If you are using the internet more often than not, you definitely must have come across memes; they are just everywhere and growing stronger with every passing day. Did it ever occur to you that where have they actually started from? What is the story behind this internet famed concept? The most interesting thing where from did the word ‘meme’ come?
Let’s begin by knowing about the Origin of THE word ‘Meme”
Wrongly pronounced as me-me is actually said as “Meem.” Richard Dawkins’ 1976 book, The Selfish Gene serves as the source of origin for the word. Derived from the word “Mimeme” – in the Greek language loosely translates to- “that which is imitated.”
Did you know that memes actually existed way before the internet era? Memes came into view as early as 79 AD in a Pompeii ruin and as late as the 1970s, in graffiti.
Now let me tell you what exactly is an Internet Meme?
Internet Meme is mostly an idea or a concept that is conveyed in some form over the internet, which makes it difficult to conclude down to a real definition. It can be in form of a video, a photo, an animal, a person, a fictional character, an event, a song, a belief, an action, a GIF, a symbol, a word, or anything else. Memes mostly have a humorous effect to them which makes them even more interesting. Psy’s Gangnam Style music video is one of the most viral memes over the Internet. The very first meme that went viral on the Internet was a GIF of a dancing baby.
Where do you think the Internet Memes come from?
Every Meme that has ever gone viral has its own intriguing story. In fact, the best ones have actually burst out from nowhere, they just mysteriously show up on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram feeds. If you’re just too much into memes, there is one particular website that is highly recommended for you ‘Know Your Meme’ which helps you to track down the origin of a particular meme.
Where exactly to look for Internet Memes?
If you’re too keen to know as soon as the memes start trending, better be active on social media. Do you want to know where from the best memes are born? Go check out 4chan, Reddit, Tumblr, 9GAG. In addition to these, you can take YouTube a tad more seriously for memes, by following popular channels that might cover topics related to Internet entertainment.
Before the Internet, the Memes bore political or cultural significance which lasted much longer than they do today. While some memes today show persistence, most go suddenly viral to forgotten in a short span. This partially occurs due to the fast-moving Internet where there is always something new to grab your attention and also another reason is memes are easy to be created. Memes have evolved from political or cultural topics to focus more on pop-culture references and sarcasm makes them even more relatable, funny, and easier for them to spread like wildfire all across the world web.