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January 29, 2006
Blogging 101 - The Blog Meme
By QBlog in Blogging 101
Blogs and memes go together like peanut butter and jelly. Like Crockett and Tubbs. Like the Cubs and disappointment. They're practically made for each other and to deprive your blog of its natural meme-craving is an exhibition of sadistic cruelty.
Uh, What's A Meme?
Some of your out there don't know a meme from a hole in the ground but that's ok. I'll bring you up to speed.
The short definition is "a unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another."
However, that definition is incomplete as it relates to an Internet meme which "occurs when something relatively unknown becomes increasingly popular, often quite suddenly, through the mass propagation of media content made feasible by the Internet" technology.
Some examples of popular memes include:
- Bert Is Evil
- Bonsai Kitten
- The I Kiss You! guy from Turkey
- The Star Wars Kid
- The classic All Your Base Are Belong To Us
- Black People Love Us
- The infamous Dancing Baby
- My personal favorite, Peanut Butter Jelly Time
But while bloggers love a good meme, the examples listed above merely provide the opportunity to post a link and a few witty comments. What bloggers really want is something they can pass off as genuine content. You know, like what I'm doing right now.
The Blog Meme
A blog meme is a type of Internet meme that requires active participation by the blogger and rarely traces back to an originating source. It's often a series of questions that a blogger answers to share some personal perspective or experience on random topics.
Here are a few examples of popular blog memes:
There's even a site that offers blog meme material to help you get started. And if you're not sure how to write a "Quiz-like meme" the "working with me" blog has a helpful tutorial.
Memes Are Silly
Yes, memes are silly and blog memes seem to be especially popular with the LiveJournal - Xanga - MySpace crowd which likely means people under 21. It's a sort of narcissistic way for kids to tell the world how cool, unique and special they are because we all know that the world is dying to know more about YOU!
This, is the story of you
What makes you special, where you come from
This is one of the most exciting stories ever told
Because its about you
And you are one of the most important things in the world . . . you
Handsome Boy Modeling School - "If It Wasn't For You"
But plenty of the "serious blogger" set enjoy a good blog meme too so don't let the kids have all the fun. Toss your content worries to the wind and start a blog meme today!
Blogging 101 publishes every Sunday and provides blogging tips, advice and tutorials for blog newbies and veterans alike.
This notion appers to be taking off with the free code movement for blogs and websites.
A useful term recently coined for internet meme is "bleme" - or a blog meme.
Specifically as it applies to "free code" snippets now available practically everywhere on the web - You Tube videos, MySpace graphics, layouts, glitter, flash games, etc. - all being part of an "ecosystem" - for spreading the free codes - and the most successful "blemes" around the net.
Urban dictionary www.urbandictionary.com
lists bleme = a meme for a blog
www.blemeshack.com is a search engine for free code for websites
www.bleme.com has a comming soon notice? anyone know what for?
www.imeem.com has a similar concept - combined with videos and photos uploaded, and a social community like myspace built in.
Will be interesting to see if this free code distribution continues and opens things up - or if people go with a "closed garden" approach like the recently launched CyWorld USA - a korea transplant.
Joe M
Posted by: Joe M | September 5, 2006 9:22 PM