Know Your Meme
 | |
Type of site | Encyclopedia |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | Cheezburger |
| Created by | Rocketboom |
| Editor | Brad Kim |
| Website | knowyourmeme.com |
| Alexa rank |
 3047 (January 2016)[1] |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | December 2008 |
| Current status | Online |
| Know Your Meme | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Internet documentary |
| Starring |
Joanne Colan (Former) Kenyatta Cheese (Former) Greg Leuch (Former) Elspeth Rountree (Former) Jamie Wilkinson (Former) Patrick Davidson (Former) Mike Rugnetta (Former) Kristina Horner (Former) Forest Gibson (Former) Sarah Hiraki (Former) Alison Luhrs (Former) Rob Whitehead (Former) |
| Country of origin | United States of America |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 62 |
| Production | |
| Running time | Varies |
| Production company(s) | Rocketboom (2007-2011), Cheezburger Network (2011-) |
| Release | |
| Original release | December 17, 2007 – October 23, 2012 |
Know Your Meme (KYM) is a website and video series which uses wiki software to document various Internet memes and other online phenomena, such as viral videos, image macros, catchphrases, internet celebrities and more. It also investigates new and changing memes through research, as it commercializes on the culture. Originally produced by Rocketboom, the website was acquired in March 2011 by Cheezburger Network. Know Your Meme includes sections for confirmed, submitted, deadpooled (rejected), researching, and popular memes.
Website
The Know Your Meme project started in September 2007, as a recurring segment inside of the Rocketboom video series and a wiki destination site to support the documentation of Internet memes. Created by Kenyatta Cheese and Andrew Baron, "meme experts" in white lab coats used a scientific laboratory metaphor for analyzing and deconstructing the top memes of the day; anyone with an account could use the website to explore and contribute to meme research. At the end of 2008, after more than a year of growth, Rocketboom released an expanded database with Jamie Wilkinson as the lead developer.[2] As of August 2015, the database contained more than 2,300 entries of "confirmed" memes.[3]
The administrators have a say on what gets confirmed and what gets "Deadpooled" or rejected.[4] Some of the meme entries are graphic and Not Safe For Work (NSFW).[5] NSFW entries are given warnings and ads are usually disabled. These warnings may differ from consequences, such as bans. Know Your Meme also has a forum section, blog, and shop. Dr. Sean Rintel, who wrote The Automated Identity blog, described Know Your Meme as "lucrative, self-supporting research that blends the humorous and the serious."[6] As of March 2015, the site is maintained by three editorial staff members (Brad Kim, Don Caldwell and Adam Downer) and one developer (James Wu) in conjunction with a group of dedicated moderators. Former staff researchers include Chris Menning, Amanda Brennan, Molly Horan and Ari Spool.[7]
The Know Your Meme website and web series were acquired in March 2011 by Cheezburger Network for an undisclosed seven-figure amount.[8]
Episodes
Episodes of the Know Your Meme show average a few minutes in length each. In a given episode, the KYM staff describe memes and the history behind them. New episodes appear in irregular intervals of time. Breaking meme episodes started in 2010. Separated in seasons, the videos describe the meme using handy images.
Season 2007
| Episode | Meme Covered | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | One Take | December 17, 2007 |
| 2 | The Rickroll | December 18, 2007 |
| 3 | I Like Turtles | December 19, 2007 |
| 4 | Miss Teen South Carolina | December 20, 2007 |
