Memetics & Attention · Theory
Memes: From Dawkins to the Internet
How a 1976 word for cultural replicators became the language of the internet: Dawkins' meme, memetics and its critics, Limor Shifman's internet-meme definition, templates and remix culture, from Dancing Baby to meme stocks.
Step 1 of 5 · Overview30 min read ·
Key idea
Prereqs: The Selfish Gene. Next: Virality: why things spread; Internet culture & memecoins. Sources: Richard Dawkins, *The Selfish Gene* ch. 11 (1976); Susan Blackmore, *The Meme Machine* (1999); Limor Shifman, *Memes in Digital Culture* (2014).Next: 1. Dawkins' meme