Memes Archives - Successful Blog

As we established on Monday, a meme is an idea that propagates itself. Memes (rhymes with dreams) got their name from Richard Dawkins in his book, The Selfish Gene, and are the cultural counterpart of biological unit gene.

I get bloggy tagged often by the pseudo-memes that travel the blogosphere. I’m lucky the bloggy tags that march my way are usually fun and often offer a way they can be made useful or entertaining for folks reading my blog.

On Monday, folks asked me to start a campaign to rename the bloggy memes something . . . um . . . er . . . more appropriate. Unfortunately, I have no faith in my ability or strength to move the blogosphere in such a noisy way.

Heck, I got a passel of Bloggy Tags this week to address. That’s a force to contend with. So I choose to take a quieter route — one that makes sense for me –to formally describe and name what we do and give it a button of its own.

Introducing, “Bloggy Tag.” It’s a scattershot Internet version of the children’s game. Here’s how you play.

Do a written task or answer a question. Then tag 1-5 others to do as you did.

Tag your post with the button shown to the right to alert readers that you’re playing.

Link the button to the post of the person who tagged you, if you didn’t start the game.

Tell your readers to click the button to find out who came before you. It’s a surprise for them.

One cool part of the whole thing is that everyone can tell at a glance when a post is the answer to a tag. We no longer have to write extreme explanations about who made the tag. Once everyone gets the rules down, we won’t have to repeat them over and over either. YEA!

If it works for you feel free to take the button with you and use it the next time you get tagged. Meanwhile . . . this weekend . . .

Bloggy Tag Weekend: I have named this an Official Bloggy-Tag Weekend on Successful-Blog. I plan to catch up on all of the bloggy tags recently sent my way and any I might have missed in the past.

If you have bloggy tagged me in 2007 and you haven’t seen your answer yet, please email me at lizsun2 @ gmail.com with a link to the post that has your tag. Thanks in advance for that help.

After all, we can’t have mutant memes running loose on the Internet. The meme pool could contract a memetic disorder.

That would be bad.

Now on to a few games of tag, tag, tag, tag, tag, . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help with a problem you’re having with your writing, check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Yes, Virginia, There Is Such a Thing

I get tagged A LOT by memes. Some are fun. Some are not. Some hit me as downright silly.

Don’t get me wrong. Some are quite fun to write and fun to read. Some are educational and informational. Some, however, suck eggs and are the epitome of egotistical kerfuffle.

Lately memes have looked less and less like a fun way to answer questions, and more and more like a way to boost a Technorati rank. That got me wondering just what a meme is. I was sure that a meme had something to do with ideas and culture.

What is a Meme Anyway?

In his book, The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition–with a new Introduction by the Author, Richard Dawkins coined the term, meme, (rhymes with dream) to mean an idea that can replicate and evolve to spread through the culture. Memes are basic idea units that move, mutate, and adapt. They are the cultural equivalent of genes.

Beyond the personal belief about God is the idea of god as a cultural meme. Dawkins explained that God exists culturally. Here’s the page where Dawkins explained what he called the “god meme” and why it survives.

The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins, p. 193

How Do Memes Spread?

Memes mutate, crossover from generation to generation. adapt, and change. They spread in ways more subtle than blog posts and tags that branch out by five times five.

It’s suggested that memes survive the same as genes — through natural selection. Six conditions can effect the ability of a meme to spread.

Experience If a meme correlates with your experience you are likely to spread it.

Pleasure or Pain If a meme has caused a feeling of pleasure or pain, you are more likely to remember it and to pass it on.

Fear/Hope If a meme promises a future, a threat, a cause, a philosphy, a reward, or great benefit, you are more likely to believe it and spread it.

Censorship If a meme is censored, it can be destroyed.

Economics If those with money exhibit a preference for certain memes, those memes will have an advantage, will be imitated and spread.

Distinction The memes of leaders, intelligent people, and celebrities will spread more easily.

I suppose one could argue that blogging is a meme. But I’d have to say those blog posts that link back and tag five people forward would have to be memetic mutations.

I like the ones that tell more about the blogger . . . but I can’t get my head around calling them memes anymore. Anyone have suggestion about how to introduce a meme to rename the things that we have misnamed as memes?

How’s that for a problem?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Introducing Bloggy Tag — I’m it, You’re it, I’m it. . . .

What Do You Call a Meme that Isn’t a Meme?

Yes, Virginia, There Is Such a Thing

What is a Meme Anyway?

How Do Memes Spread?