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What is a meme in simple terms:
A meme can be not only VKontakte, it can be found in any social network. networks, on sites on the Internet. What are VKontakte memes - the same as all other memes on the Internet.
Most often, this is the text on the picture, the text and the image as a whole give a funny image, which is often understandable to many due to its promotion on the Internet.
meme is an idea or image that is gaining popularity as entertainment content, a source of ridicule and discussion on VKontakte.
What is a meme scientifically:
meme(English meme) - a unit of cultural information. A meme can be considered any idea, symbol, manner or mode of action, consciously or unconsciously transmitted from person to person through speech, writing, video, rituals, gestures, etc. The concept of a meme and the term itself were proposed by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976 in The Selfish Gene. Dawkins proposed the idea that all cultural information is made up of basic units - memes, just like biological information is made up of genes; and just like genes, memes are subject to natural selection, mutation, and artificial selection. Based on this idea of Dawkins, the discipline of memetics arose, which currently has a controversial scientific status.
Examples of memes from VK
Vkontakte groups where there are a lot of memes.
Agree that reading jokes and thinking about their meaning is much more difficult and takes much more time than just watching funny memes. Subscribe to groups where from time to time you can watch fresh, suitable memes.
One of these groups Bot Maxim, today more than 3 million subscribers. Another group, less subscribers, but tough memes -
Memes are a modern designation for a musical melody, recitative, theory, idea, proverb, slogan, and the like, quite firmly nestled in memory and transmitted from one person to another, from generation to generation visually, in writing and orally.This word was introduced by Clinton Richard Dawkins, an English scientist, using, as Wikipedia says, a word from the ancient Greek language, which can be translated into Russian as " similarity". The author of this word is Dawkins, it was he who first drew his attention to this phenomenon, although it existed long before his birth, probably appeared at the beginning of the development of human civilization, just no one had previously explored this concept.
Good news is perhaps the most famous meme on the planet.
What is Mem?
- Melody;
- Gesture (see what people's gestures mean during negotiations);
- Proverb (see what a proverb and saying are);
- statement;
- turnover;
- Idea;
- video frame;
- Emblem;
- Phraseologism (see what is phraseologism);
- Formula;
- Word (go to the word section);
- Symbol (go to the symbols section);
- Sign;
- Proverb;
- Gesture.
What should be a meme in our time?
- causing an emotional reaction;
- simple;
- witty;
- Unusual;
- Associative;
- accessible to understanding;
- Possessing a special style;
- original;
- Concise.
Although only socially-oriented memes are destined to become a stable phrase, a literary norm, to become part of the language.
It follows that political slogans and appeals, as well as advertising slogans, are very similar, they will never become memes precisely because of their short existence. Although it is very difficult to distinguish them from one another and is possible only after a certain time has passed.
Meme examples:
- Preved Medved;
- Moskalyaku to Gilyak (see what the expression Moskalyaku to Gilyak means);
- Christ is risen;
- And yet it spins (see the history of the expression And yet it spins);
- Immortal Regiment;
- Seven Fridays in a week (see what the expression seven Fridays in a week means);
- Independence Square (see
If you are an active Internet user, then you have probably come across the buzzword “meme” more than once or twice on the Internet. However, no one can ask anyone, no one can really explain who owns this term and what it generally means. So what are memes? Let's try to figure this out together.
History of memes
It was he who informed mankind about the existence of the so-called "meme viruses". As an answer to the question "What are memes?" the scientist explained that at an early stage he could only survive if he had strength and endurance. Gradually, these qualities were improved and fixed in the genes, but as civilization progressed, physical data faded into the background. Now the first place was occupied by the human intellect. Accordingly, according to Dawkins, there must have been something that would be responsible for the development of mental abilities. It was this “something” that the scientist dubbed a meme.
What are memes?
If you are asked this question, start your story by saying that the term is based on the ancient Greek word "mimesis", which translates as "imitation". In fact, the meme is a kind of mental virus, which is confirmed by the methods of its distribution. The meme "goes to the people" through films, jokes, advertising slogans, songs, comics, etc.
In order to understand what memes are, it is necessary to understand their main function - it lies precisely in distribution. You should also not forget that in the process of transmission, memes can be transformed. We can say that they are involved in a kind of natural selection: the most viable memes instantly become popular and exist for a very long time, while the weak ones are quickly forgotten.
Spreading
How does the above happen? All memes are pure information that can theoretically be of interest to a person or an entire social group. The more participants will be included in this group, the stronger and more active the meme will be. Religion is an example: an idea captures the imagination of a group of people. From now on, their main task is to broadcast this idea to the masses, and the more they discuss it, the more powerful the meme becomes. Think about it: exactly corresponds to the spread of the concept of God. No one knows exactly how it arose, but there is no doubt that for certain social groups the idea of God is very attractive.
It provides answers to seemingly insoluble questions and allows you to justify your own existence. In addition, most of the existing religions are based on the idea that after death a person will be rewarded in the form of eternal bliss. No wonder, then, that this meme is so widespread and capable of influencing the consciousness of the masses.
I will try in an accessible form and in simple language to tell the public, inexperienced in this matter, what MEM is.
While surfing the Internet, each user has repeatedly noticed incomprehensible words or expressions like
"+1" or "Author drink yada", "Preved Medved", as well as various repetitive pictures and videos. Experienced users have long been accustomed to this and understand the essence of these expressions, which are called Internet memes. Personally, for the first time, in addition to the above phrases, I came across the concept of a meme using the example of a "tinfoil hat" (although I'm still sure that rubber hats are much more effective) :-)
The term " meme" (eng) comes from the Greek word μίμημα, "likeness".
