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Wikipedia defines an internet meme as thus:

“The term Internet meme is a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an esoteric inside joke.”

Urban Dictionary describes it as “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture”

I believe the best definition, just like a meme, changes from time to time. Basically, if something totally ridiculous is said, and a large amount of other people get exactly what you’re saying, or all reply the same way on purpose, it’s a meme. A meme is usually transmitted via the internet, when some random phrase or image is used, and it spreads like wildfire. Soon, everyone in the particular internet culture of the meme knows about it and uses it. Wikipedia’s analogy to an inside joke is the best fit for a quick synonym.

What separates a meme from a non-meme?

Random phrases are launched throughout the internet every day, and only a few are generally accepted as popular memes (though, technically, even tiny fads are memes). What allows one phrase to span huge swathes of the internet, while others aren’t even noticed or remembered? Some phrases, though completely random, just seem to strike a chord and become immensely popular, remaining for months, years, and even longer. I think there are several causes for a long-lived meme, among them humor, memorability, and ease of use.

The source of their humor is often rhythm, and irony: just like any joke, the timing is important. Also, irony can make the meme funnier, thus more memorable. Memorability is important as well. A long, complicated phrase will not catch on as well as a short, easy to remember one. Also, ease of use, or how often the meme can be brought up, is important. The most popular memes are mostly phrases that can be brought up everywhere and anywhere, such as “Shoop da Whoop.” This meme interrupts by nature, and does not require setup. For example: “No u.” This meme is easy to remember, simply three letters, and memorable. It’s ironic: a tiny bit of type, reminiscent of a toddler, yet used often in serious situations, to annoy others. When at least a formal argument or reason for them avoiding the task is expected, all they get is, “No u,” normally after a suspenseful pause, giving it rhythm. “XY is X” is a memic form, where anything can be substituted to form a meme. Example, “Long Cat is Long” is funny and memorable due to redundancy and thus rhythm. Memes don’t always have to be phrases. Such memes as this (http://smouch.net/lol) are kept around for their sheer practical joke value when sent to others. Long Cat is a character, often associated with a particular image, which helps it stay around. But even the fame of these memes can be attributed to the previous reasons, when broken down.

Memes as Art

Though there are different reasons for memes, all the reasons share one thing in common: they all apply to poetry, writing, and most of them even to art, and pop music. Really, when you analyze it, the fine arts, and classic writing work on the same principles as flippant internet jokes like “no u” and “long cat.” One famous artist, to show the ridiculous hype of modern art, submitted a toilet, without doing anything to it, to a modern art museum. They accepted it, and paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars; they paid him more than $100,000 for a toilet that could be bought anywhere. This is the common birth of internet memes, but there are others, “Forced Memes” where somebody, seeing these characteristics of memes, crafted a meme, and unleashed it upon the internet. These creators of memes are separated from modern artists only by artistic medium, audience, and only sometimes effort. The procedure, the act of creating art is the same as creating a meme, and thus, memes are art.