Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past two or three years, you’ve probably had a chuckle over at least one “meme.” And on the off chance that you have been living under a rock, just head on over to http://icanhascheezburger.com/. That should get you up to speed in just a few minutes. The meme of internet culture is an innocuous, almost inexplicable thing – you just never know what’s going to take off and get millions of hits. This concept is one that has kept viral marketers on their toes for the past several years, social networking sites buzzing with activity, and people with “better things to do” scratching their heads.
Memes can come from pretty much anywhere, but typically originate from some combination of either celebrity culture, popular music or culture, or social networking sites or YouTube. They run the gamut from the 2007-2008 popular meme about Tom Cruise “couch jumping” like a crazy person, to the recent “photobombing” meme featuring Angelina Jolie’s exposed leg at the 2012 Academy Awards. Memes don’t simply come in photo form, either – videos spawn memes famously, like the “Charlie Bit Me” clip from 2009 or the “David After Dentist” video from the same year.
But celebrities don’t have a corner on the market. Us normal folk can always get in on the action when we least expect it.
Take for example the case of Zeddie Little, a 25 year old (and, quite possibly, completely unaware) runner from New York City who has been the star of an increasingly popular and random meme known as “Ridiculously Photogenic Guy.” Photographer Will King snapped this “reverse photo bomb” at the beginning of the famed Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, SC on March 31st – and the rest is history. We’re not sure Zeddie knows about his fame at this point, but we do know one thing: He’s making the Bridge Run look good.
So keep a lookout – you never know when the next big meme will create itself right there on your own YouTube or Reddit account. There’s really no telling what will take off sometimes.
