While memes were conceptualized long before the digital era, the unique features of the Internet turned their diffusion into a ubiquitous and highly visible routine. The uptick in vibrant popular discourse about memes in an era increasingly defined by Internet communication is not coincidental. According to this popular notion, an Internet meme may spread in its original form, but it often also spawns user-created derivatives. In the vernacular discourse of netizens, the phrase “Internet meme” is commonly applied to describe the propagation of content items such as jokes, rumors, videos, or websites from one person to others via the Internet. Recently, however, the concept once kicked out the door by many academics is coming back through the Windows (and other operating systems) of Internet users. Ever since Richard Dawkins coined the term in 1976 to describe gene-like infectious units of culture that spread from person to person, memes have been the subject of constant academic debate, derision, and even outright dismissal. Or so at least a glance into the world of academic literature would suggest.
Memes in a Digital World: Reconciling With a Conceptual Troublemaker
