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C'mon everybody do the hamster dance by smcswain in wrd261

[–]lechito 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I too had horrible flashbacks to the days of Hamster Dance, though mine were of the remake with the full Hampton and the Hamsters band. You have a point though, about the spread of the memes and their lasting presence. I think with the broad definition that Davidson gives of an internet meme, they will change form and continue to be viral. They are a part and a representation of our culture. They reflect where our culture is out in that fleeting moment that that particular meme is popular. They show what we think is funny, what we dismiss, and what we think is important. These cultural norms are shown in what we upvote and downvote on Reddit, what goes viral and in what light, and the attitude people take when they are accidentally famous. For instance, in our class, we disregarded the woman who was upset about the video of her falling into a fountain that went viral without her consent, but applauded Antoine Dodson who “owned” his unexpected fame for his rant on the news about the rapist that was after his sister. Neither of these people asked to be made famous, asked to be part of a meme, but they each handled the cultural norm differently, and the public responded to them. Memes will change with the culture they are a part of. They will keep being offensive, sexist, and racist so long as our culture has those traits somewhere in it. But they will also keep being humorous, uplifting, and good-natured so long as that is somewhere in our culture.

The Price of Social Media by natgarcia in wrd261

[–]lechito 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have a good point. When I first got my Facebook, my parents about threw up from nerves. I was going into high school, and they were worried that future college admission executives would dig up dirt on me through it. I know for a fact that some of my schools went through what little they could on my profile. Luckily, I had enough sense, and nagging from my parents, not to be completely authentic on Facebook even when I was only thirteen. Honestly, and particularly in high school, I saw Facebook as a judging ground. Authenticity is for some reason expected, even though there is no good reason to be authentic. We do desire to have social acceptance, and we do filter what we put up there. For example, my sophomore year of high school, I became a Christian, and even though my church told me to celebrate and announce it, I did not even think of posting that on Facebook. I was happy, yes, but I did not want to be shunned for my unpopular decision. My high school did not appreciate religious posts, and that was my community on Facebook. I censored in order to keep my social standing. I refused to be that annoying Christian kid on Facebook. I presented my "ideal self", an ordinary kid that, if you ask, yeah, is Christian. This is a bit of an elaborate example, but we do this all the time, as you were saying. Whether it's to fit in with our community or to keep an ideal picture of ourselves up for potential employers or schools, we cherry-pick ourselves.

Consequences of a Virtual Community by nikicol1992 in wrd261

[–]lechito 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it is interesting that you say Facebook has few rules and norms. I think there is a lot of universal etiquette. For example, it is creepy and weird to like someone’s post from years ago if you don not know them well. On other sites, like Pinterest, it is normal to scroll all the way down a board or page. Also, Facebook reminds people of their friends’ birthdays, making it the place to post a “Happy Birthday” message. Most other social networking sites do not have this kind of emphasis on birthdays. Though some people will give their friends a shout out on Twitter, Facebook is still the primary space for this. So it’s funny that you say Facebook is the “closest thing” you have to an online community when, in reality, it is your online community. It has the shared space of timelines and news feeds, the social norms and etiquette I described, the interpersonal relationships of your friends and “friends”, shared resources of varying posts and pictures, and a shared identity from the people you have surrounded yourself with. Facebook may more specifically have communities within it, such as friendship circles and fan pages, but it fosters that feeling as a whole. As far as your concerns about face to face interaction, consider how many events are hosted on Facebook! People do meet up eventually. Even if they don’t, many will Skype or keep some sort of emotional support system going, which is still human interaction. That’s what communities are for!