PurpleCar

This was originally posted on the Philadelphia Stories Weblog

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a busy (and deadly) philly intersection

I blog about technology and psychology, and occasionally about the writing life. Sometimes the worlds of Internet culture, behavior and language meet. When it does, it ain’t pretty. Recently, a “comment war” started on my blog at that intersection. It was an accident waiting to happen; Imagine Cottman and The Boulevard with no stoplights.

The Internet, the World Wide Web, mobile phones, etc. all require new terms. Naturally, technology and social networking terms come up in my writing often. Neologisms are the red-headed stepchild pioneers of language, [continue reading…]

My post on the 100 Books meme on Facebook has a long discussion in the comments section on what constitutes a “meme.” I say that a meme requires some sort of participation on the receivers’ part, much like the 100 Books meme requires users to highlight the books they’ve read out of the 100. Readers commented that meme requires no participation at all, nor is it my mini-definition (for the purposes of that post) of a “little chain-letter like game that spreads around the Internet.”

The arguments got a bit heated. I’ll explain my position, which seems ungrounded to my readers, in a minute.

First, I’d like to quote Paul Wood, an Assistant Editor at Merriam-Webster.com. Here is his response to my email asking if he could confirm if Richard Dawkins coined the term, and if he could fill the history and etymology on the word “meme:”

The evidence does seem to suggest that Richard Dawkins did, in fact, coin meme. He introduces this word in his book The Selfish Gene (1976), and describes his choice of this word as follows:

“We need a name for the new replicator, a noun that conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. ‘Mimeme’ comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like ‘gene.’ I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme. If it is any consolation, it could alternatively be thought of as being related to ‘memory,’ or to the French word même. It should be pronounced to rhyme with ‘cream.’ “(p. 192)

For Dawkins, a meme is the cultural equivalent of a gene: “Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperm or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation” (192). Any idea or cultural expression which can spread from person to person within a culture would be an example of a meme (an English-page Google Books search for works between, say, 1976 and 2000, should turn up plenty of examples of memes in discussion outside of specifically Internet-related contexts). Many contemporary discussions of memes focus on the Internet because it appears to have become the most viable means of meme transmission (one can only wonder if, when Dawkins came up with the idea of memes, he could have predicted lolcats and double rainbow viral videos).

The Greek mimeme (μίμημα) means “that which is imitated,” and it comes from mimeisthai (μιμεϊσθαι), “to imitate.”

Paul Wood
Assistant Editor
Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street, PO Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102 http://www.Merriam-Webster.com http://www.WordCentral.com

I never disputed the Richard Dawkins origin. What I disputed was the definition of meme of “any cultural thing that spreads.” My issue is with the “spread.” Whether passive or active (and in the case of Internet memes, it is mostly active), participation is required for “spread.” In other words, it is not a meme if you don’t catch it (or watch/read it) or you don’t pass it (or send it) on to others. In the case of the Internet, most of the memes I write about are written media, hence my “chain-letter like” phrase.

Since I blog in the explanatory journalism arena, I not only look at the pure definition of neologisms like “meme,” but also the common user’s working knowledge of the word. Most end-user Facebook members will recognize “meme” as something that gets sent to you, you watch or read it, then you forward it to friends. The quickest way to explain this to a mostly older audience (the Generation X and above demographics, the target group I write for), “chain-letter” will communicate the concept most quickly and efficiently. It isn’t perfect, but in that case it works.

My approach to language is definitely descriptivist, as opposed to prescriptivist. I believe that language grows and changes. Although we must respect and work within a basic, general framework, to declare that there is one “correct” or “proper” English is to show a lack of understanding of the eons of scholarship surrounding languages. Yes, one should learn the most accepted forms of grammar, and learn how culturally language use is connected to socio-economic class structures. But after we are past our elementary stages, as adults we can understand each other well enough and should be tolerant to and learn to embrace language differences.

I’ll admit, as a writer of not only journalism but of fiction and poetry, I enjoy pushing the expected boundaries of words. But when I am writing for this blog or for media outlets, I go for the most efficient ways to explain concepts. I’m not penning a dictionary here, I’m explaining a complicated Internet phenomenon. I’ll use, bend, manipulate, create words that do that in the fewest words possible.

You prescriptivists can have it out in the comments.

Thanks to Paul Wood at Merriam-Webster.com. (My subscription to the unabridged dictionary at m-w.com is my most important online resource. If you are a writer or just someone who loves words and language history, then check out their service.)

In light of Wikileaks financial troubles (major credit companies cutting their accounts, etc.), I declare today Wikileaks Jokes (/Poke Fun at) Day.

Comment here or @ me on Twitter.

UPDATE: Here’s a compiled list of the fun so far (scroll down a bit for the awesomely awful puns):

This is the joke, by @edkohler, that got me started:
@edkohler The easiest way to shut down Wikileaks would be to have Yahoo! acquire it.

Jokes Written by me:

Watch as husbands tell Bank of America that their wives’ credit cards are part of Wikileaks’ line of credit.

Wikileaks should start up an Etsy Shop. They can frame or decoupage documents on mugs. That can be their new income source.

The CIA’s favorite side dish: Julian Fries. (this could be: What’s the CIA’s favorite side dish: Julian Fries)

My Fake Headline Puns:

Group of unsatisfied readers filter through Assange’s website for only the best news releases: Picky Leaks.

Teens exposing each other on a new photo website. Is your kid wearing a turtleneck? Look for her on HickeyLeaks.

New Mean Girls sequel examines what happens when the popular girl loses her friends. It’s called “Cliquey Leaks.”

