As many of us are aware, the category option has been overlooked by people before on KYM who then complain about how "THAT'S NOT MEME HURDUR." We currently have the categories of "Meme," "Person," "Subculture," "Event," and "Website."
And, in my personal opinion, the addition of "Fad" would help relieve some of the in-fighting between users.
Arrow to the Knee. Any planking variant. GAK. What do these all have in common? For one thing, they have substantial Internet notoriety--a variable that usually defines what a "meme" is. However, there's a substantial difference between an Internet MEME and an Internet FAD:
- a MEME is something that wasn't created for the purpose of widespread notoriety, and wasn't picked up upon by the "general public" of the Internet until weeks, months, or even years after the meme's source was first created/published.
- a FAD, on the other hand, can and often is created for the extent purpose of getting other people to play along (whether or not this is a good thing is more of a personal opinion). Fads work like a spark and spread like wildfire, being quoted/used by people on the Internet within days, hours--and sometimes even minutes within its conception.
If something that could count as a fad gets its own page on KYM, you'll often see comments saying, in general, "Isn't it a bit early to call this a meme?" or "Let's give it time before we make a page about it, guys." How could anyone forget GAK, the "meme" that rose and fell within the span of 24 hours?
Many would and have argued that GAK's short lifespan should bar it from getting its own article, but I disagree. The sudden widespread popularity of it demands precedence for its own page--that is the purpose of Know Your Meme, after all: To inform and explain the goings-on of the Internet and its "people." When every top comment on Youtube is suddenly "…but then I took and arrow in the knee," the uninformed and confused people reading those comments should have an article available to them to explain just what the hell is going on.
The popularity of something on the Internet is what should decide whether or not it deserves its own article, not its lifetime. Granted, many of the fads live and die within one week, but if it IS extremely popular, we are obliged to archive it.
In conclusion, I feel that the simple addition of one category will quell many arguments and unnecessary complaints made by KYM users over the validity of a "meme," through the use of the "fad."
