If you spend any amount of time on social media, there is no doubt that you have come across a meme (pronounced mee-m) at one point or another. Memes may not directly affect your business, but social media does. Read on for everything you never knew you wanted to know about the Internet phenomenon known as the meme!
Google the word meme and you might find the following definition: Meme. Noun. \m?m\ 1) An element of culture or behavior that may be passed from one individual to another by non-genetic means. 2) An image or video that is passed electronically from one Internet user or another.
That definition leaves a bit to be desired, so rather than confuse you with stuffy definitions and meaningless jargon, let’s take a look at this handy infographic created by Mozy (it’s pretty big and has lots of great pictures, but if you get impatient and just want to know the main points, scroll down to the bottom).
What does this infographic tell us?
The first meme dates back to the 1870’s when a gentleman by the name of Harry Frees decided to get creative with his greeting card business. According to this infographic, he dressed his cats up in doll clothes, snapped some photos, then added a witty caption and then sold them for a profit. Now that’s one way to make your meme go viral – without even using the internet!
The word “meme” doesn’t just mean “funny photo found on the internet.” Memes also include gifs, videos, image macros, rage comics, and commercials.
There are thousands of memes out there, but some of the most well known are Success Kid, First World Problems, and one of OUR personal favorites, Grumpy Cat (not included in this infographic, but definitely worth mentioning!).
Popular websites where you can find memes
The website I Can Has Cheezburger was created in 2007 and features lolcats, a.k.a. photos of cats and other animals with funny captions written in lolcat language. Click here for an example.
Tumblr, the blogging site recently acquired by Yahoo, is packed full of memes, and much much more! Click here to see one of our favorite gifs (i.e. animated meme) from a Tumblr titled “What Should We Call Social Media.”
Dog Shaming is a creative, laugh-inducing website where dog owners can submit photos of their pets doing something naughty, out of the ordinary, or just plain weird in order to “publicly shame” their pups. If you’re looking for a laugh, click here.
Memes are a huge part of online culture, and in order to be successful with social media, it’s important to understand the good, the bad, and even the funny aspects of your online community! Think about it: now when someone says, “did you see that hilarious meme I posted on so-and-so’s wall the other day?” you can say, “yeah, the one of grumpy cat looking completely unimpressed? Hilarious!”