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
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.
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
The ones that we normally participate in a “introspective announcements.” Your bloggy questions are a type of meme in the way we have been tagging memes. They evolve by the time 42 comments roll in and the question at hand is no longer what was published because someone wrote something “out of this world” interesting.
Hi Jesse!
That’s a great name. Though I think you’re being generous about some of them. 🙂
Yeah some of our comments do get “out of this world” interesting. You might say we’re a cultural phenomena. You might say something else . . . 🙂
Liz,
This comment is slightly off topic, but I wanted to thank you for the definition. I have seen the word so many times, even read “The God Delusion”, I had an idea what it meant but you solidified the meaning perfectly. What was once just a pile of cement, is now a nicely formed brick. How is that for some imagery? 🙂
As far as your question goes, it is only Monday, questions like that should be held off until Wednesday, at least…
Howdy, Liz! Are you suggesting we need some sort of “Miss Manners” for memes? (Miss Meme-ers? Miss Memmers? Hmmm…)
One of the most fascinating things to me about memes is which ones mutate and which ones don’t. Some allow “interpretation”, shall we say, but some are so specific they’re hard to re-direct.
Still, it’s part of the fun of blogging, I think, to take part in the collective “gene pool”, don’t you think?
Hi Allen,
I knew there was a history behind the word and thought it was time to bring it up on my blog. It was fun researching and actually there wasn’t a lot of information about it.
Sorry I thought today is Wednesday . . .I like how you think. I’ll save the question for then. 🙂
You’re not a stranger anymore.
Thanks for telling me how to pronounce “meme” – I had thought it rhymed with “dream” but a friend said, mehm (rhyming with “hem”) so I started to wonder!
If memes are ideas, then, no, these TAG! “tell us more about you” … things aren’t memes.
How about calling them Blags? A combination of Blog, Tag and Blab?
Or Taggots – like tagging robots that spread?
Hi Robert!
Yeah, it’s fun to see which ones get traction and which ones die in the dust. Though some really get beat to death. There was one that I was tagged for more than 9 times!
I think blogger synchronicity is a better example of a true meme — when we all post on the same idea and never planned it in any way.
Hi Ms Q.
I agree those things we tag aren’t really memes. They are forced meme move and regenerate on their own.
Taggots! I like that a lot!
Ooch, I kinda like Taggot as well and then I Googled it and http://www.urbandictionary.com
says:
A user of tagged.com.
Usage note: The common use of this word is not derogatory, despite its obvious etymology.
or:
A homosexual that has momentarily come out of the closet only to be momentarily return to it; also, it refers to a homosexual that has come out but proclaims that he is straight. They have “tagged” with the fact that they are gay and then denied ever saying it.
Maybe we add a 3rd meaning?
Taggots may have un-PC connotations (those meme things are everywhere).
In introducing a new meme, we need to think about the characteristics of the current meme that give it survivability. We can then create a new meme which weakens the viability of the old one and makes the new one more viable and easily adaptable.
You probably surfaced one of the weaknesses of the ‘blog meme’ meme. The word itself isn’t particularly descriptive. Taggots is much more interesting, and there are undoubtedly much better alternatives.
The way to effect “a meme to rename the things that we have misnamed as memes”, is to just start one. You can explain the inanity of the term ‘meme’, and then list 5 better ones. Tag 5 people to come up with five new ones and then do two things: publish them to Taggot Central so there’s a collection of all of them, and then send a taggot to 5 other folks with your top 5 (combination of your new ones and the ones you got sent), but calling the message your sending by YOUR ABSOLUTE FAVORITE.
Eventually, a natural annealing process would surface some new terms that keep making the favorites lists and message term. You could announce a cutoff date or chain depth that would trigger a decision on the new term you will use henceforth. Hey, you could probably add that participation was tacit agreement that others would accept the new term, too.
I could go on, but this is already too long for a comment.
Mike
Mike,
You are brilliant!!! You only left out the part where we could get a hotel and have a convention and drive Liz totally nuts. 🙂
I meant that in the totally nuts, nice Liz way, of course. I’m so laughing about how much fun it would be to do that. 🙂
So you’re going launch this as part of SOBCon? I salute your boundless genius!!
With the assembled talent there, you could probably get a kick-ass site with real-time updating of the leaderboard completed by the end of the event. Now THAT’s the makings of a pretty powerful meme…
Oh, I’m laughing so hard. I don’t know whether to think you are too funny or too mean. 🙂
I’m still laughing. A pretty powerful meme indeed.
