Usuario:Lizbeth Azana

Internet memes: another way of communicating

The transmission of the meme online has a higher copy fidelity (ie, precision) than communication by other means, as digitization allows the transfer of information without losses.

The origin of memes is still unclear. However, it is intuited that the Internet meme as a concept was introduced with Godwin's Law. This was dubbed by its creator the Nazi comparison meme, which explained that when a discussion on a Usenet newsgroup began to heat up, the likelihood grew that one of the participants would introduce an analogy referring to Hitler or the Nazis themselves. In this way, as Godwin (1994) explains, when something concerning censorship was mentioned, someone referred to the burning of books carried out by the Nazis. In the same way, when arms control was discussed, mention was made of the ban on carrying weapons issued by Hitler. The precision in that analogy around the trivialization of the memetic attitude led to people themselves reproducing it and turning it into a great meme itself. Godwin's Law was presented as a rationale to end the debate.

Its origin

This word is not typical of today, nor of the emergence of social networks. The concept "meme" was coined by the biologist Richard Dawkins, which he called "an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture." That is, it refers to the rapid imitation of a characteristic, which increases the possibility of survival in a society, this is what happens when a meme is replicated.

What is a "Meme" in social networks?

Within the field of social media, a "meme" can be defined as an idiom, joke, joke or memorable content that spreads virally through the channels offered by the Internet , normally consisting of a simple image accompanied by a text. or clever and forceful subtitle.

This type of content, in general, is created and reversed infinite times by the users of the different social platforms, and although some transcend time, reviving from time to time, their life cycle is usually ephemeral marked by a rapid rise. in popularity and multiplication of imitations, followed by almost instant oblivion

The impact of memes on social media

Currently, memes have become a new way of communicating on social networks , redefining the communication experience among users of social networks, especially among Millennials and Generation Z.

Despite the fact that memes date back a long time, the heyday of social networks , smartphones and hyperconnectivity have favored the emergence and multiplication of this content on social media, thus becoming a native communication code within these platforms, both for the relationship between users and between brands and their target audience.

Meme marketing

As its name indicates, " Meme marketing " consists of using this type of content in the brand's marketing and communication strategy, adapting it to its personality, image, target, product or service, to establish a relationship with the target audience, either through the popular meme of the moment or by creating your own in the hope that it will have a big impact and go viral.

But what do you have to take into account to apply it to your brand? Here are five tips to keep in mind.

understand the code

It is advisable to leave the memes in charge of digital natives , since being active users of social networks, they perfectly understand the new codes, languages ​​and uses of the Internet and social networks.

Set the starch and gel aside

Mainly, to use memes you have to understand that the brand cannot be too serious , because in essence these contents are funny and even ridiculous, which helps to show the more humanized side of the brand, thus favoring the identification of the target audience.

someone is going to be left out

No matter how hard you try to create content for a large part of the public, there will always be a portion, however small, that will not understand the message due to lack of compression – total or partial – of the code .

Increase the propability of viralization

Do not forget to use relevant phrases and hashtags in the comment to capture the attention of users and finish closing the message.

The rage comics : the imitation of emotions

Eighteen years after the Dancing Baby—one of the first gif-format cyber memes—the Internet community 4chan [ 1 ]  began consciously producing a series of cartoons that unleashed the creativity of forum participants. Its simplicity, which is reminiscent of children's scribbles, in turn allows an easy decoding of its meaning by way of reproduction and reformulation.

Influence of memes at the psychological level on individuals

The appearance of memes has created in users that release from anguish and anxiety through humorous and sarcastic humor . It is the way that users have found to live with uncertainty and the events that occur at a social, political and global level.

If we talk about the different forms of learning, one of these is rote learning . The meme appears spontaneously in a massive way on social networks. The most surprising thing is that not only in its original version but in a thousand more replicas.

When mentioning the influence of memes at a psychological level or what effects they cause, we can reach the following conclusions:

Learning by repetition of individuals through memes can not only help reduce the anxiety burden that real life possesses, but also the need to feel part of a guild. Or even generate a distortion of a central concept.

