Building an Internet Meme: I Still Don’t Know How

Allow me to direct your attention to I CAN HAS CHEEZEBURGER?

This blog/site has been at the top of traffic lists on WordPress for weeks. All it does is post pictures of animals with funny or cute captions around them. I’ve included one here, in fact. But I digress — in this post I just want to introduce you all to memes. Just so you know what they are.

It Are Crazy
I Can Has Cheezeburger? is an example of a Meme. Or, to break it down, something popular that most people are aware of and refer to every now and then. It sorta becomes a part of the history of the Internet and everyone, spreading virally. Other examples include the Subservient Chicken (when I first heard of this, I thought it was some sort of perverted S&M dealy). There’s also the Star Wars kid. I won’t link to that video because I feel bad for the little guy.

Anyway, bottom line is, if you can create a succesful meme, you deserve a cookie. I’ve thought long and hard about this and I’m concerned that I simply lack the imagination to come up with something diabolical enough. Seems to me the most successful memes have the following components:

• Weird humor
• Interactivity
• Easy to share (”Click to mail a link to your friends”)
• Have an “inside joke” elitist vibe
• Controversy: Memes can be just a little bit disturbing or offensive

I also think you need the following if you plan to build a meme:

• Stability: If the site hosting your meme goes down for even a second, the national attention span kicks in and poof goes your audience
• Self-restraint: People are going to create knockoffs. Live with it. Your client is going to want to plaster marketing messages all over the site. Don’t let it happen. Someone is going to want to create a follow-up or sequel — stop that at all costs. The most succesful memes exist alone, generally void of any corporate logos or advertisements

The bottom line
Ultimately, memes are ways of subtly getting and keeping top of mind. They appeal best to a very broad audience, so I don’t think they’ll work for serious businesses like Oracle or Hitachi Data Systems. Do you think differently? Let me know!