ME[ME]

Designers

< Back

ME[ME]

Online Group Identity & Offline Collective Action

Designers

Owen Ley

Key Words

SUMMARY

Centered around the research question "how might we utilize memes to effectively transition online group identity into offline collective action resulting in sustained change?" I explored the disconnect/connect between my online and offline experiences by conducting an online ethnography of what I call "Bushwick meme pages;" interviewing stakeholders including meme & political page admins, unionized K-pop stans, a senior meme database editor, and fellow meme researchers; and surveying 140 respondents on how they interpret the message of 5 different memes. I found that memes are the cultural expression of our generation, with radical potential that many fail to realize due to misinterpretation and a lack of serious engagement.

challenge

Memes are already great at sparking discussion, making inaccessible topics accessible, and planting ideological seeds. But they leave out a lot of substance, from years of nuanced niche internet humor references to detailed political concepts that require more than a glance and lol to fully grasp. A third space is needed, one that curates and re-contextualizes memes beyond the platforms they populate and the space between they flow through. This realization came from vastly different interpretations of the same memes from my survey respondents, and a discussion with a meme researcher who emphasized the need for memes to be taken out of the visual muck of our feeds and into a space where they can be taken seriously and understood entirely.

Outcome

This inspired me to create Meme Base, a virtual database for expanding memes and the messages they contain. I prototyped the app form, but it would also exist as a desktop site. Meme Base lets meme page admins expand on their posts, internet subcultures turn inside jokes outside, social media activists go beyond an infographic, researchers synthesize meme trends, and the clicking public get a deeper grasp on what they’re scrolling through. Maybe then we can deepen understanding, further education, improve literacy, share resources, and break the cycle of movements that fizzle out just as quickly as the memes that inspire them.