Ormond Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 It has dawned on me that the word "meme" is being used in ways which I think are rather different than what was intended by the person who invented the word. I just had a friend complain that too many people were posting "memes" on his Facebook feed. I asked him what he meant by a meme and his response was: A big box that contains words as opposed to a simple one or two line Status Update. My own personal definition of the word would be "any idea or image which becomes widespread by quickly being adopted by many people." I am deliberately NOT going back to find the history of the word, but just giving a definition off the top of my head. So how would you all define "meme" these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 7 minutes ago, Ormond said: It has dawned on me that the word "meme" is being used in ways which I think are rather different than what was intended by the person who invented the word. I just had a friend complain that too many people were posting "memes" on his Facebook feed. I asked him what he meant by a meme and his response was: A big box that contains words as opposed to a simple one or two line Status Update. My own personal definition of the word would be "any idea or image which becomes widespread by quickly being adopted by many people." I am deliberately NOT going back to find the history of the word, but just giving a definition off the top of my head. So how would you all define "meme" these days? I do think it has a technical definition, the one that Richard Dawkins coined, and a common definition, the photo with a one or two line statement used in social media. They are not coextensive. I think the Dawkins meme subsumes social media memes but there are Dawkins memes that are not social media memes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I consider the original definition to require propagation. These days a one-off picture of a certain style is termed a meme, I think inaccurately but probably irreversibly. The definition you (Ormond) posted is nonsense, although who knows, maybe it too will become widely adopted, continuing the ongoing destruction of language and meaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datepalm Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I'm still with Ormond - a meme is defined by its propogationary, participatory quality, it's not a matter of a particular content or medium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceluby Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Static picture w/ some sort of text, with either the picture or the text to be easily recognizable; typically a pop-culture reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Walker Texas Ranger Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Technically, a photo with a line or two of text is an Image Macro. But an Image Macro (and variations to said image) can become a meme in Dawkinsian sense if enough people spread it. Also, Rick Rolling was a meme in the modern internet sense and also a meme in the Dawkinsian sense, but it wasn't an image macro. I'm not sure sure what point I'm making by pointing that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunderMifflin Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 I predict in 5-10 years there will be no difference in the socially accepted meanings of "trolling" and "meme" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 In terms of its' internet definition, I'd go with "a picture is worth a thousand words." http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/000/626/354/cea.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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