| 5 | LOLCats | December 21, 2007 |
| 6 | Technoviking | December 24, 2007 |
| 7 | Dramatic Chipmunk | December 26, 2007 |
| 8 | Reaction Videos & Piggyback Memes | December 27, 2007 |
| 9 | Tay Zonday | December 28, 2007 |
| 10 | Crank That (Soulja Boy) | December 31, 2007 |
Season 2008
| Episode | Meme Covered | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cory's Sunglasses | February 6, 2008 |
| 2 | tinaecmusic | August 1, 2008 |
| 3 | All Your Base | August 15, 2008 |
| 4 | Edgar's fall | September 5, 2008 |
| 5 | O RLY? | September 10, 2008 |
| 6 | FAIL | September 24, 2008 |
| 7 | Boom goes the dynamite | December 22, 2008 |
| 8 | The Iraqi Shoe Toss | December 23, 2008 |
| 9 | Magibon | December 24, 2008 |
| 10 | The Lipdub | December 26, 2008 |
| 11 | Disaster Girl | December 29, 2008 |
| 12 | Political Memes of 2008 | December 30, 2008 |
| 13 | Project Chanology | December 31, 2008 |
| 14 | Shiba Inu Puppy Cam | December 31, 2008 |
Season 2009
| Episode | Meme Covered | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Star Wars Kid | January 2, 2009 |
| 2 | Boxxy | March 10, 2009 |
| 3 | Numa Numa | March 31, 2009 |
| 4 | Yo Dawg | April 13, 2009 |
| 5 | Christian Bale Rant | April 16, 2009 |
| 6 | Single Serving Sites | April 23, 2009 |
| 7 | Peanut Butter Jelly Time | May 8, 2009 |
| 8 | Creepy Chan | May 28, 2009 |
| 9 | Keyboard Cat | July 7, 2009 |
| 10 | Three Wolf Moon | July 30, 2009 |
| 11 | Weegee | August 7, 2009 |
| 12 | Bubb Rubb | August 17, 2009 |
| 13 | David After Dentist | September 2, 2009 |
| 14 | Geddan / Get Down | October 1, 2009 |
| 15 | Where the Hell Is Matt? | October 8, 2009 |
| 16 | Auto Tune (with special guest "Weird Al" Yankovic) | November 10, 2009 |
| 17 | Balloon Boy | November 18, 2009 |
| 18 | Om Nom Nom | December 18, 2009 |
Season 2010
| Episode | Subject | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Advice Dog | January 29, 2010 |
| 2 | Phonetic Translations | March 4, 2010 |
| 3 | Epic Beard Man | April 6, 2010 |
| 4 | Joseph Ducreux / Archaic Rap | April 13, 2010 |
| 5 | Breaking Meme: Standing Cat | April 23, 2010 |
| 6 | Breaking Meme: The Downfall of Downfall? | April 29, 2010 |
| 7 | My New Haircut | May 25, 2010 |
| 8 | Magnets, How Do They Work? | June 12, 2010 |
| 9 | Troll Bait | July 1, 2010 |
| 10 | Breaking Meme: Double Rainbow | July 9, 2010 |
| 11 | Lying Down Game / Playing Dead | August 3, 2010 |
| 12 | Antoine Dodson (Bed Intruder) | August 27, 2010 |
| 13 | Leeroy Jenkins | September 2, 2010 |
| 14 | Over 9000! | October 1, 2010 |
| 15 | Brother Sharp | October 12, 2010 |
| 16 | Creepypasta | October 29, 2010 |
| 17 | Tenso | November 16, 2010 |
| 18 | GI Joe PSAs | November 23, 2010 |
Season 2011
Beginning with the 2011 season, the cast of the episodes changed from the original cast (Jamie Dubs, Yatta, Elspethjane, Patrick Davison and Mike Rugnetta) to Forest Gibson and Kristina Horner.
| Episode | Subject | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rage Comics | June 14, 2011 |
| 2 | Philosoraptor | July 6, 2011 |
| 3 | My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic | August 10, 2011 |
| 4 | Breaking Meme: Chuck Testa | September 29, 2011 |
| 5 | Hipster Memes | October 11, 2011 |
| 6 | Occupy Wall Street | October 18, 2011 |
| 7 | Minecraft | November 2, 2011 |
| 8 | 60's Spider-man | November 15, 2011 |
| 9 | Pedobear | November 22, 2011 |
| 10 | Casually Pepper Spray Everything Cop | October 18, 2011 |
| 11 | Skyrim Catchphrases | December 15, 2011 |
| 12 | First World Problems | December 22, 2011 |
Season 2012
Kristina Horner left the show in early 2012 and starting with the Ermahgerd episode in August 2012, the cast of internet scientists expanded to Forest Gibson, Sarah Hiraki, Alison Luhrs and Rob Whitehead.