New website that releases the newest scientific information about diapers and baby diarrhea: IckyLeaks

During a raid, Interpol ransacked Julian Assange’s kitchen and cracked his maple syrup bottle. It was a Sticky Leak.

When Witches Pee: WickedLeaks

Guerilla Vegetables: WikiLeeks.

Fake Headline and Other Puns by Others:

@deekdeekster: Of course, you know about the bean-spilling high jumper? Wiki Leaps

@RobBlatt: new website shows sites of previously unknown bodies of flowing water: WikiCreeks.

@deekdeekster: then there was the would-be comedian with verbal diarrhea who constantly quoted Oscar Wilde. Witty Leaks

@tangofoxtrot: At Disney World, someone published plans for a new cartoon mouse. #MickeyLeak.

@tangofoxtrot: Oh, and someone told me to watch out for a RickRoll. #RickyLeak.

@deekdeekster: a thief broke into the offices of the Magic Circle and stole the sawing-woman-in-half plans. Tricky Leak

@deekdeekster: and the woman with dye running down her face in the rain? Wiggy Leaks

@deekdeekster: then there was the dog I spent some time with – just couldn’t keep his tongue still – Licky Weeks

@purplehayz: Some “plumbers” broke into the Watergate hotel and stole Dem information – water leak 😛

@purplehayz: What mom’s all over the world deal with, DiaperLeaks

@purplehayz: Time for dinner – GreenLeeks

@CAMouse: Welsh national symbol? Wikileeks

@motownmutt: I wrote one on a sticky note, but the glue wasn’t strong, and it blew away. Stickyweak

More Leaky Fun:
New Yorker’s Santa Leaks, sent by @jennyzohn: Have you seen “Santaleaks” in this week’s @NewYorker? Pretty good stuff. http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2010/12/20/101220ta_talk_greenman

Thanks to everyone who wrote, read, laughed and groaned with me!

-Christine Cavalier

Facebook's down? I need a drink...

5 Things to Do When Facebook Crashes

Facebook goes down.

Do you feel like you’ve just been banished to barren lands? Does your boss scorn your disappointment? Does the dweeb in the cube next to you say “Chill out” and then offer you his Wheat Grass Peace Shake from the Yogi Cart? Worry not, young lizard. You can still be “on Facebook” without the site being up. It’s not a geeky code hack; It’s a lifehack that will make Facebook work more efficiently for you.

Here are a 5 things that you can do while you wait that will enhance your Facebook experience and strengthen the ties that matter.

5 Things To Do When Facebook Crashes

1. Scan Your Inbox. Go to your email search bar and type in “Facebook.” If you have Facebook emails or notifications forwarded to your email address, catch up on the 1,000 messages and comment threads you’ve left to languish. If you have the sender’s email address, congratulations, you have “real” friends. Reply directly to them. Copy and paste in the original message. If you don’t have the sender’s email address, write the reply anyway. When Facebook is up again, you can copy and paste the reply into the Facebook message. Advanced: If you actually like these people, add their contact info to your address book.

2. Make Lists. No, not TO DO lists; I’m not your wife. Make friends lists. Quick, think of 5 to 10 people who interest you the most on Facebook. Got them? Write down their names. Ask yourself, do these people have anything in common? Do they share a common interest? (e.g., Hippie-Haters, Neti Pot Smashers). Consider starting a group on the common thread these people share. If you don’t want to manage a group, plan to make a List under “Friends” when Facebook comes back up. You can click on that List and see only updates from those 10 people. Advanced: Ask each of the 10 to invite one friend that shares the common interest. You’ll have a vibrant community in no time.

3. Think Romantical Thoughts. In their new book, Connected: The Surprising Power of Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives, Christakis and Fowler cite that most sexual/romantic partners come from a person’s extended network. In other words, people date friends-of-friends, and friends-of-friends-of-friends. Consider two singles you may know that don’t know each other, and construct a note to add to the “Suggest this Friend” notification you’ll send when the site is back up. If you are looking for your own “The One,” then construct a note to send to 3 not-so-close friends asking them for “Suggest a Friend” connections. Advanced: Look through the friends that your freak friends invited to the group in Step #3.

4. Prepare Photo Posts. You’ve not posted precious pictures of Fluffy Puppy for at least 5 minutes! You have 29 new pics from last night’s dog park playdate, and you know Granny is dying to see them. Pick the 3 best (yes, just 3, for the love of Dog) and place them into a new folder on your desktop called “Upload to Facebook.” Pick 3 family and 3 friends pics to share, too. Advanced: Prepare captions and tags to go with the pics.

5. Dream. Dream. Dream. Remember when you told yourself that you would run a marathon one day, or skydive, or just get up the nerve to eat the Super Crazy Hot Spiced Chicken Chapati at the Chakra Hut? Now’s the time to remember those goals. Write down 3 of these goals. For each goal, write 4 related search terms (e.g., Indian Food, Chapati, Chemicals That Can Kill You But Taste Good, Indigestion). When Facebook recovers, search for groups to join. Finding a community of like-minded dreamers will get you one step closer to achieving that dream. Or one step closer to your very first stomach pump. It’s up to you.

Let’s admit it, we’re addicted to Facebook. This is OK; Facebook keeps us from shoving health food substances up our cubicle neighbor’s ass. But let’s remember that Facebook is a powerful connection tool. Your social network, online and off, deserves your attention. Use the time away from the distracting Facebook News Feed to build and maintain true friendships and extend your real-life social network. The stronger your network, Christakis and Fowler say, the happier and healthier you’ll be.

Happy New Year, all. When it’s back up, you can find me on Facebook at http://facebook.com/christine.cavalier