What is a meme in social media?

What Is a Meme? A meme is a virally transmitted image embellished with text, usually sharing pointed commentary on cultural symbols, social ideas, or current events. A meme is typically a photo or video, although sometimes it can be a block of text.

Why did Richard Dawkins call it a “meme”?

Dawkins referred to it as a “Mimeme”—a word derived from Greek that means “that which is imitated.” The word was then abbreviated to just “meme” due to its similarity to the word “gene.” Dawkins coined the term because he was trying to figure out whether there was a measurable unit describing how ideas spread and propagated through generations.

Where did the word meme come from?

The first published case of the word meme (pronounced “Meem,” not me-me), dates back to Richard Dawkins’ 1976 book, The Selfish Gene. Dawkins referred to it as a “Mimeme”—a word derived from Greek that means “that which is imitated.” The word was then abbreviated to just “meme” due to its similarity to the word “gene.”

How many times has the word “meme” been used?

The word “meme” has been used in the New York Times Crossword 60 times since the puzzle’s inception in the 1940s, according to XWordInfo. Although it’s difficult to identify the first meme ever, the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is credited with introducing the term in his 1976 book, “The Selfish Gene.”