| Episode | Subject | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supercuts | January 12, 2012 |
| 2 | Protest PIPA/SOPA | January 18, 2012 |
| 3 | Friend-Zoned | January 26, 2012 |
| 4 | Shit People Say | February 3, 2012 |
| 5 | Guile's Theme Goes With Everything | February 10, 2012 |
| 6 | The Cinnamon Challenge | February 17, 2012 |
| 7 | What People Think I Do | March 12, 2012 |
| 8 | Derp | March 19, 2012 |
| 9 | Slender Man | March 27, 2012 |
| 10 | Nyan Cat | April 3, 2012 |
| 11 | Ancient Aliens | April 10, 2012 |
| 12 | Socially Awkward Penguin | April 17, 2012 |
| 13 | Ridiculously Photogenic Guy | April 28, 2012 |
| 14 | Scumbag Steve | May 10, 2012 |
| 15 | Dolan | May 29, 2012 |
| 16 | Ermahgerd | August 9, 2012 |
| 17 | Girl's Guide to the Internet | August 17, 2012 |
| 18 | Futurama | August 23, 2012 |
| 19 | Homestuck | September 7, 2012 |
| 20 | That Really Rustled My Jimmies | September 14, 2012 |
| 21 | Fanfiction | September 22, 2012 |
| 22 | Troll Science | September 28, 2012 |
| 23 | Intro to Pokémon Memes (Part I) | October 10, 2012 |
| 24 | Intro to Pokemon Memes (Part II) | October 24, 2012 |
Special Episodes
| Episode | Subject | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | The Game Show! Pwn, Win, or Fail! | March 25, 2009 |
| N/A | KYM Meme Week: Geddan / Get Down | December 21, 2009 |
| N/A | KYM Meme Week: Yo Dawg | December 22, 2009 |
| N/A | KYM Meme Week: Auto Tune | December 23, 2009 |
| N/A | KYM Meme Week: Boxxy | December 24, 2009 |
| N/A | KYM Meme Week: Keyboard Cat | December 26, 2009 |
Reception
- In August 2009,TIME magazine selected Know Your Meme as among the 50 Best Websites of 2009.[9]
- In November 2009, New York Times Lens Blog listed "Know Your Meme Autotune Episode" as a must-see video.[10]
- In November 2009, Wired.com mentioned Know Your Meme in an article about Autotune.[11]
- In December 2009, The Winnipeg Free Press called Know Your Meme the best website of 2009.[12]
- In December 2009, NPR interviewed Kenyatta Cheese of Know Your Meme on the subject of internet memes.[13]
- In December 2009, MSNBC cited Know Your Meme on the subject of Balloon Boy and called the article "meticulously recorded".[14]
- In January 2010, The Wall Street Journal cited Know Your Meme when discussing the trend of the Bra Color Status Updates on Facebook.[15]
- In April 2010, Know Your Meme won a Streamy Award in 2010 for Best Guest Star in a Web Series.
- In May 2012, Know Your Meme won the People's Voice Webby Award in Blog-Cultural category.[16]
- In June 2014, Know Your Meme was inducted into the Web Archiving Program of American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.[17]
See also
- Encyclopedia Dramatica
- Internet meme
- List of Internet phenomena
- Lurkmore.ru
- Uncyclopedia
- Urban Dictionary
- Viral video
References
- ↑ "knowyourmeme.com Site Overview". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
- ↑ "The History of Know Your Meme". Dembot. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ↑ "Confirmed Entries". Know Your Meme. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ↑ "Deadpooled Entries". Know Your Meme. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ↑ "NSFW". Know Your Meme. 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ↑ Rintel, Sean (2011-09-24). "Know Your Meme « Sean Rintel". Seanrintel.com. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ↑ "About". Know Your Meme. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
- ↑ Hustvedt, Marc. "'Know Your Meme' Acquired By Cheezburger in Seven-Figure Deal". Tubefilter News. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ↑ Fisher, Adam (2009-08-24). "Know Your Meme - 50 Best Websites 2009". TIME. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ↑ Olsen, Erik; Bracken, Kassie (November 13, 2009). "Must See: Pakistan's Anti-Yankee Rock". The New York Times.
- ↑ Thill, Scott (November 16, 2009). "Will Auto-Tune Die? Ask Know Your Meme and 'Weird Al' – Underwire – Wired.com". Wired.
- ↑ Augustine, Anthony (2009-12-13). "Site Seeing". Winnipeg Free Press.
- ↑ "Internet Memes Spread Viral Amusement". NPR. 2009-12-26. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ↑ "'Ima let you finish' — top Net memes of '09 - Technology & science - Tech and gadgets - Technotica | NBC News". MSNBC. 2009-12-30. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
- ↑ Valentino-DeVries, Jennifer (January 11, 2010). "The Mystery of the Facebook Bra-Color Meme". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Paul, Sonia (May 1, 2012). "16th Annual Webby Award Winners: The Complete List". Mashable.
- ↑ "Getting serious about collecting and preserving digital culture | Folklife Today". blogs.loc.gov. 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
Further reading
- Kabir, Omer (עומר כביר). "Know Your Meme: מאחורי הקלעים של אנציקלופדיית תופעות הרשת." Calcalist. 6 March 2013. (Hebrew)