Meme-Tracker 2009
Although there's a "meme" category on the site, I haven't really touched the topic since the clandestine appearance of ninjas at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and the early nod to Rick-rollin.
Internet Memes are very alive in 2009. What's an Internet meme? The lazy Wikipedia definition of Internet Memes states that they are: "phrases used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an inside joke."
The source of an old meme from 2003
Some of the earliest adopters of the Internet bestow the honor of "first Internet meme" to Carnegie-Mellon University's coke machine. You could check how many bottles it has with the command "finger coke@CMUA." In the late 1980's Usenet vets used the acronym BIFF describe new users -- hence jumpstarting decades of the art of flaming. Subsequently, tons of memes have been thrown around the Internet: Kibo, an Internet diety (1991); the super-ultra-realistic dancing baby from Ally Mcbeal (1996); finding out that in fact, Bert is EVIL (1998); a poor frog in a blender (1999); our first taste of jolly Indian Bangrha dance (2000 -- also watch the WoW remix); do the peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat! now peanut butta jeellla (2000); knowing is half the battle with GI Joe PSAs (2003); and of course getting drenched in the Chocolate Rain (2006).
Remixing of the meme in the same year
In 2008 and 2009 memes have almost all been created from some sort of video on YouTube or similar video sites. I've compiled what I thought would be the hottest memes right now, but its competlely and absolutely up for suggestions:
The (subjectively) Top Internet Memes of 2009:
- David After Dentist
Small kid gets drunk (like the best of us) off of dental anesthetics. Embarassing dad videotapes the entire car ride back. - Christian Bale's Rant
Christian Bale of Batman fame yells at. Tons of remixing occurs on the Internet. - Zalgo
Creepy eyeless god from the Cthulu series of role playing games. - Boxxy
Extremley hyperactive video blogger. Apparently she's not on drugs. - Magibon
A girl with huge eyes stares into the camera. Gets millions of views. That's it. Slightly creepy. - Bacon
The food. Yum! Check out thisiswhyyourefat.com for more bacon goodness.
The proliferation of viral YouTube videos and wacky message boards took these fun or odd pieces of community remixing fuel and created user-generated fandom. It seems that the mainstream media caught on to the meme-crazed culture of the Web and are directly feeding content to millions of bored fans.
As one of the oldest shows in exsitence, SNL proves that it too can be "hip" with the times. Their recent line of "Digital Shorts" directly cater to the one-liner meme culture. Starting with Lazy Sunday (Google Maps are the Best. Double True), shuffling around with a D*ck in the Box, and then squeezing out J*zz in my Pants, SNL plays off the short attention span of today's Internet and gives the people something to distribute via e-mail, IM, Twitter, office correspondence, term papers, etc.
The mainstream media and cable networks are showing that not only you can create content from a meme, but you can start a huge fad and profit from it.
And thus, I'm On a Boat.
