Interesting Meme is Interesting

[Jamshyd]

I thought I'd make a discussion specific to this particular subject. Unlike many, I find memes very ammusing, as well as interesting to observe and note over-time.

Before we start, related reading:

The Meme Thread
Memetics

I honestly don't think internet "memes" are truly memes in the classical sense of the word. They seem to be more a part of a new kind of social interaction that is exclusive to the internet.

I'd be interested in hearing what people think about this. How did memes originate, what do they express, and why do people engage in them?

 

[Rated E]

I LOVE MEMES!

xD

How did memes originate?

The same way the spread of information originated. With advances in communication technology came a larger playing field for the spread of cultural information. The rise in popularity of the internet has taken it to a whole new level, hence the popularity and creation of the "internet meme". The reason why the internet has boosted this idea of memes, I think, is due to it being a largely interactive medium. Television, movies, music, newspapers, these are not as interactive, and thus, memes created within these mediums would mostly be created by the producers of them - which is a fairly small section of society. It's kind of like, "here you go people, here are your memes, these will be passed through culture until we create new memes for you". Where as with the internet, it's more like "we are the people, these are our memes."

what do they express

They can express all sorts of things. For example, on 4chan, you'll find a lot of memes expressing an attitude that is sexist, racist, anti-government, anti-establishment, anti-political correctness, anti-conformity while being completely conforming.

They can express social norms, or they can express the bizarreness of social norms.

why do people engage in them?

I think memes can give a sense of belonging. Or maybe people just engage in them for the lulz.

 

[Rated E]

Also,

 

[The Is]

They've been around forever; but they were called catchphrases before the net.

The whole point is they are garbage you can blurt out/type to 'fit in' or convince yourself that you're having a conversation without taking the risks of actual communication.

Instead of thinking about how you feel and trying to relate that to other people, you make communication a game where you look for gaps to put your catchphrase puzzle piece.

 

[TRPPNASS_DSCOMONKE]

it all in the name of the lulz










LULZ!

 

[Obyron]

There were memes before the internet; using meme in the sense that we seem to mean here. Look at Warhol or Duchamp. I think most of the Dadaists would be right at home reading 4chan. Internet memes are just the latest expression of a very old pop cultural phenomenon.

 

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

They've been around forever; but they were called catchphrases before the net.

The whole point is they are garbage you can blurt out/type to 'fit in' or convince yourself that you're having a conversation without taking the risks of actual communication.

Instead of thinking about how you feel and trying to relate that to other people, you make communication a game where you look for gaps to put your catchphrase puzzle piece.

This made me smile to read, because it got me thinking about some people I've met in my travels whom you might describe as 'plastic', and whose remarks you'd probably describe as 'canned'. Great people to barhop with. Great people to tag along with if you're in light, 'good times' kinds of situations, and aren't good at breaking the ice. But not people you want to see in any kind of serious situations. Certainly not people you'd trust when your back is turned.

It's not that they're necessarily bad people.

They just SAY SO LITTLE, especially funny in light of how much and how loudly they TALK, that I can't ascertain anything meaningful about them, and what drives them.

 

[Rated E]

^ I know the kind of people you are describing. In fact it's a perfect description for a few of my friends.

I'm not so sure that:

Certainly not people you'd trust when your back is turned.

Is a common trait with them, however (assuming that "them" is the same "them ). With some ,yes, with others, no. They come in both varieties. Obviously your experience will be different to mine.

 

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

^ True. I guess what I was trying to imply wasn't that plastic people are more likely to be shifty, but that you just can't rule out the possibility that they are shady or fickle, especially when, like con men, they seem to reveal as little about themselves as possible. Granted I may be biased.

 

[ebola?]

Okay. What is a meme?
Are we talking about cultural 'packets' that are propagated and pruned by some set of processes analogous to natural selection in biology?

I honestly don't think internet "memes" are truly memes in the classical sense of the word. They seem to be more a part of a new kind of social interaction that is exclusive to the internet.

