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This particular prank, called “Rickrolling,” is just one of many phrases, pictures, videos or concepts that spread like wildfire via the Internet.
Like a disease spreading throughout the world, these “Internet memes” are sneaking their way into inboxes, web pages and the minds of people everywhere.
According to about.com, an Internet meme (pronounced meem), “behaves like a flu or a cold virus, traveling from person to person quickly, but transmitting an idea instead of a life form.” The word itself finds its roots in the Greek language in the form of the word mimema, which means “something imitated.” This Greek definition almost perfectly describes modern memes, as many repeatedly use the same concept with many variations. A good example of this is the “Awesome Face,” a yellow smiley face with an ecstatic expression. This meme has spawned many spinoffs featuring the same basic design, only the face itself is edited to resemble animals, TV or video game characters, etc. The origins of individual Internet memes can vary greatly.
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Some Internet memes have had such a cultural impact they escape from the confines of YouTube and email in boxes to run rampant in the rest of the world.
Such heavy-hitters often spread onto other media canvases, which definitively marks their popularity, no matter how offthe- wall or ridiculous they are. One of the biggest names in the world of Internet memes is “Nyan Cat,” a looping animation of an 8-bit cat with a pop-tart for a body, flying through space while leaving behind a rainbow-colored trail.
All of this is accompanied by a repetitive and somewhat obnoxious song.
Starting as a humble GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) computer animation, this peculiar pastry pet eventually evolved into a worldwide phenomenon, which resulted in the Nyan Cat appearing in various videos, games, websites, and even commercials.
At a time, YouTube even had a Nyan Catthemed progress bar – pretty impressive for a flying feline!
“My favorite memes are probably motivational/ demotivational posters,” said Brittany Tender, an eighth-grader at Burgettstown High School who admits to spending a lot of time online, particular on artists’ websites. “But I also like Nyan cat. Some of the comments people come up with for motivationals are pretty clever. When it comes to Nyan Cat, I think it’s adorable and the song is really catchy.”
Tender said most memes are just something silly and random, “so when they just sort of show up it, can be pretty amusing. And, since they’re always changing, usually the jokes take a while to get boring.”
She attributes memes’ popularity to their wit and humor, or the “just plain cute” factor.
“It’s crazy how popular some memes can get, especially when you think about their simplicity. You wouldn’t expect to see people wearing shirts with a cross-eyed smiley face or a cat in a breakfast pastry on them usually, but still when you look at the memes, they’ve really taken off in popularity. I think with all the technology in today’s society memes like this will only get more popular, too.”
