• Sunforged@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 year ago

    You got my meme response now you get my academic reply.

    A meme is a remix of an existing idea/joke/image. Unless you are creating something new whole cloth it could be considered a meme. Even though the term hadn’t been coined, what Mark was doing with 3/4 of those autographs was altering the context of the card image, thus he did create memes.

    Now get off my lawn.

    • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Actually the term was coined all the way back in the 70s, by Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene.

      It means a cultural gene. It’s a piece of culture that is so pervasive it can be said to be a part of the genetic code of the society. Examples are the smiley face, tic tac toe or other simple common games, that S thing we all drew as kids, etc.

      Not all jokes are memes, and not all memes are jokes.

      • solstice@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It bugs me when people call any stupid little picture or comic a meme. It also bugs me when people say they are making a meme. One does not simply “make” a meme. It must become a meme on its own. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got some clouds to yell at.

      • Sunforged@lemmy.worldOP
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        1 year ago

        This is the only well articulated rebuttal I have gotten so thank you for that. I still disagree on the usage of pervasive in the definition especially in the context of internet memes. A meme is culture spread person to person and while traditional memes such as the ones you listed are defined by their longevity, internet memes are often flash in the pan or incredibly niche.

        Is it a meme now?