I think that they're pretty much 'in-jokes', but divorced of the common autobiographical memories that give rise to "in real life" in jokes. Instead, we are relying on shared media-based experiences. Like in-jokes, the more enduring humor comes from manipulating them in novel ways, in novel contexts, rather than the initial humorous situation to which 'memes' point in the beginning.

 

[Jamshyd]

^ I would agree with that last sentence, but it seems like I'm amongst the few who find this phenomenon utterly fascinating...

No need to overcomplicate semantics. By "meme" I simply meant exactly what people posting in forums refer to as a "meme", regardless of why they call it that .

 

[ebola?]

mmm...I find the phenomenon of internet 'memes', taken in the abstract, pretty entertaining. However, I often lose sight of this because I find most 'memes', as people spread them, unoriginal and boring.

I also think that if one subscribes to Dawkins' larger speculation about how culture works (to anyone who doesn't know: he invented the term "meme"), internet 'memes' have to be examples of memes-proper (along with all other meanings).

ebola

 

[L2R]

mmm...I find the phenomenon of internet 'memes', taken in the abstract, pretty entertaining. However, I often lose sight of this because I find most 'memes', as people spread them, unoriginal and boring.

as do i.

the original jokes may be superb but then once they are repeated out of context, nine times out of ten they become sad excuses for posts, taking up space for the sake of the postcount and for the lack of anything creative or original.

 

[qwe]

They've been around forever; but they were called catchphrases before the net.

memes concern a lot more than just the internet... and scientifically they aren't used just to analyze internet phenomena, it's just that studying memes on the internet is easier than studying memes in real life usually

 

[qwe]

No need to overcomplicate semantics. By "meme" I simply meant exactly what people posting in forums refer to as a "meme", regardless of why they call it that

sometimes semantics is a good thing. if we are all arguing with different definitions, then we are all arguing against strawmen.

if we don't understand what the meaning that the others are trying to convey is, then our replies are going to be meaningless

 

[Lysis]

I love memes, but to truly enjoy the ones online, you have to have an open sense of humor.

I post a lot of the memes found in the lounge to another forum I post on and man those housewives get pissed. LOL

 

[ebola?]

as do i.

the original jokes may be superb but then once they are repeated out of context, nine times out of ten they become sad excuses for posts, taking up space for the sake of the postcount and for the lack of anything creative or original.

lolwut?

 

[The_Idler]

This made me smile to read, because it got me thinking about some people I've met in my travels whom you might describe as 'plastic', and whose remarks you'd probably describe as 'canned'. Great people to barhop with. Great people to tag along with if you're in light, 'good times' kinds of situations, and aren't good at breaking the ice. But not people you want to see in any kind of serious situations. Certainly not people you'd trust when your back is turned.

It's not that they're necessarily bad people.

They just SAY SO LITTLE, especially funny in light of how much and how loudly they TALK, that I can't ascertain anything meaningful about them, and what drives them.

Well this describes about 95% of my associates.



but then, i am a 17 yr old guy, in Northampton....
Hence the fact that I talk about pretty much anything I am actually interested in, on BL,
and just go out with my friends to party and do drugs, which I am sure BL would be good at too =P we just don't have the facilities....

Anyway, back to smokin ganja and posting in The Lounge.... 8)

 

[The_Idler]

sometimes semantics is a good thing. if we are all arguing with different definitions, then we are all arguing against strawmen.

if we don't understand what the meaning that the others are trying to convey is, then our replies are going to be meaningless

Welcome to P&S 8)

"I believe in God, but I believe that God is....."


heheheh sorry for my noise.

 

[BurnOneDown]

I really hate memes in personal interaction for the same reasons that MDAO and The Is have described. I don't need to go into further detail.

Internet memes are hilarious though. I find them to be truly humorous. Almost everything is anonymous anyway so they are an efficient way to relate to others given the circumstances. Anyone interested in internet memes and the way they will revolutionize global culture should check this out.