British evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, is credited with coining the term "meme" (pronounced "m-ee-m") in his 1976 book --- "The Selfish Gene". The word "meme" was fashioned after the word gene and referred to a way of "... explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena." ("Meme", Wikipedia).
Today the word "meme" is used, not in a biological sense, but in connection to a form of social media and is used to transmit a thought, idea or concept. This is usually done through the use of a picture and a small amount of text (most times not directly related to the picture used). Memes are, in most cases, meant to be entertaining:
But can also be used to communicate serious issues:
With sites such as Meme Generator, quickmeme, zipmeme and others anyone and everyone can show their meme-ing talent! I am actually hoping that this one becomes a sensation very soon:
Like videos, memes have the potential --- when they are VERY good --- to go viral. The video below attempts to give reasons as to why some memes tend to go viral or mainstream more than others. Additionally it helps to highlight the fact that the meme is indeed a new language --- a new way to share bits of information without going too much in depth to bring this info across.
Viva la meme!
Blossy, I had to read your blog twice to grasp and appreciate the beauty of "meme" as a communication tool. It's certainly novel that you pick up on it, while studying social media. I google-up the term "meme" and I found out that any catchphrase, word or image can be termed a meme. Well "meme" is here to stay and its usage by the candidates is creating a new level of enthusiasm in the US Presidential Elections. among voters .
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