Um... I don`t get it

Friday, 22 January 2010 02:00 Written by Patricia Pieterse | DigitalLife Magazine

The internet is a never-ending stream of in-jokes and memes. Here`s a site that helps you stay on track.

With some people seemingly able to spend almost every waking minute on the internet, it`s not surprising trends appear and vanish between now and the last time you checked your Facebook page or Linked In profile.

So, how can people who take breaks to eat or sleep (or work) keep up with the craziness online?

Since the average internet user is not busy trawling 4chan (a forum website where users post pictures and discuss various topics) daily, you need to know where to go to get those jokes your younger cousin sent via e-mail.

Many a person has sat in front of their computer, scrolling down the latest funny pictures and at least once thought: "Um... I don`t get it."

Fear no more! Just go to knowyourmeme.com.

So for all of you wondering why there is a bunny with a pancake on its head or why Jia Jun Peng`s mother wants him home for dinner, just search Know Your Meme.

Know your what?

So, what exactly is a meme? Wikipedia will help.

A meme (pronounced meem) is a term coined by scientist Richard Dawkins and explains a cultural idea that is transmitted via speech, rituals and other imitable phenomena. An internet meme is then a concept or joke spread via e-mails, blogs, links, etc.

Some famous ones are LOLcats, Rickrolling and motivationals. If even these don`t ring a bell, then cancel all plans and spend the day on Know Your Meme. Do it. Right now.

Successful spinoff

Know Your Meme was actually a spinoff of a website called Rocketboom, which featured snippets of internet culture. Rocketboom showcases Know Your Meme videos explaining certain memes, like Get Down and David After Dentist.

The website features the latest images uploaded, as well as lots of memes. There are featured memes, confirmed memes, submitted memes, and deadpooled (rejected) memes, taking us through all the stages of a meme lifecycle.

Submitted memes are those that have been recently submitted (feel free to submit your own), where you can help out by giving some input. After that, the meme either gets confirmed or deadpooled.

Some memes are even accompanied by graphs documenting their popularity, sometimes in comparison to similar memes.

Memes to get you started

Kanye Interrupts was created after Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift`s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards on 13 September. These memes mostly follow the formula of Kanye interrupting someone to say that someone else had the best X of all time. For example: "Yo Mozart, I`m real happy for you and Imma let you finish, but Beethoven`s 9th was the best symphony of all time. OF ALL TIME."

According to Know Your Meme, when looking at Google Insights, searches for Kanye West on 14 September were the highest they`ve ever been for the artist. Was it all a publicity stunt, perhaps?

A classic meme is the LOLcats submeme of invisible things. The pictures started off as cats and are still mostly cat pictures, but other animals and humans have been used as well. The subject of the picture is in an awkward pose that makes it look as if they are handling an invisible object. A popular one is `Invisible sandwich` and `Invisible bike`.

Another popular meme is Google search box suggestions. Users type in the beginning of a question (like "why do") and in Google, a list of possibilities comes up. There`s usually at least one strange suggestion, and screenshots are distributed with FAIL or WTF?! next to particularly good ones.

Subscribe to DigitalLife Magazine

Comments (0) Add Comment