Internet memes as heritage in becoming and its problems: The methodology of heritization and the formation of cultural memory in cyberspace

Abstract

After defining Internet memes and their place within broader popular culture, this paper examines the methodology and interpretation of a large-scale collection of Internet memes used by the KnowYourMeme database. By observing the changed context in which Internet memes are created, shared, or forgotten, questions are raised about the formation of meme cultural memory in cyberspace, leading to critical commentary on the ways in which they are collected. By analyzing the heritization of Internet memes, this paper addresses the following issues: the formation of the future meme heritage, scope of cultural memory in cyberspace, redefinition of remembering and forgetting within the panmnemonic tendencies of online heritage projects. Using the KnowYourMeme database as an example, the problems of cyberspace heritage are discussed, and the different online projects dealing with Internet memes as heritage are compared. By defining “on-the-fly” memory, which indicates the simultaneity of the process of creating and preserving heritage, this paper offers a critical review of the existing cyber projects of “saving everything”.

Keywords

• internet meme
• cultural memory
• heritization
• memory
• oblivion