What the hell is a meme?

[Amy-Strange]

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Are they actually memos that are sent out, or is it just another fancy word for gossip?
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[billh58]

1. Google is your friend

https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-meme-2483702

[Miguelito Loveless]

2. A meme is simply an idea

that propagates via people, sometimes mutating in the process.

[DonaldsRump]

3. Much like a virus? n/t

[Miguelito Loveless]

5. That comparison has been made

though the R factor is WAY higher. A meme can be transmitted to millions, even billions, in a few days.

[Amy-Strange]

9. Which Miguelito are you?

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Hopefully the one from the original Wild Wild West TV Series.

I loved that show.

Oh, and thank you for sharing.
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[Miguelito Loveless]

13. There is only one Miguelito Loveless

That other guy, who was in that cinematic atrocity, was "Arlis" Loveless, no relation. I may had been the world's first super-villain, but I certainly wasn't a racist ass. Also, I never would have built something as silly as a steam-powered giant spider.

I am the one, and only,

Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless MSd (Doctor of Mad Science)

Freelance Villain, Senior Executive Criminal Mastermind for K.A.O.S, Mad Scientist Emeritus, Miskatonic University, Frank N. Furter Chair of Mad Science, Rodent Geneticist for Acme Labs.

(OK, there may be a few clones, and we may have Twitter accounts, but you did not hear that from me.)

https://twitter.com/DoctorMLoveless

[Amy-Strange]

15. I apologize, and good to know, because I always thought you were the best villain of all time!!!

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People so easily forget.
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[Miguelito Loveless]

18. No apology necessary,

and thank you for the compliment.

Of course, these days, compared to certain folk, I am a benevolent philanthropist. We arch-villains of yore had standards.

[Amy-Strange]

20. and slow-motion killing machines...

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that gave your arch-enemies a fair chance to escape.

Now a days, it's two bullets to the head and done.

So, anti-climatic and so boring.
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[Miguelito Loveless]

23. And we were SO polite,

always explaining our plan for world domination in exquisite and entertaining detail.

[Amy-Strange]

25. And during dinner no less. Now, that's class! n/t

[Voltaire2]

7. yes. As in "that meme went viral."

True fact: (because we are inundated with fake facts) Richard Dawkins coined the term 'meme' in his book 'The selfish Gene'.

[Miguelito Loveless]

19. I had a loyal henchman named Voltaire back in the day

Big fellow, but kindly. I believe he went on to become a Bond villain, but his heart just wasn’t in it. If memory serves, he met a girl...

[Amy-Strange]

21. Didn't he also do a stint with this ooky family, the Addams?

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How time flies.
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[Miguelito Loveless]

22. No, different fellow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cassidy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kiel

Both vertically gifted, but Voltaire was 7’2 to Lurch’s 6’9

[Amy-Strange]

24. You definitely know your stuff, and...

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thank you.
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[Miguelito Loveless]

26. My mind is mass storehouse of

knowledge of questionable use.

[dawg day]

4. A meme is like a "theme" in a story-

An idea that means something, and it's expressed in a way that gets taken up and used by a lot of other people. "Black Lives Matter" actually started as a meme, probably. They can be slogans like that, or images (like the Trump-poop emoji), or even dances... but they have to mean more than just the words or picture, and they have to be used by a lot of people.

One I see a lot now is "Keep Calm," which was a meme way back during the Battle of Britain, where they were urged to "Keep Calm and Carry On" despite the bombs falling and Hitler planning an invasion. There were billboards that had that in a particular sort of Britishy font. So I have a pair of pajamas that has emblazoned on the shirt "Keep Calm and Take a Nap" in that same font.

Now we see "Keep Calm and Drink Tea," or "Keep Calm and Eat Your Gummies" and so on.

[Amy-Strange]

11. Very informative, and...

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thank you.
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[Xipe Totec]

6. It's a nickname for Guillermo (William)

[lunasun]

8. They can be useful

[Amy-Strange]

10. Thank you everyone.

[Solly Mack]

12. Imitation that spreads throughout groups, individuals etc..

Such as religion, fashion, culture itself, ideas, language/slang, etc..

"Moran" and "Casting asparagus" are DU memes, for examples. Both actual misspellings from rightwingers but taken up by DU as humorous shorthand to mock rightwingers.

Taking a part of culture and spreading it from one person passing it on to other people or a group passing it on, or through appropriating an idea, concept or language from another culture and turning into a meme.

It's thought infection. You get ideas across in short, usually humorous, images using words and photos, though it can be just words.

But not just that. As I said - fashion, religion, art, movies, language.

[Amy-Strange]

14. Like a specific culture or group is using it as part of their identity?

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Interesting and thank you for sharing.
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[Solly Mack]

16. Memes can be both universal and culturally specific.

They can originate in one place but using speech, art, etc. from another place in the same country, state, region.

The internet is a universe made up of all the world, so virtual memes will run the gamut.

Like a virus, they spread. But only if catchy enough.

Fashion trends spread via the meme route as well. Advertisements are memes more or less.

Ideas can spread far quicker via the meme route.

[Amy-Strange]

17. I stand corrected, and...

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thank you.
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