About memes…

The word “meme” comes from the Greek word “mimesis,” which means imitation. Richard Dawkins coined the term to refer to the spreading of ideas as they are passed and mutated from person to person. In the digital world, however, the word “meme” has become popular as an image-macro meme.

Who invented memes?

Richard Dawkins

The word meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene as an attempt to explain how aspects of culture replicate, mutate, and evolve (memetics). Emoticons are among the earliest examples of internet memes, specifically the smiley emoticon ":-)", introduced by Scott Fahlman in 1982.

What was the first viral meme?

the Dancing Baby

One of the first memes to gain widespread attention in the internet age was the Dancing Baby. Yes, it was that simple: an image, GIF or video of a computer-animated dancing baby.Jul 25, 2023