What are internet memes?

Sample meme

Memes are defined on Urban Dictionary as being "a pervasive thought or thought pattern that replicates itself via cultural means."  For our sake - this means mindless humor that is easily created and shared through social media channels.  They come in all shapes and sizes - addressing media, national events, controversial issues, and much more.

The best part about memes is that there is no "right answer" to this form of entertainment.  People simply upload their images to one of the many generators online and share away.  Successful memes are shared and earn "virality" - passing quickly among others.  For some sample memes, check out Memebase or Quickmeme.  If you want to learn about the background of the meme (including how it is commonly used), visit Know Your Meme for entertaining stories.

How does this relate to mobile technology?  Simple.  This content has become so easy to share that it has permeated into the mobile environment.  One example is a free application that is available for both Apple and Android devices.  This app is simply called "Meme Generator," and it can be used to browse the popular meme images and add your own text to the pictures.  From there, users can save the memes and share them however they want.  They are stored on your internal device storage or simply just uploaded online for other users to look at.  This application makes it simple to turn anything your phone can capture into a comic.  Give it a try!

What do you think of internet memes?  Do you think they are funny?  Offensive?  Let me know.