What's New | Bill French

Improper Characterization of a "Meme" is Ironically a "Meme"

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:50:00 -0400

I see people "memeing" each other. This is complete nonsense and a mischaracterization of the term.

Recently, I received a message from someone that I had been “memed”. The invitation to participate in what is ostensibly a chain letter, said -

“A meme is an internet game similar to a chain letter except you post on line.”

I think when Richard Dawkins (the foremost authority on genetics, atheism, and a profoundly critical thinker) first coined the term "meme", he had a definition in mind that is far different from an "internet game".

Memes propagate themselves and can move through a "culture" in a manner similar to the behavior of a virus. The inaccurately-defined practice of memeing someone is dependent upon a chain-letter that is forced upon other individuals not unlike other marketing chain-letters we’ve all been asked to participate in from time-to-time.

I think it's great to use the Internet to get to know people better, but this behavior of sharing information about yourself (or requesting information about others) really doesn't fit the definition of a meme, and is not an act of "memeing"[?].

When I see someone write "Meme’s are social games that help folks get to know each other." (as Matthew Rathbun did), I cringe because this couldn't be more inaccurate or misleading. Memes evolve by natural selection - there is nothing naturally selective about "meming someone" in the context I‘ve observed it being used.

I'm not sure where or how this inaccuracy about the term got started, but ironically, the spread of this through ActiveRain and the blogosphere is itself a meme. As wide and incorrect use of this term spreads through our culture -- being passed from one person to another with mutations and typically an increased mischaracterization of its true meaning – it continues to spread like a virus just as Dawkins suggests memes would.

The continual misuse of the term is a pattern that is subject to inheritance, variation, mutation, and competition. And also (as Dawkins observed), memes will not necessarily mutate with the best interests of the hosts in mind. I see no evidence that the numerous chain-letters invoked under the premise of a “meme”, have inherited any attributes, nor have they evolved or mutated.

Here’s a meme -

As a culture, we should attempt to be more accurate in the definitions we use for communications and characterization of actions and activities.

Spread the word. ;-)

Peripheral Vision: SparkFun Has a Surplus!

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:49:41 -0500

A wide array of interesting electronics tools and products.

I saw this telephone at EntConnect this year - what a hoot. Totally cracked me up. The CEO walks into the bar, drops this huge 1970's telephone on the table and orders a beer. He's waiting for a call which he takes from this monsterous desktop cellular phone. It rings just as it did in 1970, but under the covers, it's a cell phone. Hillarious.

Take a look at their products - lots of vision here.

Outlook Hammered My Contact List

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:20:32 -0500

I've used Outlook for what seems like decades and in fact is decades. Today (for the first time ever) I awoke to find that it discarded all 1241 of my contacts.Was this related the Tuesday's Microsoft upgrade? Dunno. But the scary part is the loss of contacts rippled across my Mac and my iPhone without any indication. This is a testament to ubiquitous synchronization but not what I was expecting.

It's really cool to add an ap0ointment on my iPhone and see that appointment ricochet across iTunes to my Mac calender, and then on to my desktop automagically. This is achieved with Plaxo Premium which [thankfully] has a backup-rollback feature.

As an atheist, I often find myself being thankful without anyone (or anything) to thank. In this case, there's no irony - it's Plaxo.

What's New | Bill French

Improper Characterization of a "Meme" is Ironically a "Meme"

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Peripheral Vision: SparkFun Has a Surplus!

See Also

Outlook Hammered My Contact List

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