The Growing Use Of Catchy Online Memes

Added: 10/08/2007

Have you ever been watching TV and got a jingle stuck in your head. Well do not worry, your not the only one. The job of these companies is to get their product in your head, so the next time you go out to the store, it is the first thing you think of. The internet is becoming full of advertisements, and if you have been online (which you must be to read this), then you have more than likely seen a lot of them. These jingles also know as memes are everywhere and are looking to get stuck in your head. You better look out, because the online memes are out to get you.

Online memes may be something that has only been around for a few years, but memes themselves have been around forever. In fact Mark Twain, in his story “A Literary Nightmare,” talks about a jingle that he hears and can not get it out of his head. He then begins to sing it out loud and spread it on to everyone. Online memes still work in the same way, but you do not have to spread it around for it to catch on. That is because millions of people use the internet everyday. Get your ad on the right site and everyone will soon see it. Say that you want to buy a TV and Best Buy pops in your head, that would be a meme. Of course, online memes are so much more than just good advertising.

There is a broad category that fits under online memes. This could be anything from a hot tune form of a song, to a popular joke. Of course, it does not stop there, it could also be a flash animation, website, or even an online game. So really, online memes can be any piece of information that gets passed on through the internet. Maybe you find a website that you really like, and you think your friend just has to see it. You just passed on one of many online memes. Where did you get the wallpaper for your computer? Did you find it on a site, and just had to have it? Then thats online memes at its best. Someone else has uploaded that picture to pass it on to you, and everyone else that wants it. That is why these things catch on so fast. If one person thinks online memes are cool, then they get passed on, and you can watch it grow like wild fire. There are other ways to define online memes. Say you need to complete a task online (lets say, like selling some old video games), the sites that pops in your head first are your online memes (in the case of the video games, I would think of ebay, because everyone uses it to sell things like old video games). As you can see, its a very big area to cover and many things could fit under the category of online memes.

So the next time you are online surfing, and you see some links that are being past around, you can say “hey those are online memes.” Of course, just because you say that does not mean that anyone will care, but at least you know what it is. The next time a story, joke, or popular tune gets stuck in that head of yours, you can thank online memes. I have to say it, they effect me everyday. If I see something on the internet that pops out at me (say like a cool site or a neat ad) I am going to remember that. The next time I need that site, I am going to go to it. Heck, I may even put it into my computer favorites so I can find it later. When one of my friends ask me which site I got that service on, I will pass on the link. This is the way that online memes keep growing, people like you and me. Everyone that uses the internet is helping this stay around. This is not a bad thing. Having these memes around is what makes the internet what it is today. Without them the internet becomes dull and boarding. This is why we need to pass on information. I mean, that is what the internet was made for in the first place. We are meant to share knowledge and pass it on, so lets do what we were meant to do.

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