In the last few years a slightly different species of the meme meme has arisen in a new habitat, there are now two widespread meme memes, growing through two separate systems.

The original meme meme spreads in the education system or pop science books/blogs; the meme of the intended definition of meme.

The second meme meme spawned from websites such as somethingawful and 4chan, sites featuring a large number of inside jokes, some of which spread around the net. The jokes are memes, and eventually the name caught on, the only problem was that few on those websites were familiar with the meme meme prior to learning about it in this new system, and little explanation is ever offered in those kinds of environments.

Misunderstanding the label “meme” given to these jokes mutated the meme meme, “being a meme” became something like a trophy that a joke (already a meme by the other definition) could earn. What the old meme carriers would recognize as a meme usually had to be comedic and then become very popular to earn the title “meme” by the new carriers.

Funny that this meme meme teaches the new carriers not to recognize itself as a meme.

Original post: http://masturbating.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/the-meme-meme/