Final Product: Our Meme: Life in 10 Seconds (put video in)
First Step: Inquiry into Memes:
What is a Meme?
1. a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes. 2. an idea or element of social behaviour passed on through generations in a culture, especially by imitation - cultural phenomena -entertaining -malleable -resdistibutable -one specific variety of popular memes today = Internet meme
The Production of Our Meme and its Memetic Qualities:
Research:
The Lip Dub (put in the video) – list underneath it what we learned from it:
- The importance of context, juxtaposition, a homemade look and feel and humour - Using a familiar context invites the viewer to identify with the meme e.g. we used elements of pop culture in our meme: Justin Bieber, Snooki and Barney - Juxtaposing a scream with readily accepted icons of pop culture creates a humourous discord - Homemade style – the lack of refinement encourages viewer participation and gives the video a sense of “realness”
Brother Sharp (put in the video) and The Lying Down Game (put in the video)
What we learned from these two memes:
- Memes are not limited to the video format, can make use of static images and other tactics (also aids juxtaposition) - Repetition – not only within the video/image, but also in including elements (like the scream) that can be reappropriated by viewers (put images from Kanye West meme) - Repetition also adds to the humour and annoyance factor e.g. Peanut Butter Jelly time (put in video)
Launch Strategy:
- “Life in 10 Seconds” was officially released on November 5th, 2010
YouTube: - video uploaded on YouTube: broad use of tags related to pop culture, CCIT, memes, and Halloween (took advantage of a current event): - Description to encourage commentary, participation and remanipulation: “Lets make this a meme. Feel free to pass around the link to this video, make your own version, using the scream and adding in your own pictures, or share your comments/opinions. What do you think about the pop culture icons we celebrate in today's society? Are these veritable elements of pop culture or are our standards becoming lower and lower?” - Tags: "jersey shore" snookie "justin bieber" biebs bieber barney eric scream psycho murder meme halloween funny entertainment "pop culture" "popular culture" spoof laughs television tv "bieber lover" "scream kid" crazy "crazy fan" joke music "short video" video critique "real world" social reality downfall society 2010 cct300 ccit "new artist" celebrity artists celebrities "new artists" communications "waste of time" waste time "halloween" "Halloween 2010" "fear" "halloween costumes" "halloween costumes 2010" "pranks" "halloween pranks" "halloween scare"
Facebook and Twitter:
Typical Strategy: - posted on Facebook wall and “favourited” - sending out “tweets” with the link - repeated updates on Facebook and Twitter, spamming– reminder of presence/reach greater audience
What we added to the Typical Strategy: - sending out individual messages via Facebook – idea of exclusivity, less likely to be ignored - leveraging more influential social networkers (e.g. our Twitter account – 90 followers, so we contacted student associations with 300+ followers) - taking advantage of the course wiki and class’ collective knowledge about memes
(maybe include a screenshot of our walls with all the comments)
Conclusion and Findings:
- Our meme project met many of our objectives, but the limited timeframe prevents us from determining whether it is truly memetic - Our video has yet to go viral, but ever since its release, there has been a steady progression of the viewing of the video on YouTube: - First day (Nov. 4, 2010) = 30 views - Second day = 90 views (200% increase) - Third and fourth days = sharp increase of over 200 views - High response rate with comments and friends reposting the link to other people - “Tweet” failed to spread - Learned about need for persistence to spread a meme, constant updating/announcement on social networking sites - Relying on our limited friends network was insufficient in making the video viral - We incorporated elements from our research that we believed help make works memetic, but we learned about the aspect of chance and the great number of works competing for attention - We see the true test of this video’s memetic quality in seeing if viewers will continue to spread the video on their own accord (without the influence of the creators)
CCT300 Points for PowerPoint
Final Product: Our Meme: Life in 10 Seconds (put video in)
First Step: Inquiry into Memes:
What is a Meme?
1. a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes.
