“One does not simply…”
“I don’t always…but when I do…”
“And then I said…”
These are the subject lines of a few of the many eye-catching memes coasting throughout the Internet. But wait, what exactly are these so-called “memes” everyone keeps re-pinning, re-posting, and re-blogging?
A meme is described as “an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture,” according to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. In other words, it is a fad, just like a new runway trend or electronic device everyone is dying to get their hands on.
Like many other trends, memes are adapting to the Internet culture. With a first post in November 2010, www.knowyourmeme.com keeps people up-to-date with the latest funny videos, pictures, phrases, etc., and the origins behind them. In November 2011, a student from Florida International University created the first official “Internet meme,” coining the “Y U No Guy” picture. It said, “FIU: Y U No make touchdown?”
The rest, as they say, is history. New pictures and phrases were found and creators changed the words in order to make phrases more relatable to their lives. In the beginning of this past February, college pages rapidly began making Facebook meme pages for their schools. Dining halls, professors, residence halls, and other locations on campus are usually the subjects of these popular memes. They create inside jokes within the college and the Facebook pages generate a sense of community with the students.
JMU, of course, adapted to this new phenomenon and currently has over 4,000 likes on its Facebook page! The most “liked” meme is the ‘What People Think I Do/What I Actually Do’ meme. In this case, JMU has a reputation for being a party school. Each caption is a picture of people partying, except for what our parents think we do, which is study (which we do sometimes!). Obviously, students agree that we hold to our reputation. Another popular one displays JMU professors laughing together about telling students it is a coincidence that all their tests are on the same day. Another shows a massive mob background while stating: “Meanwhile, at the Quad.”
However long this fad may last, a meme is essentially one big inside joke for those who create them. They provide a good laugh along with memories to look back on the fun (and not so fun) times spent during college. Check out JMU Memes’ Facebook page or if you want to make your own, go to Meme Generator or Quickmeme. Happy meme-ing!
SOURCE:
http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/article-36261-ou-memes-page-quickly-goes-viral.html