Reddit+and+popular+internet+memes


 * Reddit and Popular Internet Memes**
 * Rich Becker**


 * Research Questions:** What makes a meme popular? Why is Reddit a hot bed for the creation of so many internet memes? How do popular memes form and spread? Is there a criteria or standards a meme has to have? How many popular internet memes have started from Reddit? Has Reddit had any effect on the world out side of the internet? Do popular memes ever transcend the computer and cross over into reality? What is the average lifespan of a popular internet meme.


 * I Wonder:** I wonder if the individuals that come up with internet memes, are they created with the intention of becoming popular or are they made for a select audience. I wonder if there is any connection between the between the people of create memes. Like do they know each others real names, screen names or do they just work "anonymously". I wonder how often people talk about memes off line. I wonder how many even know about or could name some popular internet memes. I wonder how many people use Reddit. I wonder if anyone in our class is a Reddit user?


 * My Plan:** My plan is to use the help of a librarian to help streamline my search of library and online materials. I feel that a majority of my resources will come from the internet. I believe this is going to happen because internet culture is still a relatively new topic, there has not been much media attention to online culture till recently. I may be limited on how much research I can find by academics because of my topics' current and original content. But I think that I find a wealth of information about internet memes and Reddit on the internet.


 * What I Want to Learn:** I want to know about the creation of internet memes and the process on how they are spread. I want to know if anyone every takes responsibility or claims a internet meme as "their property". Also if most popular internet memes reflect internet/anonymity life or if possible they reflect reality. I would also like to know about the demographics of Reddit users and meme creators if that is at all possible.

GREENLIGHTED. Super plan of action here--- I especially am interested in the concept of "property" when it comes to Internet memes. And I wonder about the concept of "online culture" in relation to the distinct and special aspects of it.

A LOOK INTO WHAT REDDIT IS AND HAS TO OFFER

In my article **A Short Introduction to Reddit ** explains the basics of the Reddit website. Reddit is a “Social Bookmarking Website”. Users create channels to talk about just about anything on or off the web. Everything from political positions and religion to the newest trending memes and funny cat photos is on this site. But something I learned after reading the first paragraph that surprised me is that Reddit also gathers professionals to their site. Experts from different fields will meet virtually and discuss and share new breakthroughs in technologies. After learning this I will look more into how Academics use Reddit to further their research. Reddit is on the rise because Digg a rival site which does the same thing changed their format around radically and our losing users fast. This reminds of how Facebook took over Myspace as the biggest social networking site. But what makes Reddit different then other Bookmarking websites is their subreddits. These are the next level down after Reddits and are more specialized. For example I could find a reddit page on rugby and subreddit page on individual positions that are dedicated to that one position. There is no limit to how many subreddits there can be. Another thing that makes Reddit unique is its rating system for reddits. You can up vote or down vote things. An up vote on your reddit page will earn your user name a karma point. The karma points are to reflect how much good/helpful things you have posted on Reddit. The more karma points you have the more trustworthy you are online. So if you post on some else’s reddit your post will stick out. Reddit also differs from other social networking type sites in user anonymity in that there is absolutely no personal information needed to join. You do not have to enter an email or your real name. All that is required is your online user name which could be anything and a password that allows you access to that user name. This increases user safety greatly, the only danger that one could face is viewing true thoughts of people talking knowing that they cannot be traced for they say. The best and worst of the internet can pass through here. Successful Reddits can take advantage of advertising get paid by page by page viewing. But users that flood their posts with ads will earn the term “Ralph” and lose karma points and eventually banned. But other successful Reddits are virtual brainstorms with tens of thousands of people. The most successful of these is the DIY or Do It Yourself page. A person will start a subreddit with a problem they are having and ask the community help them fix or build whatever they need.

Uehara, R. J. A short introduction to reddit [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/a-short-introduction-to-reddit/

FINAL RESEARCH PAPER



My Pecha Kucha

Reddit and Popular Internet Meme

Reddit and Popular Internet Memes

 The internet is a truly a social and business environment changer, it has given us access to an immeasurable amount of wealth, new way of communicating and an incubator for creation. This frontier is always expanding and is always around us. A culture has formed from internet use, in this culture people can act freely due to their anonymity. I’ll explain the web site //Reddit// a popular site tag named the “The Front Page of the Internet” and how those users have their culture and how it reflects upon this class. To use the internet and //Reddit//, a user must have knowledge of discourses and acquired new media illiteracies to get the full effect and use of these services. This paper will also discuss how internet memes are the offspring of internet anonymous users. Internet memes are new visual literacy’s that are built off of other images/texts and in some cases other memes. To understand a meme one must understand what makes up a meme and how they differ from each other.

 //Reddit// is an interesting site in that it is a hybrid news/social media. Basically, //Reddit// is community driven news aggregator. This site is about the users, because its content is user generated and user managed. //Reddit’s// tag line is “The front page of the internet”. This is meant to represent that //Reddit// has a lot of general information that you can find on it then provides the impetus to move on to only internet sites when you want the full story.

