IU-themed memes rising in popularity

Many fads have defined the 2000s. Miniskirts with leggings, Wikis, Uggs and the phrase “That’s hot” have all become part of our culture.

Now, the Internet meme is being added to the list, both nationally and at IU.

“Indiana University Memes,” a Facebook page created just two weeks ago, now has more than 11,600 “likes” as of deadline for this story, and that number continues to grow rapidly.

The page displays images already popular on Internet sites, such as 9gag.com and memebase.com, that have been applied to IU culture, including the “Y U No” and “Futurama Fry” memes.

Sophomore Tommy Myers used the “Success Kid” meme with the words “Submit webwork problem. Green.”

Myers said he was inspired by a finite class in which he had to submit web problems and the rage that followed a question marked red, or incorrect.

“I think I was surprised at how fast it got ‘likes,’” Myers said. “I never imagined it would get more than 100 likes.”

Myers’ post is currently at 635 “likes,” with 10 comments.

Sophomore Katie Pittman used the same meme, but applied the words “Go to Wright Food Court. Fresh breakfast buddies.”

“My friend Milana and I thought it would be a good way to procrastinate writing our papers, and we wanted to use something a lot of people could relate to,” Pittman said. “I remember standing around in Wright my freshman year with 15 other people, waiting for the fresh breakfast buddies to be made in the morning.”

Her meme currently has 219 “likes” and 11 comments, in some of which students share their own experiences with Wright Food Court.

These and many other relatable posts have elevated the page’s popularity quickly. It has been viewed in more than 24 countries, including Ireland, Haiti, Spain and Japan. It has received 827,868 page views, and in the first day of its creation, it gained 1,000 “likes.” By the end of the first week, it had 10,000.

In addition, because of the page, IU is ranked number four on Mashable’s list of the 20 colleges where Internet memes are “all the rage.”

Filippo Menczer, professor and director of the Center for Complex Networks and Systems Research at the School of Informatics and Computing, studies memes and other connections people use on social networks.

“A meme is any piece of information that is easy to pass or ‘infect’ from person to person, either offline or via social media,” Menczer said. “The information could be true, false or anywhere in between.”

Menczer offered links to blogs, Twitter hashtags, popular headlines and celebrity names as  meme examples. He said memes allow people to know what is spreading through the social network.

He added that they are found using word of mouth; traditional media promotion, such as a newspaper article with online-only additional content; and support within the medium itself, such as promoted videos on YouTube.

“We can distinguish between the few memes that go viral, reaching thousands or millions of people, and the vast majority of memes that quickly die out,” Menczer said. “This way, we can observe what is grabbing our collective attention.”

Menczer’s research group studies the role of limited attention in explaining the diverse nature of memes that become popular. He said many theories exist about what makes a meme go viral.

“Several factors may be at play, including external ones, intrinsic interest of the meme, the influence of the people who promote the meme, bias, promotion within the medium and so on,” Menczer said.

But whether memes play a significant role in connecting individuals who never have and never will meet is yet to be determined, Menczer said.

“This is hard to say,” Menczer said. “In recent months, microblogging platforms, such as Twitter and Google+, have changed the way a repost is displayed, giving credit to the originator of the meme rather than the friend through which we were ‘infected.’ This exposes the identity of the person who started the meme.”

Sophomore Meaghan Kennedy created a post using the “Scumbag Steve” meme that reads, “Pushes his way onto a full bus at Kelley. Gets off at McNutt.”

It currently has 606 “likes” and 14 comments, but she said she was afraid she would receive negative feedback when she first posted it.

“Over the next couple days, I repeatedly checked how many likes I had received,” Kennedy said. “It was kind of a game. I was surprised at the number of likes I got. It was definitely exciting.”

But Kennedy, Myers and Pittman all said though they don’t plan to make more posts any time soon, that means little. Meme posts can’t be planned.

“I think I’ve reached my peak, and it’s more fun to read the other ones,” Kennedy said.