I Can Haz Entertainment?

Despite having surfed the internet for the majority of my youth, I've only recently become aware of the full extent of internet memes. For those who don't know, an internet meme is a catchphrase, concept, image, video or anything that captures widespread attention on the internet.

Probably the most well-known meme in recent times is the YouTube video 'Charlie Bit My Finger', which is the highest viewed non-Gaga, non-Bieber clip on the net. Something as simple as an infant biting his brother's finger becoming globally popular astonishes me, to be frank. But I think it's a sign of things to come; with cameras more widespread than ever to catch socially valuable moments, the internet will be flooded with memes. With social platforms like Facebook specifically providing for and encouraging the sharing of entertaining or funny material online, internet memes are more popular than ever. This infamous 'I Can Haz Cheezburger' image sparked LOLcats, which I'm sure many of you are familiar with. Internet memes are not only entertaining but also serve as internet 'zeitgeists', for lack of a better word, in that they show what is popular and what is currently circulating the internet.

Nowadays, as part of my daily procrastination routine which has replaced other normal habits such as study or eating cooked dinners, I find myself wandering through sites such as Failblog, F My Life, SorryIMissedYourParty and the like. These sites not only make laugh but I think also help me to keep my finger on the pulse of Internet culture, for example these recently released Inception memes.

Presently, corporate companies are increasingly using Internet memes to create impacting viral marketing campaigns to sell their products. A recent example of this is the 'Will it Blend?' series of YouTube videos by blender manufacturer BlendTec, in which a man blends various items (such as iPhones, shoes, etc.) in his blender to promote the blender's capabilities. Personally I find entertainment memes more memorable than any marketing meme. I'll never forget how hard I laughed when I first saw the above picture!

To finish up, probably my favourite internet meme has got to be one that I'm sure most of you have experienced at least once: