‘25 Random Things About Me,’ the Internet meme that keeps popping up on your Facebook news feed, has made the New York Times.
Is this really news? And if so, how? Anyone who’s been on CNN.com in the past year has undoubtedly noticed the inexplicable proliferation of so-called ‘iReporters,’ who are essentially posters on a forum who weigh in on heady issues and post pictures of things they deem interesting or newsworthy. A few months ago, the rumblings of some iReporters led a front page article on CNN.com to break news about the "backlash" against the Facebook makeover.
Are social networks and their memes really newsworthy? Well, obviously not, but will we see more news of them in notable places as the economy gets worse? It boggles the mind.
(P.S. I’m tagging you to answer the meme next!)
Internet Memes in the News
‘25 Random Things About Me' Makes the New York Times
Trend Themes
1. Internet Memes as News - The increasing prevalence of internet memes being covered in mainstream news provides opportunity to explore how to leverage meme culture for marketing and PR.
2. Citizen Journalism - The rise of so-called iReporters signals an opportunity for disruptive innovation in how news organizations can incorporate more grassroots perspectives and content in their reporting.
3. Social Media as News Aggregator - The backlash against Facebook's redesign, as covered by iReporters on CNN.com, highlights a potential disruption for how social media platforms can act as news aggregators.
Industry Implications
1. Journalism - Traditional news organizations can innovate by incorporating more citizen journalism and popular internet trends, like memes, into their reporting.
2. Marketing and PR - Companies can explore using internet memes as a way to engage and connect with audiences and stay on top of trends within their industry.
3. Social Media - Social media platforms have an opportunity to further develop their role as news aggregators by incorporating more user-generated content and trending internet memes into their feeds.