Internet meme

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.115.14.20 (talk) at 02:11, 11 October 2008. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Hampster Dance, a widely distributed Internet meme of the late 1990s.

The term Internet meme is a neologism used to describe a catchphrase HJUUJYIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGcontent 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.[1] There exist websites that collect and popularize Internet memes as well as sites devoted to the sprHBJHH

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.[2] In extraordinary cases where an otherwise non-noteworthy person or incident gains great popularity this way, it is often considered an Internet meme.

Inadvertent celebrity

Often, a person or company becomes infamous (or indeed famous) by virtue of an embarrassing video, e-mail, or other act. These arise, for example, in the context of dating and relationships, video games, job applications, security cameras and other hidden videos, or collections of bizarre news stories. Examples include the Star Wars kid and the Numa Numa dance.

Urban rumors and hoaxes

Many Internet memes are urban rumors, 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. It is common to create fake "for sale" listings on sites such as Craigslist or eBay for no other reason than to amuse people.[3] Web sites such as snopes.com collect lists of such hoaxes or offer services by which users can fact 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.[4] 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 editiiginate from sites such as 4chan and other 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. An example of this is the "Spartan" meme, quoting (or 'referencing') popular lines from the movie 300, especially in places where they don't make sense. The most common lines quoted are:

  • "This is madness!"
  • "Madness?... This is SPARTA!!!"

Sometimes, but not always, accompanied by images, 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). In 2008, there was even a Facebook group set up to encourage students to insert "This is Sparta" into their Advanced Placement tests.[5]

Another example of a pop culture reference meme is the random insertion of the name "Leeroy Jenkins", following the staged events that occurred in World of Warcraft during a routine raid gone horribly wrong after the actions of Jenkins.

See also

  • Forum spam
  • List of Internet phenomena
  • Meme - A unit of cultural information that propagates from one mind to another as a theoretical unit of cultural evolution and diffusion.
  • ROFLCon - A convention of the people central to the memes and their fans.
  • Encyclopedia Dramatica - A famous encyclopedia of internet memes.
  • YTMND
  • 4chan - An imageboard on which numerous (read: all) memes have started.
  • Newgrounds - A flash Website based on Internet phenomena.

References

  1. ^ Xeni Jardin. "Digital Art: It's All About L.A." Wired Magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  2. ^ Karl Hodge (August 10, 2000). "It's all in the memes". the Guardian. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  3. ^ Karen Schubert (July, 2003). "Bazaar goes bizarre". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-07-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ David Carr. "Hollywood bypassing critics and print as digital gets hotter". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  5. ^ This is Sparta! — Facebook prank or political statement? - Examiner.com

Further reading

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Internet_meme&oldid=244494326"