The emergence of memes in online discussions about Scandinavian economics

Laurie Prange-Martin 1
The Emergence of Memes
in Online Discussions
about Scandinavian
Economics
Association for the Advancement of
Scandinavian Studies in Canada (AASSC)
http://aassc.com/category/conference/
Conference 1 June 2016
Laurie Prange-Martin

Laurie Prange-Martin 2Laurie Prange-Martin 2
Presentation Outline
Introduction
•  What are memes?
•  Why am I so excited about this case study?
•  What is emergence? Social media context?
Value to AASSC
•  Examining the 3 most popular memes about
Scandinavian economics
•  How we can shape the content of future memes
about Scandinavia
•  Value to us as faculty and researchers

What are (Internet) Memes?
•  “A meme is a packet of information that is
spread within a culture.”
–  Source:
http://memedocumentation.tumblr.com/
definition
•  Generally, an image that goes viral on
social media
•  But, unlike text-based posts, rarely used
in news stories
•  Often quoted by people in debates

There’s even a Meme Librarian
•  Amanda Brennan at Tumblr
–  http://memelibrarian.com
•  Tumblr is the micro blogging site for people
who like to communicate with images, sound,
and minimal text to entertain and sometimes
educate
•  Featured in The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-
intersect/wp/2015/12/21/tumblrs-meme-
librarian-has-the-best-job-on-the-internet/

Dissertation Case Study: Memes
•  Studying the emergence of new sectors
•  What do I mean by emergence?
– The very spark of when new sectors start
•  Wholly new sectors
•  Old sectors in a new regions
– The conditions that made it happen
– The pre-legitimization phase

How did Internet Memes Emerge?
1.  Software improvements
2.  Instant sharing via social media
a.  Far faster than forwarding an email
3.  Looking for new way to promote and
persuade
4.  Looking for new revenue streams
a.  Social analytics = sell information on what
people are thinking and discussing
b.  Web analytics = sell ad space based on traffic
c.  Byproducts = books, t-shirts, notecards, etc.

Why do Memes go Viral?
1.  Truth-telling
a.  Funny because it’s true
b.  Believable because the data are true
c.  Persuasive because answers “angry” questions
2.  Start at grassroots level
3.  Continue because derivations are possible
BONUS: Noticeable increase in viral-ity around
election periods. Maybe because that’s when
people are trying to be the most persuasive?

Arguably
the
most
viral
meme

•  Posted
immediately
a4er

2012
US
federal
elec<on

•  “…my
original
graphic
was

being
adapted,
modiﬁed,

and
repurposed
in
a
mind-‐
blowing
variety
of
ways,

and
then
shared
and

redistributed
all
over
the

place.”

•  Source:

hGps://medium.com/
@CRA1G/the-‐evolu<on-‐of-‐
an-‐accidental-‐meme-‐
ddc4e139e0e4#.3iqdgupv7

The
original
image — December
19,
2012 —
h7ps://plus.google.com/+CraigFroehle/posts/
AdKcNKesXwa

Theoretical Lens
•  Social Movement Theory
•  Four phases (source:
https://www.ebscohost.com/uploads/
imported/thisTopic-dbTopic-1248.pdf )
1.  Emergence
2.  Coalescence
3.  Bureaucratization
4.  Decline

Social Movement Theory –
Characteristics of Emergence
•  Very preliminary
•  No organization, standardization, rules,
frameworks, etc.
•  High level of discontentment
•  People are becoming motivated
•  Actions taken are not strategic or
collective

Methodology
•  Case study
– Examining the the emergent phase of a
social movement
– Focused sample size
•  By popularity
•  By subject matter
•  Unobtrusive data collection
•  May lead to answers applicable to the
readers

Choosing Study Sample
If popularity equals success…
Popularity as defined by Tumblr
1.  Popular, but not too mainstream
2.  Potential for others to make derivations
3.  Occur spontaneously
–  i.e. not from a corporation
4.  Humourous element
Source:
http://memedocumentation.tumblr.com/definition

Further criteria for sampling
1.  For study sample
1.  Must be about Scandinavia, or at least
Nordic countries
2.  Must related to business or economics
2.  For recommendations write-up
1.  If possible, example from academia

Meme
#1

•  Posted
by
Mint
Press
News
Oct.

2,
2014

•  Independent,
non-‐par<san
news

website

hGp://www.mintpressnews.com

•  Only
meme
in
sample
that

doesn’t
seem
to
be
about

promo<ng
the
creator

•  Most
well-‐known
and
sparked
a

discussion
on
Reddit

hGps://www.reddit.com/r/
Shitsta<stssay/comments/
2i2jet/
why_is_denmark_the_happiest_
country_in_the_world/

Meme
#2

•  Created
by
a
branch
of
the

Occupy
Movement,
USA

Uncut,
and
first
posted
Feb.
4,

2013

•  Clearly
about
promo<ng
the

creator,
note
that
the
URL

can’t
be
cut-‐off
the
image

•  Most
specific
informa<on
of

the
sample.

