Memes have technically been around for a log time. The word ‘meme’ originally used to mean any cultural idea that spread from one mind to another like a gene. This term was coined by Richard Dawkins. Nowadays, the meaning of memes has become slightly different. While at their heart, almost all memes are still some ideas that are spread from one person to another, the gravity that the original meaning leant to it is nowhere to be seen.
A Perfect Foil to Social Media
As we stepped into the 21st century, we brought along a very young innovation, with all the signs of being just a fad, but the potential to be a lot more: the internet. It did not die out as a fad like many thought it would. It survived, and grew. And boy did it grow. Within a few years, we were ushered into the digital era. And one of the biggest areas brought about by this new era was social media.
As our lives grew more and more digital, we started having less and less time for other stuff. We started measuring everything by the amount of time it would take. This is where social media came to the fore. Social media, had a simple, yet addictive design, and was built to be fast, to facilitate easy sharing of a person’s life events, or their ideas, or anything they wanted to.
Memes suddenly became the perfect foil to a social media website. Because much like social media, memes are generally images or short videos that project a particular idea, mostly through the form of humour. Their simple yet engrossing structure helped propagate ideas like no other medium had ever been able to achieve, or even come close. Funny videos and funny images were now in demand, along with hashtags like #PutPut, #YOLO, #pr0gramm, etc.
Rise of meme sharing websites like PutPut
Memes suddenly became the language of the internet. Everyone started to use memes, share memes, and even make memes. People started having pages, groups, and other platforms to share similar kinds of memes. Since memes are often targeted for a particular set of people (the audience may range from a tiny one containing a few hundred people to a huge one containing millions of people), there are different platforms, or different segregations within the same platform that help users find the memes they would want to see.
This need for meme sharing platforms led to the rise of various websites likePutPut.net, imgur, giphy, and more. These sites became the hub for people wanting to see memes, share memes, or even put their memes out for the world to share.Platforms like PutPut have also taken their platforms from websites to dedicated apps and launched them on the app stores of both google and apple.
The major purpose of a meme is to connect people through a common idea. While memes in general are a worldwide phenomenon, and a force to be reckoned with; it is also amazing to know that a single meme can become viral overnight. The most basic function of a meme is to help people relate to a culture, or a relevant idea or phenomena prevalent at the time.
Conclusion
It will sound really hard to believe, but today memes have a really big power to sway the opinions of a large group of people. People can tilt the flow of nationwide elections through memes. It’s no wonder that more and more brands are becoming increasingly visible on various social media websites and using memes to market themselves. Memes are the future.