Essentially, a meme is pure information or metaphor, a concrete image of an abstract concept. It spreads from one person to another verbally and non-verbally, via the Internet or otherwise. Examples of memes are: musical melodies, movies, slogans, various expressions, pictures, and so on.
The concept of "meme" was introduced by the Englishman Richard Dawkins in 1976, but this does not mean at all that there were no memes before him. They have existed since the beginning of human society. Actually, culture is nothing more than memeplexes - complexes of interconnected memes, some of which have come down to us from time immemorial.
You can also recall the well-known "sadistic rhymes" or jokes about Vovochka - they were also distributed as memes, although no one had thought about this before. :-)
Memes are often compared to idea-viruses, as they "infect" their carriers, who, in turn, continue to spread this infection further.
In 1994, the concept of a media virus was even introduced. In fact, this is the same “meme”, only it is transferred exclusively through the media and has a high degree of influence on the minds. In the modern sense, a media virus and an Internet meme are practically the same thing. In the West, a simpler name for this phenomenon is often found - the Internet phenomenon (internetphenomenon).
Dancing Baby is one of the very first Internet memes (1996).
Consider the process of the origin and spread of Internet memes.
Let's say a user on some lively teen site posts a picture with a funny caption. Someone notices it and posts it on another imageboard, if desired, replacing the signature with another one (or changing the background, but leaving the inscription). Other people are gradually included in the process, and each of them will make some kind of innovation in the original version of the image. For what? - Yes, just like that, for fun, fun. The picture is spreading, filling the Internet space with itself, and it is already safe to say that this is a meme. A good, successful meme is always born spontaneously.
Memes usually change as they spread across the Internet, and they may even interbreed with each other.
After some time, the "virus-meme" reaches the peak of its popularity. Depending on the specific case, it takes from several days to several years. Having spread through all possible networks, it can even seep into real life. After that, the process of its reproduction slows down or stops altogether. There comes a period of satiety - the meme is already tired of everyone, it starts to annoy, and is gradually being replaced by other, more recent memes, and they try not to use it anymore. So he falls into the category of "old meme" or simply "BOYAN".
Here is another example:
MACROS
This site logo porko.ru
(Porky male chauvinistic pig)
With the option of a logo with an inscription "And then"-- it's already macro , or a picture with text that is used in online discussions for a more visual and witty expression of one's opinion.
And then!- Used in "highly intelligent conversations." It can also be used to cheerfully confirm a controversial fact that was used in a provocative statement. It looks like a joyful and self-satisfied boar, which approves the previous post with all its appearance.
In general, the phrase "And then!" has always been the answer of a self-satisfied student to the question: "Well, did she give you?":-)
An example macro such a common picture - a demotivator, as "
facepalm ".
It should be noted that all demotivators on the Internet are also Internet memes.
http://youtu.be/6DE4WaDG2Vc - a selection of macros.
Sometimes, FORCE (imposed) memes appear on the Internet. They are created purposefully and forcefully promoted by the authors. But force-memes tend to be short-lived, as a good meme always appears spontaneously and undergoes natural selection in the network.
A lot of force-memes appear in election campaigns, they are clearly provocative political in nature, and disappear immediately after the election.
http://makeyourmeme.ru/default/instance_3/101197/original.jpg
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT-DrHFxeepMiQkRmCXU12iEkn8q_NULINj4Yvj1kZlHequPuK5dQ
However, there are sometimes successful exceptions among forset memes.
For example, the frequently encountered force meme " Mimimi".
Mimimi is an interjection that expresses affection. So the lemurchik squeaks in the cartoon "Madagascar".
In this video clip group GAG Quarte collected the most common Internet memes. Please note that not only the video sequence, but also the sound sequence is made up of musical MEMs (I want to praise the authors - they have a sense of style, well done).
Almost all the most popular melodies on the net are presented: Nyan Cat, the famous "Finnish polka", the solo of "Keyboard Cat", the vocalization of "Mr. Trololo" - Eduard Khil, the well-known "Numa Numa", "Friday" by Rebecca Black, Rickroll and others, that accompany the demonstration in the clip of more than 40 famous memes.
An interesting story is the appearance of the musical meme "Trololo" - the song by Eduard Khil "How glad I am to return home" http://youtu.be/XcDXvAsYu8A
http://youtu.be/5ruNijRWf-U - Czech comic song "Ezhin z Bazhin" 1978.
http://youtu.be/qOt6aSoTBGs Finnish polka
With video memes, everything is simple: I looked and laughed, looked again, laughed again.
Video memes live for a long time, as they are constantly getting a new start in life: they are modified by superimposing various popular movie clips and, over time, they can become even funnier. :-)
Here are good examples of extending the life of the video meme "IDE" :-)
"IDE" is a parody of "Big Difference" http://youtu.be/Ode7tKalLLo
And finally, also a very popular, but already old meme "Candibober".
Any Internet user had to hear the word "meme" more than once. And it often sounds in the media. However, if you ask at least 10 people about what is a meme- hardly half will answer.
In fact, any images, phrases, comics, video clips, and even just popular ideas can act as these cultural units.
The more successful, sonorous and in every sense a bright meme, the more likely it is that it will “go to the people” and begin to spread rapidly.
It is important to emphasize that viral distribution through the media, social networks, jokes, movies, etc. is typical for memes.
Without going into the scientific context of the described term, and without touching on its controversial aspects, it can be argued with confidence that memes have long been part of popular culture.
Here are some examples:
Chinese basketball player Yao Ming. The photographer caught a bright facial expression that immediately became a meme. 
Sasha Fokin 
Sad
