What do you meme?

Memes have become a part of our everyday lives. The term ‘meme’ (derived from the Greek word ‘mimema’, meaning imitated) was coined by Richard Dawkins in his book ‘The selfish gene’ and we have not only adopted the word into our dictionary but also our lifestyle.

Memes have evolved from being only a form of satire to becoming of the most important mediums for delivering messages in the social media-dominated world. We have come a long way from the old-school ‘Derp’ memes to the 2020s where Trump handing a paper to a reporter has become a widespread meme.

A meme has the power to make or break a career as portrayed by the famous resurgence of Rick Astley in 2008 following the ‘Rickroll’ phenomenon. Memes also need to be relatable for the masses and hundreds of new meme templates are rolled out every day but with time, some are lost into obscurity. The memes that continue on are the ones most relatable to by the masses.

Modern pop-culture and memes are co-dependent on each other. If a new artist/movie/tv series has to go viral, they need to have some ‘meme moments’ that increase their popularity tenfold and attract new viewers. Some artists have even confirmed that they think about some moments they feel will become a meme before filming a scene showcasing the importance of them.

Even modern businesses heavily rely on memes to stay relevant in the mind of the customers. From Netflix to Zomato, most brands have a dedicated team to handle their social media accounts and post the most recent and trending memes to not be left behind in this war of likes and retweets that also defines the importance of a brand.

Many people feel meme is only an internet fad but do not make that mistake. Memes are here to stay and studies show, their popularity is only increasing with time. The trends here show how internet searches for the term ‘meme’ have just been an upward slope since the start of the decade and it shows no sign of slowing down.

With news that Bud Light is looking to hire a new Chief Meme Officer, the business world seems to accept the importance of memes for the millennials and the Gen-Z and more companies may soon follow suit…