Memeing and meaning: an examination of internet memes as linguistic units

Internet memes have become a common communicative tool, blending images, text, and humour into complex multimodal units. Despite their prevalence, memes have been the subject of comparatively little linguistic study. In this thesis, I have undertaken an analysis of image macro memes from a linguistic perspective, drawing from a framework based on iconicity and metaphor. My approach was also informed by data from a review of 30 prevalent memes, an online survey of the Reddit forum r/memes, and focus groups of meme users. Combining established linguistic conventions with the findings from my data collection, I have created a theoretical model to document meme construction and evolution, the Life Cycle model of internet memes. This model consists of three stages—creation, conventionalization, and abstraction—which are each defined by six criteria: engagement, relation to origin, locus of meaning, continuity of form, continuity of meaning, and intuitability. In Stage One, a meme is a largely structural unit used by a limited group which relies on a fixed form and meaning. In Stage Two, these characteristics begin to erode, with the meme used in a larger network with fewer restrictions of form and meaning. In Stage Three, a meme moves beyond its physical limits into the conceptual sphere, emerging as a widely used point of reference with highly fluid or branching forms and meanings. Together, the stages of my Life Cycle model describe the entire progression of a meme from a novel pairing of media with text through to becoming an entrenched part of internet culture

Dynamics of Information Distribution on Social Media Platforms during Disasters

abstract: When preparing for and responding to disasters, humanitarian organizations must run effective and efficient supply chains to deliver the resources needed by the affected population. The management of humanitarian supply chains include coordinating the flows of goods, finances, and information. This dissertation examines how humanitarian organizations can improve the distribution of information, which is critical for the planning and coordination of the other two flows. Specifically, I study the diffusion of information on social media platforms since such platforms have emerged as useful communication tools for humanitarian organizations during times of crisis. In the first chapter, I identify several factors that affect how quickly information spreads on social media platforms. I utilized Twitter data from Hurricane Sandy, and the results indicate that the timing of information release and the influence of the content’s author determine information diffusion speed. The second chapter of this dissertation builds directly on the first study by also evaluating the rate at which social media content diffuses. A piece of content does not diffuse in isolation but, rather, coexists with other content on the same social media platform. After analyzing Twitter data from four distinct crises, the results indicate that other content’s diffusion often dampens a specific post’s diffusion speed. This is important for humanitarian organizations to recognize and carries implications for how they can coordinate with other organizations to avoid inhibiting the propagation of each other’s social media content. Finally, a user’s followers on social media platforms represent the user’s direct audience. The larger the user’s follower base, the more easily the same user can extensively broadcast information. Therefore, I study what drives the growth of humanitarian organizations’ follower bases during times of normalcy and emergency using Twitter data from one week before and one week after the 2016 Ecuador earthquake.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Business Administration 201

Condiciones de replicación sociocultural en memes de Internet

Este trabajo de tesis se sustenta en una investigación que busca explorar las condiciones en que opera la replicación cultural en los memes según los planteamientos de Richard Dawkins, desde la perspectiva sociocultural de la comunicación, aplicada a los memes de Internet en tres distintas redes de socialización en línea: Facebook, Twitter, y YouTube. Propongo acceder, a través del estudio de interacciones situadas en los tres espacios, a los modos en que se construye la replicación cultural de memes en Internet. El estudio plantea una metodología mixta basada en netnografía y minería, procesamiento y visualización de datos en línea.ITESO, A.C