That’s a solid definition of ‘memes.’ This will likely be the initial introduction of Google Hot Trends to many readers, too.
|
Time magazine calls it the wellspring of net culture and its online pranks are world-famous. David Smith reports on the man who began the chaotic but powerful 4chan website from home
|
| How did the swastika get there? Why did so many people search for it at the same time? It was a demonstration of how peculiar fads, jokes or videos can come out of nowhere and run riot across the web. Such phenomena are known as ‘memes’ – cultural fragments that catch someone’s eye, get forwarded to friends and spread like a virus. |
| The invisible hand behind many memes, apparently including the googled swastika, is a website called 4chan. From semi-literate cats to the ‘ironic’ comeback of singer Rick Astley, this online community is building a reputation as a nursery of all that is weird and wacky and likely to be landing in your inbox tomorrow. |
|
|