How to use Reddit

 //Reddit// was founded in 2005 by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian after they graduated from the University of Virginia. In October 2006, they sold //Reddit// to Condé Nast Publications for $20 million dollars. As of September 2011, //Reddit// is now owned by Condé Nast Publications parent company, Advanced Productions. One reason for //Reddit//’s success is because a similar rivial site //Digg// upgraded to their 4th version on August 4th 2010. The users of //Digg// did not appreciate this upgrade features and became alienated t the site and started to move towards //Reddit//. A result of this site activity was a critical drain on //Reddit//’s server processing capability. So to acquire more funds to continue running and enhance site performance, //Reddit// offered a paid subscription which gave those users some special features beyond normal site usage. For example, features such as the ability to turn off advertisements and or sponsor links on their sub- //Reddit//’s subscription, providing comment highlighting to see what has been posted on your pages since you have last been there and much more. As of today, //Reddit// averages over 1.6 billion views a day. (Macale)  //Reddit// is organsised by a series of levels. The most broad and general level will be the Reddit or topics. In this link you will find sub-reddits that are posted under this topic. These are displayed with the user who posted it, how long ago it was posted and how many comments it has received on the item posted. A sub //Reddit// is more detailed; it can be question or information on a detail of the main reddit topic. For example, when the topic /r/AskScience is accessed, then sub-reddit posting will ask a question such as “Will we all eventually be the same skin color.” From there you can post comments or up/down vote on other posted comments if you have an account.

 Reddit’s culture is interesting; it is based entirely around anonymity. To get an account one only has to provide a user name and supply a password. No email address or other verification information is needed, unlike other blog sites, social gathering sites, or business transaction sites. This site tends to gather like minded people together. This good for people who want to find new information and share common things, but it lessen the potential for what is possible when other people of different backgrounds and thoughts are not present. This can limited the growth potential for what the site can become. Not all topics in //Reddit// are serious in material; Sub reddit topics like random acts of pizza are fun to look at. A user will post a comment of why they deserve a pizza pie and a random user will private message to them and order a pizza via internet! //Reddit// also holds a secret Santa event a month before Christmas. This has been in operation since 2009. Redditors who join are sent are sent an email of the person they are matched with. In 2010, 12179 people joined in this manner. The reddit community also can gather to raise money for charity’s and other events. (“voltierdigital.com”) // // In relation to this course, //Reddit //reflects several values of New Media Literacy. To use// Reddit //effectively one must be well versed in visual literacy and having a range in understanding of discussion discourses. James Paul Gee once said “Much of what we come by in life, after our initial enculturation, involves a mixture of acquisition and learning.”(Gee p.3) Reddit promotes exploration, and new discourses can be created or maintained. From this site I have learned new methods for writing papers and organizing class topics. This site also encouraged me to pick up a musical instrument and try to learn and play the instrument. On the science paper written, I had gather articles on black holes and the physics of light speed to research. From// Reddit //I accessed the site to search more on these topics.// Reddit //is great starting point to dive into many areas and gather more knowledge. In an odd way,// Reddit //and the vast amount of users called Redditors are somewhat like teachers. “Learning is a process that involves conscious knowledge gained through teaching, though not nessarily from someone designated as a teacher.” (Gee p.3)//

Reddit //also promotes information Literacy. As quoted from Reene Hobbs article titled Multiple visions of Multimedia Literacy: Emerging areas of Synthesis, “At the heart of it, information literacy emphasizes the need for careful selection, retrieval and choice-making in response to the abundant information available.” (Hobbs p.17)//

Reddit //also shows functionality and features similar to the Media education remote control topic that the class covered in the beginning of the semester.// Reddit //is clearly a site that is geared for public good usage; many users care about the reddit community and do several random acts of kindness for each other. With several subreddits that available and user posts you can get valuable input which can help one with value checks and reality checks on current social topics and concerns. Users will do their best to help the community and will post things in their entirety to best inform the community which would help you read “between the lines” and make informed decisions. Dana Byod would agree with that statement. “Learning how to manage impressions is a critical social skill that is honed through experience.” (Byod p.12) and “Diverse social environments help people develop these skills because they force individuals to re-evaluate the signals they take for granted. (Byod p.12) These quotes emulate what// Reddit //is and how the community of redditors conduct themselves.//

// Internet memes are one of the many things that the internet has spawned, somewhat indirectly. The term meme is another word for idea. It was coined by evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book, //The Selfish Gene//. He was implying that ideas spread the same as viruses and genes. He said that their sole purpose is to replicate themselves into other people’s brains. Early memes were product jingles made by ad companies. Memes can be vocal, audio, print, or visual media. Internet memes follow this suit as well.//

//While regular memes are generally good ideas, internet meme tend to be of the humorous type. That is generally the deciding factor if the meme becomes popular or not. Since //Reddit //is the aggregator for everything, memes are all over the// Reddit //sites. Funny pictures and videos are good reddit channels to look for memes. There are several types of internet meme categories; exploitables which are photos that have a funny text put over top, catchy phrases, and gifs which are short clips of video that can be continuously looped. There are also internet celebrities and pop culture figures that can be made into memes.// Reddit //also has been the birthplace of several memes such as anti-zombie fortress and dog fort. But also because of the users of meme’s also visit other image board web sites like// 4chan //and// tumblr, //those memes make it here and are further spread around the internet like a virus. //