Please let me be too funny! I can imagine that the current SOBCon planning load is pretty frenetic, and the thought of additional memecrafting doesn’t appeal to you in any aspect. So I’ll lay off, but…
So when are you gonna start this taggot? The more I think about it, the more I like it – I also thought of taggit (already exists and doesn’t quite have the same “feeling”).
Then again, I’m biased!
Mike is correct, the annealing process would create a new or several new or more popular terms.
I anxiously await your “Let’s Find a New Name For Meme This Is Not A Meme …TBD” post!
Perhaps “maggot” holds both taggot and meme…
I liked John’s idea he let loose on his Finding Money blog — instead of meme or “me me” we could call it “you you.”
😉
Hi Mike,
Of course, too funny. I know you’re not mean in anyway. I meant the little kids’ version of “too mean.” I think your idea is more than wonderful . . . maybe on Live Open Mic night. 🙂
Hi Ms. Q!
Oh my! The pressure is on! Isn’t it? I’ll have to think about this . . . hmmmm. I’ll get my sense of humor revved. Maybe John could help, he’s so good at such things. 🙂
Hey Lisa!
You’re on the right side of things with the You YOU idea from John’s blog. I’m with you, you. too too.
I think I’ll call you you and tell you you I think so so. 🙂
Fuuuny! And to think I do participate in memes, actually I really like them. Some even made me think. I don’t care why the author starts a meme, as long as the conversation runs into a thought-provoking direction. I usually end up by carrying on not so funny memes. And thatââ¬â¢s a bit distressing. I was thinking about starting a funny meme today while I was enjoying a day in the sun picking nettles – yes my fingers hurt! 🙂 I suppose I’ve got the idea from the pain: name one thing you do, despite the pain induced by doing it. Then I realized that the question was not funny at all. As usual I twisted that silly question (induced by the pain) into a full under-the-sun and into-the-forest-let-me-ramble-again philosophy. So Iââ¬â¢ll not start a meme. But I will join the ones that make me think. At least for the sake of the nettles! 😀
Mig
PS: Whatââ¬â¢s with the ââ¬ÅYes, Virginia, There Is Such a Thing?ââ¬Â I donââ¬â¢t get youââ¬Â¦ Virginia as in VT? Itââ¬â¢s probably a silly question to ask, but I want to be sure.
… and much like genes, genetic diversity is also key… Single tag memes exist about as much as having one genetic source in procreation.
but damn it, the theory was sound!!! 😉
Ah Mihaela!
I’m sorry, There’s a famous old newspaper column called “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”
What fun your comment is! I like the memes that make me think and the memes that let me get to know someone better. But I don’t like ones that I can see through. . . . and sometimes I long to answer tags but I can’t find the words that will make a clever answer or an entertaining one or one that anyone would want to read at all. 🙂
Hi William!
I just landed on the thought . . .
promemation!
Hi, Liz. I puzzled through this one recently in my blog, But What Does It Meme?
Being a word dog, I like words to be used carefully. My starting point was “thin-slicing,” and how, if it’s a meme–and I think it is–there can be a “thin-slicing meme.” (A meme of a meme?) Anyway, I came to the conclusion that using the very specific word “meme” to describe lists that people ask other people to make is just a goofy, pretentious fad. (My friend Nancy suggested that it belongs on the “Bullshit Bingo” card.) I’m not sure they deserve their own name, but I love you for saying you don’t think these things are memes!
Hi Jane!
Welcome! What fun your post was. I just went over to read it! It was just what I needed tonight!
Goofy, pretentious fad Now there’s a nomination for a new name, if I ever heard one!
Thanks for sharing that love there. I only gave the definition. Everyone else made all of the fun! 🙂
Hi Liz,
For quite some time I wondered what a meme was. You answer it today 🙂
I have too have been part of various meme-s. Like you said.. some are fun.. some are not. Sometimes, one feels obligated to reply as well!
What about ‘multiply sesami’ !? he he!
Sham
Hi Sham!
Obligated. Yeah I’ve felt that. Especially when I got tagged so many times by one meme. I started feeling like I owed folks a link. It wasn’t their tag. It was my sense of fairness that did that, but still it put me in a kind of a place that “made work rather than fun.”
I’m liking “mulitply sesami.” 🙂
You guys are going to convince me to at least put together some follow-up post yet. 🙂
I don’t think you owe a link. Maybe an answer? Because people who tag you (at least when I do) crave for your wisdom. He he!
Hi Mihaela!
I know that I don’t owe them a link, but I don’t feel that wise either. 🙂 he-he
What an wise answer! 😉
Hi Mig!
You got me. What can I say that won’t just go back and forth? I’m smiling at you now. 🙂