Don't Jump The Meme Shark

DON’T JUMP THE MEME SHARK

LLOYD JOHNSON

JUMPING THE SHARK = THE MOMENT WHEN A BRAND, DESIGN, OR CREATIVE EFFORT’S EVOLUTION LOSES THE ESSENTIAL QUALITIES THAT INITIALLY DEFINED ITS SUCCESS AND DECLINES,

ULTIMATELY, INTO IRRELEVANCE

Wikipedia, 2013

VIZ:

Wikipedia, 2013

WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW ARTIFACTS OF CULTURE ARE AT RISK OF IMPLODING BY LOOKING AT

HOW THEY SPREAD

DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONA THEORY TO EXPLAIN HOW, WHY, AND HOW FAST

IDEAS SPREAD THROUGH CULTURE

ELEMENTS THAT INFLUENCE DIFFUSION:

Wikipedia, 2013

THE INNOVATION

COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS

TIME

THE SOCIAL SYSTEM

Wikipedia, 2013

AN INNOVATION’SINFLECTION POINT

THE HOT ZONE

STRAP ON THE SKIS

THE INTERNET HAS COMPRESSED THE SPEED AT WHICH INNOVATIONS BOTH DIFFUSE AND DECAY

LATENCY = TIME BETWEEN ASKING A COMPUTER FOR SOMETHING AND GETTING IT

Pcmag.com encyclopedia

CULTURAL LATENCY = THE TIME INTERVAL BETWEEN THE BIRTH OF A UNIT OF CULTURE

AND YOUR NOTICING/USING/DISCARDING IT

“AS COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES BECOME FASTER AND MORE PERVASIVE, THE LATENCY OF CULTURE IS ACTUALLY DECREASING....NOW WE HAVE MILLIONS OF EYES ALL CONNECTED TO A REAL-TIME MICRO BROADCAST MESSAGING PLATFORM VIA A MOBILE DEVICE THEY HAVE WITH THEM AT ALL TIMES, AND A SOCIAL EAGERNESS TO DEMONSTRATE PRIMACY.

CULTURAL LATENCY IS NEARING ZERO, AT LEAST IN THE MORE CONNECTED PARTS OF THE WORLD.”

-FARIS YAKOB

“Cultural Latency,” fastcompany.com, Jul 1, 2009

AS SHARING BECOMES MORE FRICTIONLESS, NEW UNITS OF CULTURE DECAY EVEN MORE RAPIDLY

THE INTERNET MEME IS THE PRIME EXAMPLE OF THE HYPER-SPEED OF TODAY’S CULTURAL LATENCY

THESE AREN’T YOUR FATHER’S MEMES

“AN INTERNET MEME IS A PIECE OF CONTENT OR AN IDEA THAT'S PASSED FROM PERSON TO PERSON, CHANGING AND EVOLVING ALONG THE WAY. ”

knowyourmeme.com/about

A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES

ALTHOUGH THE GIF IS A PACKAGE TO DELIVER

CONTENT, IT HAS ITS OWN CULTURAL SUBSTANCE

GIFS AREN’T NEW, BUT HAVE LIVED IN THE SHADOWS FOR A LONG TIME

“Inside the GIF-Industrial Complex,”newrepublic.com, Feb 19, 2013

...AND THEN TUMBLR HAPPENED


BUT IS THIS WHAT’S DOING GIFS IN?

(FRAME-GRAB GIFS)


OR IS IT THIS?

MORE APPS ARE BEING MADE IN RESPONSE TO THE POPULARITY OF GIFS


BUT SOME GIF-INSPIRED APPS DON’T ACTUALLY MAKE GIFS

THE HARLEM SHAKE

“Harlem Shake: Tracking a Meme over a Month,” bbc.co.uk, Mar 1, 2013

Google Trends, Mar 13, 2013

WORLDWIDE SEARCH PEAK: MARCH 2

WHY WAS IT SO CONTAGIOUS?

“Harlem Shake: Tracking a Meme over a Month,” bbc.co.uk, Mar 1, 2013

SHORT

EASY TO REPLICATE

CONSISTENT FORMAT

NETWORK STRENGTH OF EARLY OPINION LEADERS

THE PEOPLE GROW RESTLESS

BUT THERE’S MORE TO IT THAN MEETS THE GAG-METER

SUGGESTIONS TO KEEP THE PARTY GOING WITHOUT

JUMPING THE MEME SHARK

DON’T TRY TO MANUFACTURE STICKINESS --FACILITATE IT

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND ON THE INTERWEBS:

“THE SHARK IS THE STAR”

EMBRACE NEW TOOLS, BUT BE CONSISTENT

The Evolution of Shark Week, Pop Culture Leviathan, theatlantic.com, Aug 13, 2012

@LLOYD2ND

Don't Jump The Meme Shark

Documents

Transcript of Don't Jump The Meme Shark