For example, there are memes that allude to depression. In this wave of memes, the term "sadboy" or "sadgirl" was created, which seemed to be pleasant and accepted. This to sublimate that being depressed after all "isn't so bad" and that having constant ideas about taking your own life can be fun.

Or what can be worse, confusing negative emotions with actually suffering from clinical depression.

If we go beyond Psychology and introduce Psychiatry, memes can characterize a delusional idea. Sure, this is only if it is not accepted by a group of users. In Psychopathology it is recognized as "group paranoia" where this delusional idea is reinforced by another group of users.

At Pymesworld we promote communication in your company with our digital marketing plans:

A new way of communication

Memes, as mentioned above, have become a form of communication on social networks. The arrival of this new language has transformed the communication experience among users, who choose this format for different reasons: it is more dynamic, simpler, and more fun. Currently, WhatsApp users choose to send stickers, since they consider that an image can better represent what they want to say with words.

A meme, beyond being an image, video or text, is also a cultural expression. Therefore, it can only be understood when there is knowledge of the culture where it originated. (Olivera, p.178) The same happens with the difference in age, a meme that seemed funny to a 15-year-old teenager, a 50-year-old adult may not be able to understand the meaning of it, this is because they belong to different generations. Despite these characteristics, memes can be appropriate and adapted to each other's environment.

Paula Quiroga , a graduate of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences-UNCuyo , presented an analysis of memes in her thesis for the degree in Social Communication . The thesis was titled The era of the meme: an analysis of postmodern society and its connection with politics in digital . The brand new professional explains why the meme is the format used by users to express themselves through social networks:

“This content is usually characterized by easy language, which is why the meme, being formed predominantly by images, attracts more; It is not loaded with a large amount of information, which makes it fast to consume and spread; It has no limits in terms of its format and in its language it usually uses irony and sarcasm”, explains Quiroga.

Now it is more common to find memes in communication

In addition to its easy language, Paula also states that users use this format to express their feelings and disapprove of political behavior, which is why they find in these digital media a space through which they can rebel against what is official or what is hegemonic.  

An ideological weapon?

At the beginning of the note, it was stated that the meme also has a political basis and is used to influence public opinion. In relation to this, Paula affirms that the meme works as an ideological weapon, since users can appropriate the discourse and achieve a change within the social sphere. This is where the transformation of social practices can be seen once again with the advent of digital media: "Users are no longer recipients of their content, but are prosumers, that is, they create their own messages and reappropriate the information that they receive”.  

The netizen then acquires an active role, can create and disseminate information. In turn, virtual platforms also give the possibility of interacting, commenting and giving an opinion on the shared information, using a meme as social criticism.

This phenomenon reaches a strong power, the creation of a meme from a social event arouses the reaction of other users, who decide to share it because they feel identified. Such is the power of memes, that they can come out of the digital and be inserted into reality, and can even trigger social mobilizations.

Quick guide to use memes in your company's communication

Having clarified some of the uses of memes as a communication strategy , we have to emphasize something more important: we must not abuse them and we must be selective.

A misused meme can have adverse reactions and turn against you. To avoid this, we are going to give you a couple of tips :

The first thing you have to think about (and that's one of the 10 marketing commandments) is your target audience. Do you think it will connect well with the meme or that it may be uncomfortable or annoying? For this, we have to have defined the interests and hobbies of our audience, be aware of their movements and their conversations.

Avoid using memes for serious topics . Humor is very subjective and not everyone interprets it the same. For this reason, when faced with controversial issues, it is better to think it over before launching any message. As we already told you in another previous article, the quantity and quality of the content is just as important. If the message is not liked, you can create a reputation crisis in networks.

Therefore, the key to making a meme that goes viral on social networks will always reside in choosing the right image with the right text . Not all images are valid. In this regard, we recommend using a popular meme by changing the text to promote your own message.

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