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Memetic Journalism, Part One

© Donna L. Quesinberry

This article is the first in a series of continuation on the topic of Memes adding to the element of Memeology toward Memetic Journalism. Part two attempts to analyze whether the press as a medium is transforming itself and its audience via Memeology. Part one consists of a basic re-introduction to Memes followed by recent theories and part two with ideas regarding Memetic effects on Journalism.

Memetic Journalism—Part One

A Meme is:

"...an element of culture that may be considered to be passed on by non-genetic means, expressly imitation" (as defined by Susan Blackmore-1999).

The study of Memes is the study of cultural evolution (e.g., the spread of—ideas, engineering methods, fashions, tunes, etc.), the failure of some of these to propagate—the eventual death of others—their analogies as Memes to the study of biological evolution (where some genes prosper within the gene pool and some fail).

"Memes should be regarded as living structures, not just metaphorically, but also technically. When you plant a fertile Meme in my mind you literally parasitize my brain, turning it into a vehicle for the Memes propagation in just the way that a virus may parasitize the genetic mechanism of a host cell." Richard Dawkins.

Selfish Gene

From the beginning of social theory to our present social adaptations we see Memes are evolutionary organismlike couplers to our DNA. Memes just like genes pass from parent to offspring.

Memes come into being when the human nervous system reacts to an experience and codes it in a form that can be communicated to others. In other words, Memes are born to be shared. Memes have a tendency to spread and the good ones do. The perceived to be good and beneficial Memes spread by being adopted by others who take on the Meme as their property as if it were their very own Memetic offspring.

"At the moment of its creation the Meme is part of a conscious process directed by human intentionality. Immediately after a Meme has come into existence it begins to react with and transform the consciousness of its creator. Other human beings who come into contact with it are transformed as well. Information we generate has a life of its own; its existence is sometimes symbiotic, sometimes parasitic, relative to ours." We can all recollect pertinent examples from our lives—or the lives of others that we are familiar with—where certain ideas or beliefs (Memes) were adopted...