Internet memes - chains you can believe in

So what's all the hype about internet memes? For those who are not in the loop, the term 'internet memes' is 'used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an inside joke' (Wikipedia). It's a little like a chain letter or a series of links between friends, but it usually happens without any effort. For bloggers, we have already experienced the Passion Quilt Meme, the 7 Random Things Meme, and way back in time, we witnessed some of the video/visual memes that have since become infamous, including the Star Wars Kid video (with all its many variants) and several Numa Numa song versions on YouTube. They are simply ideas that spread, usually virally, due to their quirkiness, timing in relation to an event, or more often than not, a phrase that sticks and becomes a 'catch phrase'.

There are also the damn awful self publicity memes and the blatent advertising and marketing memes, which to all intents and purposes are merely shameless spam dressed up in a thin layer of acceptability. And yet these are fascinating ideas that teachers might be wise to pay some attention to. There are some questions that certainly spring to my mind when I think about internet memes. They are: how do these memes catch on in the first place? What is it that causes some to survive and thrive whilst others wither and die? How can we harness the power of the social web to exploit this information transmission for the benefit of students? Or for the benefit of our communities of practice?

Reflecting on the recent election victory and inauguration of President Barack Obama, several ideas come to mind. Several iconic images, slogans and phrases that emerged to capture the essence of these unprecendented and historic events. 'Yes we can!', 'Change we can believe in', and the stylised 'yin and yang' type icon - (including all the ongoing rhetoric about who got there first, Pepsi or Obama) are just a few. Either way, these are memes, because they carry information and they are culturally transmitted. The same thing happened for a very different reason when the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were attacked on 9/11. Psychologists call this a 'flashbulb memory' effect - when an indelible image or impression is forged in the mind due to the emotional effects - the shock and awe of a significant event. Perhaps this is happening with internet memes, but with a longer exposure time, and through a smaller aperture. These images and ideas are powerful because they stick in the mind and are easily remembered. If you are reading this and are a teacher, you should recognise the potential for using memes in teaching and learning, regardless of the sector within which you work.

Internet memes, like many artefacts on the social web, are capable of transmitting information that students can transform into knowledge. How teachers do this is down to the ingenuity of each teacher and their skills in manipulating internet tools, images, sounds, text and so on. Unfortunately, many teachers are still paddling around on the shoreline of the social web, and need to wade in a little deeper to be able to exploit its power for the benefit of their students. We all need to contribute to make the Web a better place for learning. As a part of my personal contribution I'm in the process of creating a series of 60 second videos which show how my own students are using web 2.0 tools to learn. They will appear as links on this blog in the coming months. Keep the faith - and don't break the chain! Can we all contribute something interesting and useful? Yes we can!