{"id":47856,"date":"2012-01-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/a-beginners-guide-to-internet-memes\/"},"modified":"2012-04-12T13:48:54","modified_gmt":"2012-04-12T13:48:54","slug":"a-beginners-guide-to-internet-memes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/2\/27179\/internet\/internet-meme\/a-beginners-guide-to-internet-memes","title":{"rendered":"A Beginner’s Guide to Internet Memes"},"content":{"rendered":"
Whether it\u2019s Chuck Norris roundhouse kicking the universe into existence or a video of a cat on a piano, the world of Internet memes is an unpredictable place where almost anything can go viral. While viral Internet memes are still a relatively new phenomenon, we\u2019ll look at some of the most popular ones and try to classify them into their five main types: phrasal memes, pic memes, video memes, interactive memes and promotional memes. <\/p>\n
A meme<\/a> is an element of culture that is passed from one individual to another, usually through imitation. While it\u2019s very hard to say what special element makes some memes go viral, it is possible to look back on the ones that had the biggest impact on popular culture. <\/p>\n Because the definition of an Internet meme is so broad, anything that spreads quickly and widely online may fall into this category. The first Internet memes were arguably the text-based ones that are frequently used in chat, such as :-), :-P, :-0, lol, brb and so on. These memes spread through repetition and imitation, just as certain jokes, phrases and song verses spread through print, radio and television prior to the Internet. <\/p>\n Phrasal memes are still alive and well on the Internet. \u201cAll your base are belong to us<\/a>,\u201d \u201cLeroy Jenkins,\u201d and many more have exploded across the Internet – and even made the jump to mainstream media. <\/p>\n Chuck Norris facts<\/a> are one of the more popular of the phrasal memes. It began in 2005 and peaked with the release of print books chronicling the actor\u2019s many (fictional) super-human abilities, including such gems as:<\/p>\n Internet memes based around interesting, shocking and often hilarious photos and photoshopped images regularly make the rounds through email and blog posts. These are often called pic memes. Although it\u2019s difficult to pinpoint the first pic meme, the longevity of the ubiquitous LOLcats – a basic label for pictures of cats in comedic situations, adorned with humorous (and poorly spelled) captions -suggests that pic memes are worth exploring. <\/p>\n Pic memes have evolved far beyond the feline realm, however, and now memes include the Cigar Guy from golf tournaments, floating Chinese politicians, allegedly stoned dogs and many, many more. The main characteristic of this type of meme is that it relies on a strange or humorous photo, which is sometimes accompanied by a caption. <\/p>\n Video memes have come to dominate Internet sites like YouTube, which offer a constant stream of new, user-generated video. The Dancing Baby<\/a>, which was designed to show off 3D rendering, became one of the first animated hits to spread across the Internet and mainstream media. It was quickly followed by a man enthusiastically dancing the Numa Numa<\/a>, a kid doped up after the dentist, a preteen emulating the \u201cStar Wars\u201d character Darth Maul, and many more viral videos. <\/p>\n Youtube, Facebook and Twitter help to popularize these videos in a very short time \u2013 often leading to unwanted fame for the subjects of these videos. Compounding the embarrassment is the proliferation of blogs, including the epic fail blog and fail blogs, which document boneheaded slip-ups and archive them forever. If there is one thing worse than looking like an idiot, it is looking like an idiot in a viral video.<\/p>\nPhrasal Memes: When Sayings Catch On<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Video Memes: Star Wars Kid and a Dancing Baby<\/span><\/h2>\n
Interactive Memes: Rickroll\u2019d Again<\/span><\/h2>\n