Fidelity

As discussed in the preceding posts of this blog, Richard Dawkins (1976) theorised three characteristics of successful memes, all of which remain relevant today. Fidelity, fecundity, longevity refers to the meme's quality that enable easy imitation, replication and spreadability of the meme. Fragments of information that make sense or are meaningful to the reader are likely to become more successfully imitated or reproduced. In this sense, memes are successful because they are memorable (Blackmore 1998, p. 57). However, there is also an argument that they are important and useful as well, because of the increasing prominent use of memes as a communication method.

One important aspect of meme fidelity is susceptibility (Knobel 2006, 414). The notion of susceptibility refers to the timing or location of a meme, such as the meme's relevance to current affairs, its relation to already successful memes, as well as the interests and values of the space in which the meme is circulated. According to Knobel (2006), "ideal conditions" of susceptibility will allow particular memes to function more easily and maximize the possibilities for the meme to spread and go viral. Under ideal conditions, the "hooks" and "selection attractors" built into the design allows the meme a higher possibilities of success, without being hindered by community filters, audience confusion or other forms of cultural barriers.

For example, since Michael Jordan's retirement, contemporary mass media has consensually advertised, marketed and talked about him as being the greatest basketball player of all time. Certainly, his statistics and overall achievements in the sports reinforce this notion. These images firmly portray Jordan as an iconic hero, in highlight reels, graphic montages, magazine features and endorsement campaigns.

Since retiring as a player, Jordan has ventured into managerial roles within the NBA, first as the general manager of the Washington Wizards and more recently, as the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. Both franchises have rarely experienced success under the management of Jordan, with the Bobcats accumulating the unenviable achievement of having the win/loss record in NBA history during the 2011-12 season.

Many fans begun to question Jordan's greatness and alternative memes began circulating throughout the meme and basketball fan communities of the internet. These memes challenge broadcasted versions of Jordan during his playing career, as well as his overall legacy. The memes mock his failures as a team administrator and frequently incorporates existing memes, in order to further the notion of familiarity. The memes spread rapidly via social networks and meme websites, hooking into the sarcastic tone of memetics and ongoing critiques of Jordan's (lack of) administrative skills, that begun originally emerged from within discussion forums and social media.

Official Jordan advertisements.

 






Memes

 

 
 
 

Fidelity, Fecundity and Longevity

In The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins (1979) identifies three characteristics of memes as: fidelity, fecundity and longevity. Despite his work being written in 1979 and focused on human interaction from a biological perspective, Dawkins’s ideas can be applied to measure the evolution of particular internet memes.

Fidelity refers to the recognisability of the meme. That is, while variations are vital aspects to the evolution of a meme, the core idea of the meme usually remains intact. The majority of memes rely on the recognisability of the image, video or caption and if audiences can not connect the resemblance of the meme and the source text, then the meme will likely be unsuccessful.

For example, the “bitch please” meme uses the face of former NBA star Yao Ming to convey a dismissive or sarcastic attitude to one's ideas or input. The image is easily recognised by basketball fans but those who are not familiar with the sport likely would not understand the humour of it.

 

Through spreadability on the internet, the image macro has since become popular on meme templates and used as a vehicle to convey messages beyond the sport of basketball.

 

 

Fecundity refers to how rapidly a meme can be replicated and spread. Obviously, the more imitations that are spawned from a particular meme measures the success of the meme. When Anthony Davis was hyped as the future of basketball, images and videos of him in action saturated the online basketball fan community. However, fans quickly became more interested in his facial features rather then his basketball talents. Memes which made fun of his eyebrows and teeth began surfacing throughout the internet where thousands of replications have spawned as a result.

 

 

 
 



Longevity measures how long a particular meme can survive and evolve. For example memes concerning Lebron James's unsuccessful attempts at winning a NBA championship ring has been the topic of meme creations throughout his career. Now that he has won a NBA championship ring, memes regarding his inability to win more then one championship have become the norm.

 

 

The sharing of information on the internet promotes independence and autonomous creativity by lowering the barrier of entry for creative production where individuals are encouraged to participate in this cultural process and express themselves. Internet memes seem to tip-toe the very fine lines between creative innovation and tasteless kitsch, as well as profound wit and unsympathetic vulgarity. Regardless, whether users are producing successful memes or not, internet memes also have the power to significantly influence social beliefs, ideas, perceptions and values.

From an industrial standpoint, whether it is overwhelmingly supporting the underdog or profusely rejecting the superstar, internet memes through imitation, replication and spreadability, has the potential to build popular consensus that can translate into the real-world, creating a situation that goes against the commercial imperatives of sports advertisers and corporations.