•  Only
one
that
seems
not
to

have
any
deriva<ons

•  hGps://www.facebook.com/
usauncut

Meme
#3

•  Least
informa<on
given

in
the
meme,
but
it’s
also

the
funniest

•  Also,
the
one
with
the

most
deriva<ons
online

•  “added
4
years
ago”

MemeCenter.com

•  Unsure
about
creator

–  Name
=
Serkan

–  Loca<on
=
Turkey

–  Age
=
35
years

Themes from Data Analysis
So, why were these memes created and
then shared by thousands of people?
1.  Persuade voters
2.  Mobilize knowledge
3.  Promote creators
4.  Gather data
•  But this goal wasn’t obvious to the people
sharing the memes

Recommendations: Why would
an academic create memes?
1.  Departmental and program promotion
2.  Knowledge mobilization
a.  Disseminate data
b.  Answer questions, clear up untruths
3.  Data collection for research
a.  What people are discussing about
Scandinavia

Example
of
Academic
Program

Promo<onal
Meme

•  Created
by
a
professor
to

promote
the
Literature

department
at
Purdue
University

via
Dept.
Facebook
page

•  Posted
Oct.
20,
2015

•  1.4K
Likes

•  5,000+
shares

•  As
a
comparison,
other
pictures

on
that
Dept.
Facebook
page

have
7
Likes
and
0
shares

•  Source:

hGp://fordhamenglish.com/
news1/2015/10/22/fordham-‐
english-‐post-‐goes-‐viral

We joke about using a meme to
present findings, but…

…Memes
are
excellent
for
Data
Dissemina<on

and
Knowledge
Mobiliza<on

•  Dr.
Nick
Falvo,
Director
of
Research

and
Data
at
Calgary
Homelessness

Founda<on

•  His
focus
is
on
sharing
visuals
of

analyzed
data,
and
posts
on
a

regular
basis
from
mul<ple
sources

(all
references
provided)

•  Source:

hGp://www.parl.gc.ca/
CommiGeeBusiness/
CommiGeeHome.aspx?
Cmte=FINA&Language=E

•  Nick’s
note:

Using
Adobe’s

‘snapshot’
func<on,
I
have
taken

the
above
visual
directly
from
page

14
of
the
report.

Example
of
a
Truth-‐Telling
Meme

•  Meme
base
on
a
leGer
to
the
editor
in

The
Toronto
Star
in
2004

•  Dr.
Silvia
D'Addario
and
her
students
at

York
University
manipulated
the
meme

to
tell
the
truth
in
a
new
version
for

circula<on
Dec.
2015.

Source:

hGp://ccrweb.ca/en/pensioners-‐myth

•  The
Toronto
Star
has
responded
to
the

meme:

hGps://www.thestar.com/opinion/
commentary/2015/12/11/a-‐mistake-‐
that-‐travelled-‐around-‐the-‐world-‐and-‐
back-‐again-‐public-‐editor.html?
utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=po
stplanner&utm_source=twiGer.com

•  The
Canadian
government
has
also

responded
to
the
meme:

hGp://www.cic.gc.ca/english/
helpcentre/answer.asp?
qnum=105&top=11

Example
of
Using
Memes
for

Research
&
Data
Collec<on

•  Research
Wahlberg
(
hGps://www.facebook.com/
researchmark/
)
by
the
same
person

running
Shit
Academics
Say
(
hGps://twiGer.com/AcademicsSay
).

•  Dr.
Nathan
Hall,
Associate
Professor
at

McGill
in
Dept.
of
Educa<on
and

Counselling
Psychology

•  In
2015,
ran
3
studies
and
recruited

9,000
study
subjects
thanks
to
his
social

media
work

•  Source:

hGp://chronicle.com/ar<cle/
AcademicsSay-‐The-‐Story/231195

•  Source:

hGp://www.universityaﬀairs.ca/news/
news-‐ar<cle/the-‐mcgill-‐prof-‐behind-‐shit-‐
academics-‐say/

So, how and why again did so
many memes about Scandinavia
emerge recently?
•  To communicate information quickly to a
community
•  To persuade voters
•  To collect data on peoples’ online
behaviour and discussions
•  Because we are not making and sharing
our own

Laurie Prange-Martin 26
The End
Thank you for your time!
I welcome all feedback to translate this
presentation into a journal article.
Laurie Prange-Martin
laurie@business.aau.dk

The emergence of memes in online discussions about Scandinavian economics

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