tl;dr: Memes are idea apps for our brains. Some go viral. Some die. Understanding memes.
One of the most fascinating sites I’ve come across recently is https://wearehostsformemes.com/
As soon as you click over to it, you’re infected with a meme.
In this case, the meme is actually a meta-meme, since it’s a meme about memes, but regardless, the objective of the meme’s existence has been achieved.
What is a Meme Anyway?
A meme is an idea that is spread from one person to another. Or, because memes are subject to Darwinian evolution forces, in some cases they are not spread.
“Make America Great Again” is a meme. So is “Go Big or Go Home.” So is “It’s the Economy, Stupid.”
There are hundreds of memes that all of us know.
There are some that some of us share. Then there are those that never replicate beyond a small group, despite our best efforts to the contrary.
As James Gleick explained in his excellent book, The Information (see blog post here), (paraphrased) memes are ideas transmitted from person to person that are encoded with words or images or both. .
one of my personal favorite memes
Memes and Biology
I remember the first day of 9th grade biology class when Mr. Papa asked us “what is the purpose of life?”
A bunch of people offered answers, but my friend Mark- always a bright one- said, “to reproduce.”
Memes are the same. Some evolve and adapt to new environments (like TikTok) and many more memes die than survive, but that’s ok. That is how it should be.
But it raises a question: which memes are likely to be the “fittest” and survive in a world of trillions of ideas and infinite channels?
If you’re trying to get your idea “out there,” you’re going to need a meme (or two…or more).
Seth Godin has been saying as much for 20+ years, going all the way back to his book, “Ideavirus”...which is basically a slicker way of saying “meme.”
As Ben O’Hanlon said to me,
It’s no longer Chief Marketing Officer, it’s Chief Meme Officer.
Meme Lords and Reporting
Now, I am only through the text section of https://wearehostsformemes.com/ and have queued up the videos to watch later, but my takeaway is this.
There will be an increase in job postings for brands who want to hire “certified/verified meme creators” in the same way that they want to hire data scientists today.
This skill will encompass an understanding of popular culture (to the extent that anyone can), an understanding of human psychology, neurobiology, imagery, copywriting, and that’s just for starters.
There’s already a term for people who are proficient at this a “Meme Lord.”
These future rockstars who understand how to transform a raw concept into a meme that spreads among a population will be in high demand.
What’s more, there will likely be Meme Analytics/Reporting software for brands and political campaigns.
Which memes are likely to survive? Here’s the formula:The higher the fitness, the better the meme is suited for replication in the environment. A formula for fitness based on criteria, for instance:
https://wearehostsformemes.com/
-F(m) = R(m) . A(m) . T(m) . E(m)
R – retention
A – assimilation
T – transmission
E – expression
The infection that takes place when you are exposed to the idea of the meme is that you become much more aware of memes in the larger environment.
I suspect that is the first step to becoming a better meme creator yourself.
Never Stop Marketing….a minor meme?