// In relation to what I have learned in this class, internet memes are semiotic in nature. They have multiply meanings and can be applied to many things. “The message itself may create the reality that the message embodies and predispose those who hear it to think about it in a particular mode.” ("Language of Education" p.80) Memes can be updated, remixed, and repurposed because of the creativity that the internet breeds. Since memes have several meanings one has to understand discourses as well. A picture of an exploitable meme has text on it. It also can combine that with the message of the picture. The text will sometimes clash with the pic or go along with it. For example Joseph Ducreux paintings are one of my favorite meme types. It shows a flashy self portrait of this guy but in the text rap lyrics are written in old english. For example, “I’ve got 99 problems but a bitch anit one gets turned into I hath acquired 99 problems but a wench is not one”. A person must understand that the lyrics are being turned into what they may have been centuries ago. //

// In conclusion, //Reddit //and internet memes are continuously subject to change.// Reddit //is constantly delivering new self-generated content and new links for users to gain access to. People’s opinion is what makes// Reddit //work. Internet memes are always changing; new ones will replace the old ones when their time has passed as being funny or catchy. But these two internet phenomena’s both require visual literacy and understanding of multiple discourses with other site users, for example when two memes are blended together in remakes. What should be taken from this assignment is that these two items are in constant change and are user created, they reflect upon human experiences.// Reddit //is a reflection of causal interactions with people. The redditor community will rarely see each but are willing to say and do kind things towards each other, like buying pizza. Internet memes show humor in current topics that can be serious in tone, lightening our lives.//

References //, and Sherilnn Macale.// The Reddit Invasion //. 2011. Infographic. Thenextweb.comWeb. 9 Dec 2011. <http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/10/14/a-rundown-of-reddits-history-and-community-infographic/>.//

//. "Reddit’s Astonishing Altruism."// voltierdigital.com//. N.p., 12/11/2010. Web. 9 Dec 2011. <http://www.voltierdigital.com/2010/11/reddits-astonishin-altruism/>.//

//Cerqueira, Hernani. "Where Internet memes come from."// helium.com//. helium.com, 2/07/2009. Web. 9 Dec 2011. <http://www.helium.com/items/1503483-internet-memes-the-first-the-when-and-the-where-or-close>.//

//Arthur, Charles. "Digg loses a third of its visitors in a month: is it deadd?."// The Guardian.//. N.p., 3/6/2010. Web. 9 Dec 2011. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/jun/03/digg-dead-falling-visitors//

//Schiraldi, Mike. "Three new features for reddit gold: Choose-your-own ads, Userpage sorting, and Friends with Benefits."// BLOG.reddit.com//. BLOG, 19/7/2010. Web. 9 Dec 2011. <http://blog.reddit.com/2010/07/three-new-features-for-reddit-gold.html>.//

//Gee, James Paul. "What is Litercy."// Journal of Education//. . v171 n1 1989. p.3. Print.//

//Hobbs, Reene. "Handbook of literacy and technology."// Multiple visions of multimedia literacy: Emerging areas of synthesis//. Volume II. Temple University, 2006. Print.//

//Byod, Danah. (2007) “Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life.”// MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning – Youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume //(ed. David Buckingham). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.//

The Language of Education//. 49. New York: Social Research, New York The New School for Social Research, 1982. p.80. Print. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">s <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> The popular internet site, Reddit is a forum, or discourse, in which people aggregate information, symbols and experiences through the social connectivity of the internet. In his paper, “What is Literacy?” James Paul Gee (1986) provides a definition of literacy. First he explains the importance of the societal networks we have developed to share information which he calls discourses. Then goes on, “Literacy is control of secondary uses of language (i.e. uses of language in secondary discourses)” (Gee, 1&6). Secondary discourses or secondary institutions could describe school, the workplace, political party or any networking communities, this may include the Interent. On Reddit a community of individuals interact with people who necessarily do/do not share the same amount of interest or knowledge as they are not exposed to similar experiences. Our experiences within secondary discourses test our literacy we obtained through the primary discourse. Literacy in regards to Reddit is based on understanding the symbols or info shared and copied and continuously distributing or proliferate these messages. Hobbs quotes Barthes (1972), “texts” are any form of symbolic expression used in the communication of meaning (Hobbs, 2006). The messages are known as memes: Simple symbols that encode a basic message to be easily passed from person to person. Such social sites demand a literate audience who can continue to share and pass messages. As Dana Boyd says “Diverse social environments help people develop these skills because they force individuals to re-evaluate the signals they take for granted. (Boyd p.12). Multimedia Literacy is a foundation to social networks. Well-chosen information to relate to topics in class that were clear and able to understand due to his explanations. It allows for decent basic understanding of the site, its purpose and how it relates to new media literacy. They layout of the project was well done and very readable, and made for an enjoyable but informative experience. One thing that could have been done was to post the pictures directly on the wiki that give examples of the memes. (there were links to images, however, they did not function). But overall it was well constructed. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">