Internet Memes: Transnational Products of (Home Made) Cyberculture

Abstract

In the era of participatory (cyber)culture, the power of cultural production is also in the hands of the ‘prosumer.’ It is from this context of active online participation that internet memes are born, becoming an ever-present trait of cyber communication. Overlooked by mainstream discourses for a long time, it was online that memes found their way into everyday life, permeating both personal and social online interactions. This includes interaction within online communities, yet it spans beyond these as memes escape confined internet spaces and are shared in a myriad of online contexts. Due to the importance of the networked space that characterizes the internet, memes are able to be shared at an astonishing rate. Consequently, their pervasiveness cements their place as a token of cyberculture. At a basic level, online memes are remixes; the result of an engagement with the remix aesthetic that is so prevalent in current online spheres. However, they also echo a much older ethos and aesthetic of remix seen in punk, craft and détournement; one permeated – both implicitly and explicitly - by a political tone of empowerment and DIY. Internet memes are also able to overcome national and political barriers and do so almost instantaneously. Whilst the language (and text) accompanying the meme might change, the connotation behind the visual image of the meme does not, making memes an easy cybercultural tool that allows us to communicate a range of meanings on a personal and global scale. This malleability and ubiquity of cyberculture has translated beyond online borders, as internet memes are increasingly found in offline places – for example, in billboards for political protests throughout the world – further evidencing the social, cultural and political impact of cyberculture in (both online and offline) everyday life.