, Usenet groups, and email. With the rise of social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, memes have become more diverse and can spread quickly. More recent genres include "dank" and surrealist memes, as well as short-form videos such as those uploaded on Vine and TikTok.
Memes are considered an important part of Internet culture, and have become a developed research area. They appear in a range of contexts, such as marketing, economics, finance, politics, social movements, religion, and healthcare. Although some argue memes deserve fair use protection, use of media from pre-existing works can sometimes lead to issues with copyright.
Characteristics
Internet memes come from the original concept of memes as an element of culture passed on from person to person. On the Internet, this spread occurs through online mediums such as social media.[1] Though the terms are related, Internet memes differ in that they are often short-lasting fads, while traditional memes have their success determined by longevity. Internet memes are also seen as less conceptually abstract compared to their traditional counterpart.[2] There is no single format that memes must follow, and they can have various purposes. For example, they often serve as simply light entertainment, but can also be powerful tools for self-expression, connection, social influence, and political subversion.[3]
Two central attributes of Internet memes are creative reproduction and intertextuality.[4] The former refers to the tendency of a popular meme to become subject to parody and imitation, which may occur by mimicry or remix. Mimicry refers to the reproduction of a meme in a different setting to the original (e.g., different people imitating the "Charlie Bit My Finger" viral video). Remix uses the original material of the meme but alters it in some way using technology-based manipulation (such as Photoshop).[4]
Intertextuality may be demonstrated through memes that combine different subjects or aspects of culture. For example, a meme may combine United States politician Mitt Romney's assertion of the phrase "binders full of women" from a 2012 US presidential debate with the Korean pop song "Gangnam Style" by overlaying the text "my binders full of women exploded" onto a frame from Psy's music video where paper blows around him. This gives new meaning to the scene from the music video and blends the political and cultural aspects of two different nations.[4]
Memes can involve in-jokes within online communities, which communicate exclusive cultural knowledge unbeknown to general users; through this, a collective group identity can be built.[5] Other memes, in contrast, have broader cultural relevance and can be understood even by those outside the subculture one would associate with the meme.[3]
A study by Michele Knobel and Colin Lankshear explored three characteristics of successful memes identified by Richard Dawkins (fidelity, fecundity, and longevity) with Internet memes. It was found that the fidelity of internet memes was better understood as replicability, as memes, though preserving their essence, are often not transmitted entirely "intact" (due to remixing of some sort). Fecundity was postulated to be determined by three main characteristics: humour (e.g. the comically translated video game line "All your base are belong to us"), intertextuality (e.g. the various pop culture-referencing renditions of the Star Wars Kid viral video), and anomalous juxtaposition (e.g. the Bert is Evil phenomenon). Lastly, a meme's longevity was described as essential for a meme's ongoing transmission and evolution.[6]
By context
Marketing
The practice of using memes to market products or services has been termed "memetic marketing".[42] Internet memes allow brands to circumvent the conception of advertisements as irksome, making them less overt and more tailored to the likes of their target audience. Marketing personnel may choose to utilise an existing meme, or create a new meme from scratch. Fashion house Gucci employed the former strategy, launching a series of Instagram ads that reimagined popular memes featuring its watch collection. The image macro "The Most Interesting Man in the World" is an example of the latter, a meme generated from an advertising campaign for the Dos Equis beer brand.[43] Products may also gain popularity through internet memes without intention by the producer themselves; for instance, the film Snakes on a Plane became a cult classic after creation of the website SnakesOnABlog.com by law student Brian Finkelstein.[44]
Use of memes by brands, while often advantageous, has been subject to criticism for seemingly forced, unoriginal, or unfunny usage of memes, which can negatively impact a brand's image.[45] For example, the fast food company Wendy's began a social media-based approach to marketing that was initially met with success (resulting in an almost 50% profit growth that year), but received criticism after sharing a controversial Pepe meme that was negatively perceived by consumers.[46]
