Meme Propagation & Shorthand
Dense cultural shorthand — images, phrases, formats — spreads by imitation and carries stance as well as content; memes bind in-groups, mock out-groups, spread rumours as folklore and can be weaponised.
An everyday example
A product becoming a punchline in a week, with no press coverage at all.
What it can cost you
Absorbing beliefs through jokes; underestimating what a meme has done to a reputation; being unable to read the shorthand of a market.
Warning signs
- I believe it and first saw it as a meme.
- The brand became a joke before it became a problem.
One thing to do
Treat memes as data about what a group believes and feels; check claims carried by humour as carefully as claims carried by news.
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