It started With A Dancing Hampster…
Sometimes, you have to sit back and take a break. And then again, sometimes the break takes you. Anyone who spends any amount of time online has at some point lost time to a meme. And not necessarily the kind that asks you what you last ate, but those viral bits of media, humor, and virtual flotsam and jetsam that take on a life of their own once they hit the interwebz. Now, there’s a website that offers a timeline of internet meme awesomeness where you can flip through years of distraction all at once – or, well at least the goodly part of an afternoon. Some of the links are dead, unfortunately, but most of the ones I tried aren’t and you get the opportunity to relive the fun (or, perhaps agony) of the experience. It’s part nostalgia, part cringeworthy performance, but either way it was interesting to see such a collection all in one place. I admit there’s a lot here I haven’t seen before and some that I have. What’s your favorite? And which one are you hoping to avoid?
Also, with narratives on the brain lately, such a timeline also makes me wonder about what kind of a history is being created here. I’m not looking to make any division between high and low brow information here, but I do wonder about the evolution of popular culture. Is it possible that the home videos and LOLcats are pointing the way to an even more prolific and democratized popular culture than what already exists? Or has such homegrown humor just found the ultimate free distributor?
