Memes in digital culture by limor shifman overdrive. In this book, the author investigates internet memes and what they tell us about digital culture. An internet meme, more commonly known simply as a meme m i. Memes in digital culture accomplishes a great deal in a very efficient package. At its peak, the harlem shake meme was immensely successful at both generativity generated nearly 4,000 youtube videos uploads per day, and popularity it only took about 40 days to reach 1 billion views on youtube, half the time that it took gangnam style. Memes in digital culture books pics download new books. The book is smart yet accessible, balanced yet provocative. She discusses a series of wellknown internet memes, including leave britney alone, the pepperspraying cop, lolcats, scumbag steve, and occupy wall streets we are the 99 percent. Shifman, limor memes in digital culture 2014 meme idea.
Memes epub, shifman argues, encapsulate some of the most fundamental aspects of the internet in general and of the participatory web 2. In this short but dense book, limor shifman deals with a slippery but pervasive kind of digital objects. Shifman discusses a series of wellknown internet memes including leave britney alone, the pepperspraying cop, lolcats, scumbag steve, and occupy wall streets we are the 99 percent. It is information, words, instructions, richard dawkins declared in 1986. Creatingidentityandbuildingbridgesbetweenculturesthecaseof9gag. So yeah, its an exciting time to be an internet meme scholar. Limor shifman explores this presence and how it affects us in her book memes in digital culture. Previous meme research tends to consider memes as a single cultural unit p. Memes, shifman argues, encapsulate some of the most fundamental aspects of the internet in general and of the participatory web 2. This book doesnt dive the deepest, but it lays out all of the important issues well enough for anyone to understand why memes are so sticky from a college student to an interested grandparent in why kids these days are making wacky cat videos. Shifman discusses a series of wellknown internet memes. Memes in digital culture, written by limor shifman published on 15 jan 2015 by brill. Patrick sharbaugh, asiascape memes in digital culture is a superb overview of the study, power, and potential of memes. In some cases, these memes used words and phrases contain intentional misspellings such as lolcats or incorrect grammar.
Memes as artifacts also possess cultural and social attributes as they are produced, reproduced, and transformed to reconstitute the social system. C this article has been rated as cclass on the projects quality scale. Traditionally, a prominent form of such memes consisted of image macros paired with a concept or catchphrase. Gangnam style and its attendant parodies, imitations, and derivations is one of the most famous examples of an internet meme. Limor shifman, in her 20 book memes in digital culture, called memetic media our postmodern folklore. Limor shifman wrote a publication titled memes in digital culture, where she discusses the use, characteristics and effects of memes in todays digital culture. An indepth analysis of the origin and nature of internet memes makes this book a great read for any researcher interested in digital culture and new media, writes. Defining and characterizing the concept of internet meme. Pdf memes in digital culture, edited by limor shifman. In this book, limor shifman investigates internet memes and what they tell us about digital culture. Memes in digital culture is a superb overview of the study, power and potential of memes. As users share memes with friends and family, their values and beliefs are distributed right along with the laughs. Patrick sharbaugh, asiascape memes in digital culture is a superb overview of the study, power and potential of memes.
Author limor shifman provides a comprehensive and clear definition of what internet memes are. In this book, limor shifman investigates internet memes and what they tell us pdf about digital culture. In december 2012, the exuberant video gangnam style became the first youtube clip to be viewed more than one billion times. Shifman discusses a series of wellknown internet memesincluding leave britney alone, the pepperspraying cop, lolcats, scumbag steve, and occupy wall streets we are the 99 percent. Click download or read online button to get memes in digital culture book now. Download pdf download citation view references email request permissions. It is extremely important for content composers, content consumers to keep in mid the effects of memes and new digital literacies and what effects it will have on the population. More importantly, shifman argues that internet memes are indicators of an active digital culture. The meme, once defined as a small unit of culture, is an underrated invention of the digital era. Memes in digital culture by limor shifman is another great addition to the mit press essential knowledge series. Memes in digital culture shifman, limor, 1974 in december 2012, the exuberant video gangnam style became the first youtube clip to be viewed more than one billion times. Shifman has done an exemplary job of balancing an analytical.
Like genes, memes are defined as replicators that undergo variation, competition, selection, and retention. Memes in digital culture ebook by limor shifman 9780262317702. Shifman s interest in using the analysis of internet memes to view contemporary culture in the digital age is a timely one. Richard dawkinss 1976 introduction of the term meme to describe units of culture, and the uncertainty of terminology that academia has thus far. Columbia universitys report on postindustrial journalism as cited by campbell, 2018 highlights that with the dawn of the internet comes a new ecosystem of information production, distribution and consumption. Memes in digital culture mit press essential knowledge. Among the phenomena she has studied are online humor and gender, the global spread and translation of online joke memes, and the evolution of new forms of webbased humor. Memes in digital culture download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. High this article has been rated as highimportance on the. Shifman has done an exemplary job of balancing an analytical overview of her subject with forays into fascinating conceptual debates.
Shifman, limor memes in digital culture 2014 free ebook download as pdf file. As groups of digital items created and published by wide and often heterogeneous crowds, memes both reflect and. Repetition is a characteristic of memes that helps them achieve the level of influence shifman describes. In each chapter, shifman has put footnotes on references to research or on things she hasnt elaborated on, but may require more understanding. This article is within the scope of wikiproject internet, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the internet on wikipedia. In practical terms the memetic social system is reconstituted when members of participatory digital culture use rules and resources of. Thousands of its viewers responded by creating and posting their own variations of the videomitt romney style, nasa johnson style, egyptian style, and. Memes are quick visual ways of selfpresentation, essentially telling whom someone is, what someone thinks is important, or what someones political stance is. Memes in digital culture examines the central aspect of digital culture that is internet memes. Pdf on mar 14, 2016, christopher lehman and others published memes in digital culture, edited by limor shifman. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Memes have a large presence in our digital culture. Memes in digital culture is a superb overview of the study, power, and potential of memes.
In what follows, we consider the contents of shifmans. Shifman teaches courses on mass communication theory, popular culture and the internet, political satire in the digital age and internetbased. Thousands of meme makers in india are turning it into a potent and, at times, inflammatory. Internet memes, such as lolcats, planking, or gangnam style, have become prominent aspects of digital culture. Memes in digital culture the mit press essential knowledge.
It is safe to say that the harlem shake rapidly surpassed the status of a simple internet meme and found its way as. Shared, posted, tweeted, commented upon, and discussed online as well as offline, internet memes represent a new genre of online communication, and an understanding of their production, dissemination, and implications in the real world enables an improved ability to navigate digital culture. Memes in digital culture by limor shifman lse research online. Internet memes may be entertaining, but in this book limor shifman makes a compelling argument for taking them seriously. What lies at the heart of every living thing is not a fire, not warm breath, not a spark of life. Communication krzysztof gajdka university of economics in katowice, poland.
Memes in digital culture by limor shifman 9780262525435. At any given moment, many memes are competing for the attention of hosts. Andlike has always been the case with folk culturethese media are premised on collective strands intertwining into new tapestries of cultural production. Pdf on jan 4, 2015, ali zaidi and others published memes in digital culture find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate.
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