Modest Web Site Is Behind a Bevy of Memes

Creating viral videos and concepts has become a keystone for many businesses marketing online.

Such Web phenomena are known by technophiles as “memes.” Coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book “The Selfish Gene,” a meme is a unit of cultural information–an idea, a practice, a phrase, or an online video–that’s passed on virally. Although sometimes frivolous, every word-of-mouth marketer dreams of creating memorable memes that will catapult their product or client to fame.

Over the last few years, 4chan.org has become one of the most talked-about sites when it comes to launching new memes. After appearing on the site, “LOLcats,” humorous images of cats with loud text beneath them in a fake language called “LOLspeak,” stormed the Web last year.

Read the rest of this post