thinking about memes, thinking about thinking...

[elanya]

Right's it's early in the morning, so my brain should be all fresh and alert right?

I've been thinking about memes. SOme of the ones I see go by... mostly the randomly generated quizes, are silly. Sometimes they are amusingly silly, in their own way, or when interpreted correctly. I like taking them for fake people and seeing how they turn out.

Some of them are neat, like the interview one, for instance, or the one where you tell people honestly what you think of them. Or the picture one, where people leave you pictures that make them think of you. In a way, it's egotistical, yes, but it is also an interesting way of seeing what people think of you, and of contrasting perceptions between your friends and between yourself and your friends. I really don't see what's wrong with that. And even if it is 'only' ego stroking, what's wrong with that? Isn't self validation part of the reason we need people? Is it more acceptable to troll for comliments subtly than to ask for them?

Some of memes are creative, like the one that eljuno posted last night, where you leave a comment and he makes you an icon based on one of your lj interests. I think it's pretty nifty, but I won't be joining since I couldn't design an icon if my life depended it. Well I won't be offering you that opportunity, I did ask Juno for an icon. (And my apologies in regards to pronouns by the way, I'm not quite sure where things fall, so to speak...). Just because you're participating in something that other people have done first, does that mean that it isn't worthwhile?

Anyway, I do have more things to say on the subject, but I have to be off to class...

Comments

[f00dave.livejournal.com]

Surely you can see that "A friend of mine is engaging in disgusting and childish behaviour" is easily interpreted as an insult. And if you can't do so, then you really need help.

Sure it's an insult if seen in that light. As Shan said elsewhere, it comes down to intention, though. I didn't mean any insult, and I'll gladly apologize for it ... if asked. I wasn't, though, was I? I mean, I was *royally flamed*! Should I offer up some apology, unasked, to someone who has just insulted me quite strenuously? I don't understand....


In fact, I find this meme to be very interesting from a "perception vs. reality" perspective, because it enables you to learn a lot about how people think you perceive them and how we so rarely tell people, even our close friends, how we really feel about them except in exceptional cases. It's interesting to see how people can apply four or five of fifteen sentences to themselves, and, in fact, learn more about their friendships and improve themselves. I don't find it puerile in the least, and in fact I intend to do it myself. Just so you're warned.

Oh go ahead! I just because I don't personally value it doesn't mean you shoudn't participate. It's your journal, and you can post whatever you want it in, without fear of recriminations. [At least I thought that was the case, recent events proving otherwise. ;-) ]

I guess the summary is that I see the value in the intention behind the meme (at least for those who are interested), but I loathe the "mutation" that it underwent during/after its realization into the "anonymously bashing/complimenting" form, coupled with the "let's play match-names-to-items and I'll tell you when you're right" variation.

If you'd like, I can make another post describing precisely what it is about that meme I find so irritating. But I suspect the issue has been clouded beyond recovery at this point.

[forthright.livejournal.com]

You are quite right that there would be no merit in having you write another post to explain yourself further.

[f00dave.livejournal.com]

Well, you can't win them all! :-)

In the future (if there is a [shared] one, after the present round of unfriending settles), all I can do is rely on my various postings to illustrate that I have no hidden motives and that I don't mean to offend. We'll see...