Memes are much more then just inside jokes between friends. Memes are building blocks of culture- they can be anything from fashion trends to religious and political ideas. They are copied from one individual to the next, forming fundamental ideas and values that gain more credibility with each new host. However, not every meme is successful but any meme has the chance to go 'viral' once it is circulated on the internet. Burgess (2008) argues that internet memes are "a medium of social connection" and the value of a meme is based on its ability to generate more content on its "spreadability". That is, in order to fully understand the cultural influence of memes, it is necessary to see them as signifier of ideas that are absorbed in practice within social networks, not just as texts that are produced and consumed but also as ideas that are mutated by being reproduced and imitated in new works, forming more new meanings and new communities.
Indeed, websites like knowyourmeme.com and quickmeme.com offer participants templates to use, ensuring that "anyone" can contribute to the community. As touched on in the previous blog post regarding the attention economy and the notion of "trend spotting", are also reasons why memes have become such a diverse and popular from of express on the internet, with many site owners encouraging for contributions from visitors. For instance, it is common for site owners to call on visitors to contribute memes based on certain topics or images, as templates to create memes that can form different meanings and different ideas. This is often the case with the NBA Humour and NBA Memes websites on Facebook in which they often seek contribution of memes concerning Brian Scalabrine, and as an incentive for fans, the meme with the most "likes" will be featured on the websites. These spaces are considered “cool" and are seen as worth participating in what is considered a trend setting environment- either as readers, contributors or comment makers. So when fans are making memes supporting Brian Scalabrine or mocking the game's superstars Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, they are not simply following a popular trend because it is considered cool to do so but they are also contributing to the prosperity of the community. In this instance of communication through static graphic-articles or video-articles, and especially with the function of comment spaces, it allows for an open flow of multi-dimensional communication. This kind of social interaction in a space of convergence provides for an ideal environment for memes to flourish.
For instance, numerous pre-Olympic memes concerning the U.S Men's basketball team were related to Scalabrine. NBA fans sarcastically proclaimed what a great basketball talent he is, dubbing him the "White Mamba" or propose far-fetched scenarios involving him, such as trading him for another team's superstar or more recently, suggesting he be named to the U.S Men's basketball team. For example the meme below uses an image from the popular cartoon, SpongeBob Squarepants. The Patrick character typically proposes silly ideas. The meme exploits this notion and uses Scalabrine in the same connotation. Memes containing similar messages have also circulated throughout the internet.
Superstar Lebron James has literally thousands of memes dedicated to his long-term inability to win an NBA championship ring. James has been a member of the U.S basketball team in 3 Olympics, but is being mocked about only participating in the games to win a "ring".
Although, as of the 2011 - 2012 season, James is now an NBA champion, memes continue to mock him for having less championship titles to other players.
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