What's in a meme?

Source: Getty Images

The Olympics have come and gone for 2012 and all that we are left with is the sting of defeat and an abundance of silver medals. But one thing endures the two weeks spent in front of the couch, sacrificing sleep and throwing off our body clocks: the memes. Seeing me through the games of the XXX Olympiad was a companion Facebook page appropriately titled 'Olympic Memes' which commented on everything Olympic related, from long and unpronounceable last names, to captioned  sports action shots and everything in between.

16 year old gymnast from the United States, McKayla Maroney, shot to internet stardom when her now famous scowl after being awarded the silver medal (she was expected to win the gold) made its way onto Tumblr, her 'not impressed' face superimposed into the background of historical or spectacular scenes.

Source: Flickr

McKayla is not impressed has shown us that no one is safe from the trolls and internet enthusiasts out there. Anyone or anything has the potential to become a meme. Take for instance Zeddie Little who you probably know better as 'Ridiculously Photogenic Guy'. Little was snapped amongst a pack of runners at an annual marathon, his Colgate smile, charm and effortlessness while running 10km in South Caroline heat became the perfect formula to creating a successful meme and generated growth through the platform Reddit.

Memes were once centred around popular culture and fandoms (see 'One does not simply walk into Mordor', 'Conspiracy Keanu' and 'Strutting Leo'), forming somewhat of a subculture of meme-makers and appreciators worldwide where only certain people 'in the know' or with the right knowledge could understand the references made but now the internet is looking broader for inspiration. Memes are becoming more universal in their content (anything from a global event such as the Olympics or the Royal Wedding can bring about new memes - meaning more people can understand and appreciate memes) and also being more accessible for those who wish to create or generate their own meme.

I think it's important for us to define what exactly a meme is (although sometimes problematic given the dynamic movement of the internet) and how it differentiates from viral material on YouTube. In an article by the BBC, Chris Quigley, the organiser of a meme sharing meeting in London states, "A meme is a cultural thing that is re-mixed and changed by the community."So something like the Nyan Cat video which has over 82 million views on YouTube is viral because of its reach and spread but it is when users take the original and change, morph and mould it into their own tastes, is when it becomes a meme.

This links back to the original meaning of the word meme (mind was blown when Fiona told us) coined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976) as a concept for evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena (he gives the example of melodies and catch-phrases LOL and fershunz fashion). Memes evolve through the process of variation, mutation, competition and inheritance - which influence a memes repetitive success. Memes that cultivate less become extinct while others can flourish through circulation and mutation. Sound familiar?