Digital Memes

A meme is a reproducible idea and as such is the basic unit of cultural transmission (link). Richard Dawkins, who coined the term 'meme' considered the meme to be to culture what the gene is to biology. "Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leading from body to body via sperm or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation. If a scientist hears, or reads about, a good idea, he passes it on to his colleagues and students. He mentions it in his articles and his lectures. If the idea catches on, it can be said to propagate itself, spreading from brain to brain. A single meme can change in a sense, but certain aspects must stay the same: The punch line of a joke is always the same regardless of the way that the joke is delivered. Memes should be regarded as living structures, not just metaphorically but technically. When you plant a fertile meme in my mind, you literally parasitize my brain, turning it into a vehicle for the meme's propagation in just the way that a virus may parasitize the genetic mechanism of a host cell" (link). The Digital Meme is much like the cultural meme except that it exists purely in the digital realm. Due to their nature, they are generally only known to those who frequent the internet space. The key feature of Digital Memes are their method of propagation, which is mainly through electronic communication methods. They propagate through the web via friendly emails, instant messages and online message boards and they take up root on several websites on the internet as people download the files and save them on their own hosting servers. Mirror sites pop up everywhere, some authorized, some not. Just as how a typical cultural meme is distributed by word of mouth when someone finds it to be interesting, a digital meme is forwarded to friends and associates when an internet user deems it worthy [of propagation].

Technically, digital memes can be anything that exists solely on the web and whose existence is passed on by 'word of email.' (Hampster Dance anyone?) This curation however focuses on a fairly recent trend in digital memes. While not necessarily restricted to such formats, a Digital Meme is usually created with Flash and Photoshop and contains odd and funny animations that often accompany a catchy, sometimes cryptic song. The songs chosen for these animations include phrases that get stuck in the viewer's head. A sound file is the basis of the work nonetheless and the resulting animation is the artist's interpretation of the background sound. Inevitably after viewing one of these animations, the viewer will forward it to his or her friends and allow the meme to further propogate on the web.

The Digital Meme often seems pointless and silly but nonetheless enters the cultural consciousness of anyone who views them. In regards to the All Your Base Are Belong to Us animation, Janet Kornblum of USA Today said, "it has no real purpose or deeper meaning. But it has grabbed the attention of thousands" (link). Often created, ‘just for fun,’ the Digital Meme does little if anything to further the artist’s career. Regardless, the creators of these animations keep them alive and pump out more for the enjoyment of the viewers. Jonathan Robinson, the creator of The Terrible Secret of Space animation wrote as an intro to the animation, "It has done nothing for my career and has cost me thousands of dollars in hosting fees. Enjoy" (link).

Digital Memes practically become internet sensations overnight. In regards to the most popular of the Digital Memes, All Your Base Are Belong to Us, Aaron Schatz of Lycos reported that within three weeks, the searches for the animation increased from a few to a few thousand (link). This is directly contributed to their virulent nature and how quickly they can propagate on the web. They take advantage of the inherent nature of the web, and use the quickness of digital communication to their advantage.

Whether or not Digital Memes are considered as real 'art' is irrelevant. It is a huge trend that takes advantage of the inherent nature of the web and is widely popular with many common web users. Every piece in this exhibit has been forwarded to me by a friend, and some animations have be 'shown' to me by multiple friends. These are also not the only animations that have been forwarded to me; they are just those that I find to be the most exceptional and most successful as Digital Memes.