2. an idea or element of social behaviour passed on through generations in a culture, especially by imitation
- cultural phenomena
-entertaining
-malleable
-resdistibutable
-one specific variety of popular memes today = Internet meme
The Production of Our Meme and its Memetic Qualities:
Research:
The Lip Dub (put in the video) – list underneath it what we learned from it:
- The importance of context, juxtaposition, a homemade look and feel and humour
- Using a familiar context invites the viewer to identify with the meme e.g. we used elements of pop culture in our meme: Justin Bieber, Snooki and Barney
- Juxtaposing a scream with readily accepted icons of pop culture creates a humourous discord
- Homemade style – the lack of refinement encourages viewer participation and gives the video a sense of “realness”
Brother Sharp (put in the video) and The Lying Down Game (put in the video)
What we learned from these two memes:
- Memes are not limited to the video format, can make use of static images and other tactics (also aids juxtaposition)
- Repetition – not only within the video/image, but also in including elements (like the scream) that can be reappropriated by viewers (put images from Kanye West meme)
- Repetition also adds to the humour and annoyance factor e.g. Peanut Butter Jelly time (put in video)
Launch Strategy:
- “Life in 10 Seconds” was officially released on November 5th, 2010
YouTube:
- video uploaded on YouTube: broad use of tags related to pop culture, CCIT, memes, and Halloween (took advantage of a current event):
- Description to encourage commentary, participation and remanipulation:
“Lets make this a meme. Feel free to pass around the link to this video, make your own version, using the scream and adding in your own pictures, or share your comments/opinions. What do you think about the pop culture icons we celebrate in today's society? Are these veritable elements of pop culture or are our standards becoming lower and lower?”
- Tags: "jersey shore" snookie "justin bieber" biebs bieber barney eric scream psycho murder meme halloween funny entertainment "pop culture" "popular culture" spoof laughs television tv "bieber lover" "scream kid" crazy "crazy fan" joke music "short video" video critique "real world" social reality downfall society 2010 cct300 ccit "new artist" celebrity artists celebrities "new artists" communications "waste of time" waste time "halloween" "Halloween 2010" "fear" "halloween costumes" "halloween costumes 2010" "pranks" "halloween pranks" "halloween scare"
Facebook and Twitter:
Typical Strategy:
- posted on Facebook wall and “favourited”
- sending out “tweets” with the link
- repeated updates on Facebook and Twitter, spamming– reminder of presence/reach greater audience
What we added to the Typical Strategy:
- sending out individual messages via Facebook – idea of exclusivity, less likely to be ignored
- leveraging more influential social networkers (e.g. our Twitter account – 90 followers, so we contacted student associations with 300+ followers)
- taking advantage of the course wiki and class’ collective knowledge about memes
(maybe include a screenshot of our walls with all the comments)
Conclusion and Findings:
- Our meme project met many of our objectives, but the limited timeframe prevents us from determining whether it is truly memetic
- Our video has yet to go viral, but ever since its release, there has been a steady progression of the viewing of the video on YouTube:
- First day (Nov. 4, 2010) = 30 views
- Second day = 90 views (200% increase)
- Third and fourth days = sharp increase of over 200 views
- High response rate with comments and friends reposting the link to other people
- “Tweet” failed to spread
- Learned about need for persistence to spread a meme, constant updating/announcement on social networking sites
- Relying on our limited friends network was insufficient in making the video viral
- We incorporated elements from our research that we believed help make works memetic, but we learned about the aspect of chance and the great number of works competing for attention
- We see the true test of this video’s memetic quality in seeing if viewers will continue to spread the video on their own accord (without the influence of the creators)
Works Cited
"Brother Sharp." KnowYourMeme. 2010. Web. 22 Oct 2010. <http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/brother-sharp-犀利哥
Finniss, David. "Internet Dictionary: What is a Meme?" Suite101.com. 1 October 2010. Web. 14 November 2010.
"Lip Dub." KnowYourMeme. N.p., 2009. Web. 22 Oct 2010. <http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/lip-dub>.
"Lyingdowngame." KnowYourMeme. Therocketboominstitute, 22 Dec. 2009. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. <//http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/lying-down-game//>.