Session5: Memes, flashmobs, viral videos and youtube oh my!
1. MEME
"an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to
person within a culture.”
A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or
practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to
another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other
imitable phenomena. Supporters of the concept regard
memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-
replicate, mutate and respond to selective pressures.
Coined by British Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins
2. Youtube.com: Video Virality in
Social Technologies
1,500 plus CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation
Center, Cebu, Philippines rehearse Thriller!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnk7lh9M3o
Mall of Asia 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-BJSLzAiRo
Milan 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y_IPWyYcps&feature=related
MP3 Experiment 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG7F9G4AEak&feature=fvwrel
VTM Belgium: Commercial use of the Flash Mob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQLCZOG202k&feature=related
3. How do you teach the world to dance?
Gangnam Style
Psy goes viral on the web
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0
Reactions around the world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW7sP5OLWxE&feature=related
Flashmobs Gangnam Style Indonesia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ2hFlLMBg4&feature=related
Britney Spears learns how to dance Gangnam Style
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZmkU5Pg1sw&feature=related
5. Assignments
• Go to http://www.youtube.com/charts/.
• Choose either Today, This Week or This Month.
• Click Play all and watch at least 30 mins of video but no more then 1 hour.
• Based on what you watch, respond to the following questions:
1. According to YouTube, what was going on in the world the past 24
hours, week, month…?
2. (Option 1) Describe one video you watch on the playlist that appealed to
you the most emotionally and explain why?
3. (Option 2) Describe one video you watch on the playlist that educated
you about something. How did it do it? What did you learn?
4. (Option 3) Describe one video you watch that introduces a product. Did
the product video appeal to you emotionally or provide or educate you
more about what it does and how it would help you? Explain why.