On the Nature of Memeology: Objective Quality and Formulas
Like any element of culture, memes are subjective. However, one must be able to separate personal preferences from objective reality. The fact that everyone looks at the memes in their own way still doesn't interfere with assessing them from multiple angles. Objective Quality? Honestly, I am not sure if there such thing as an "objective quality", since the very concept of "quality" is pretty subjective. Nevertheless, there must still be some objective principles of meme analysis, on which every memeologist would rely. Personally, I identify three main criteria for evaluating memes: 1) Context — the connection of a meme with the community, author, certain events, and the conditions of its appearance, as well as all the individual incarnations of a meme. This is not a fundamental criterion, but it's no less important than the others. Since when acquiring a new incarnation, the meaning, and embodiment of a meme changes, each "life" must b...