What is an Internet meme?
The term ‘meme’ was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. It describes an idea that spreads among people via the Internet. It could be a word, symbol, image, video, story – anything that becomes an instant cultural phenomenon.
A meme (rhymes with ‘team’) can be sent through email, social networks, blogs, instant messages, etc. and can spread across the globe rapidly within days. Hence, memes are a popular tool for viral marketing to create awareness about a new product among the masses.
An Internet meme may remain the same or it may evolve as it spreads. Users my tweak or it may evolve as it copying. For example, after the South Korean rapper Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ video vent viral on YouTube, memes were created showing various personalities in the horse-dance pose – one showed an animated Batman hopping a la ‘Gotham Style!’
Memes are popular among teenagers for their humour quotient or shock value.
Picture Credit : Google