While browsing through some of the posts from Shareable Clique (Thanks Meghan for sharing that great resource with the class!) I noticed that some of the most successful library posts incorporated the use of memes. These anecdotal, culturally driven photos and videos provide a handy way to tap into popular culture and get our messages across. Personally, I love a good meme.
Memes are popular on social sites like 9gag, Reddit, and 4chan. Students are particularly responsive communication via meme. This knowledge has been used by Rizal Library of the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, who successfully embraced the use of memes as an information dissemination tool. For more info on this study click here.
But. With great power comes great responsibility; memes should be used carefully. Memes are ephemeral, moving in and out of cultural consciousness faster than a Kardashian scandal. Using a meme once it has started to fade in popularity is social media suicide. It marks the user as out of touch, trying to come in too late in the game. For example, Albertsons Library used the Feminist Ryan Gosling meme in a promotion in early 2013. Because the meme had already been around for a while, the promotion was retired after only one month. The meme has since entered academia, becoming a subject for University of Saskatchewan study so, while it may generate interest from scholars, your general audience would probably find it irrelevant. (Link to the USask study here)
Bottom line, memes have to be relatable to your target audience in order to gain momentum. And, just in case you’re not sure, there are useful sites for evaluating the potential effectiveness of your meme. Take this Albertsons Library Y U No Guy example.
What do we think? Memes in libraries? Good or bad?
Here are some interesting links: