If you've used the internet for more than a few days, you've probably seen a meme. They've get an integral part of modernistic online life. Just, where did they become their offset? How have they evolved? And where did the word "meme" come up from, anyway?
Where Did the Word "Meme" Come up From?
The first published case of the word meme (pronounced "Meem," not me-me), dates back to Richard Dawkins' 1976 volume,The Selfish Gene.Dawkins referred to it every bit a "Mimeme"—a give-and-take derived from Greek that ways "that which is imitated." The discussion was then abbreviated to just "meme" due to its similarity to the word "factor."
Dawkins coined the term because he was trying to effigy out whether there was a measurable unit of measurement describing how ideas spread and propagated through generations. So, put simply, a meme is to an idea what a factor is to a physical trait. And much like how genes and physical traits evolve through natural selection, Dawkins believed that anything capable of undergoing evolution—like memes and ideas—also did so through natural selection.
This is where the mod form of the discussion "meme" is derived—the idea of the replication, choice, and evolution of ideas all working themselves out in the biggest proving ground of ideas ever—the internet.
Were There Memes Before The Internet?
Memes have been around since long before the internet existed. In fact, they have been around since before Dawkins coined the term, showing up as early equally 79 AD in a Pompeii ruin and as belatedly as the 1970s, in graffiti.
The Sator Square is a palindrome of the five words "SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS"—ane on top of the next. You lot tin can read in whatsoever direction (bold you read Latin), including upside down and backward. Although nobody knows for certain what it means, it has shown up over the centuries in different cultures all over the world, including France, England, Syria, and Italy.
Frodo Baggins, the fictional character of J.R.R Tolkien'sThe Lord Of The Rings trilogy, as well became part of a meme. The phrase "Frodo Lives" was plastered all over in graffiti, buttons, and even bumper stickers on cars. It was frequently used by people who felt that Frodo, who was sent off to Mordor on a death mission past powerful people with their own agendas, was a skillful metaphor for beingness held down by "The Human."
Another instance of memes occurred on Usenet in the early on 1990s: Godwin'southward Police force. Although it was initially conceived for a newsgroup discussion forum, information technology remains as applicable today as it did nigh 30 years ago. Godwin's Law states that "Every bit a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one." One time a thread would reach that signal, it was traditionally considered over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis immediately lost any credibility in the argument.
RELATED: What is the Departure Between Usenet and the Cyberspace?
What Were The First Internet Memes?
The kickoff viral internet meme tin exist pinned dorsum to a particular dancing baby that was spread around the internet, earlier finally appearing on an episode ofMarry McBeal.
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In 1996, graphic designer Michael Girard created software that showed how movement could exist programmed and projected via computers. The last design was the model of a baby demonstrating different movements from the Cha-Cha-Cha. Girard's employer and so sent the demo out to developers to bear witness off their software's capabilities. 1 of the demos arrived in the inbox of a LucasArts employee, who then turned the video into a GIF and shared it (largely via forums and email, only too on the burgeoning spider web), sending it into a widespread viral sensation.
The Hampster Dance was another pop early on internet meme. Information technology was a website that featured rows of animated GIF hamsters dancing to a sped up version of "Whistle Stop"—a song used in the credits of Walt Disney'south Robin Hood. The site was created past a Canadian fine art pupil in a competition with her sister and a friend in 1998, to run into who could generate the virtually spider web traffic online.
Afterwards only generating 600 views in viii months, her website suddenly went viral. In simply four days, her site saw over 600,000 views, gaining popularity through e-mail, blogs, and even bumper stickers.
How Have Memes Evolved Since Then?
With the wide employ of social media and sites like Reddit, 9GAG, and 4Chan, it has go increasingly easy for memes to gain popularity and go viral overnight, with millions of daily visitors looking to have a lol or 2.
Before the cyberspace came along, memes tended to take political or cultural significance, and their popularity lasted much longer than they do today. While some memes today can still bear witness longevity, most go from viral to forgotten in a relatively short fourth dimension. This is partly due to how fast the internet moves (there'south e'er something new to take hold of your attention) and partly because of how easy information technology is to create memes.
Memes have also moved away from political or cultural topics to focus more on pop-culture references and sarcastic life observations, making them relatable, funny, and easier for them to spread like wildfire beyond the spider web.
One significant case of evolution in a meme would have to be LOLCats and the whole linguistic communication surrounding the meme itself. LOLCats utilize a artistic fashion of spelling with their memes, called lolspeak, personifying cats depicted in images. Using spelling mistakes and improper tenses to brand sentences in a mutual structure, where "Can I accept a cheeseburger?" would translate to "i tin has cheezberger."
As of 2010, the LOLCat Bible Translation Project finished a translation of The Bible into lolspeak, even going as far as to translate The New Testament besides. Merely things don't cease there: an esoteric programming language called LOLCode was born, using the very aforementioned format of speaking in LOLCats memes, to course an ever-evolving meme beyond a simple film.
Desire to larn more than about specific memes? There's no better place to explore than Know Your Meme—a veritable encyclopedia of all things meme.
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Posted by: pritchardsirte1986.blogspot.com
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