Meme's - huh?

Memes (pronounced "meems")

I often see them referenced to. What the hell are they?

Here is one descriptive that begins to crack the thick ice surrounding the meaning:

What is a meme?
"A meme is a set of actions or questions, in the form of a theme, that one addresses or focuses upon. It can be an idea like flickr, where people post pictures as part of their content. Memes get created by someone, anyone to be precise, and then get moved onto the next participant through an invitation." source: The Reasoner: meme

What is tagging for a meme?
"Tagging someone for a meme means exactly what it says; you’re tagging someone else to do the same meme on their website. It’s like the tagging game you play in real life. After you’ve finished doing the meme, you tag a specific number of other people to perform the same meme; usually, that number of people you tag is exactly the same as listed in the previous meme from which you yourself were tagged. " source: The Reasoner: meme

Why participate in a meme?
"The main point of an online blog meme is the content and replication; someone adds value to the meme through their participation, and in turn their own site gets more valuable and interesting content. They get more people to chip in also." source: The Reasoner: meme

Examples of Memes (from Mementionary)

* Jingles: advertising slogans set to an engaging melody
* Earworms: songs that one can't stop humming or thinking.
* Jokes: or at least those jokes popularly considered funny.
* Proverbs and aphorisms: for example: "You can't keep a good man down".
* Children's culture: games, activities and taunts typical for different age groups.
* Chain letters: "You must send this message to five other people, or something bad will happen to you."
* Conspiracy theories
* Fashions: especially clothing styles such as blue jeans.
many more examples from Mementionary

Well, what a "meme" is - is not clear yet? Here is a video that helps (I find it is sort of an infection of ideas a little like the whisper game where you start with a phrase and people whisper it around a circle)

Internet memes

Know Your Meme: Magibon

A comment about Magibon is "Her WTF factor is off the charts" Is this clear as mud yet? What do you say?

Greg Cryns
All About Paso Robles