By Dominic Klopsch – Co-Founder TIVAN Consulting
Memes are a powerful tool for Web3-Projects! Let’s find out why and how you can use them!
Memes have definitely matured from their pubescent role of “funny internet pictures” to a defining factor of humor. And this impacts not only our private interactions but it has become one of the most powerful tools for Web3-Projects!
So grab a coffee and let me tell you why Memes are so important for Web3-projects and how you can make use of them!
Firstly, let me start with something I’ve heard quite a few times: LinkedIn doesn’t approve of Memes. Apparently, they do not really work on this platform. I don’t know if that’s because of the algorithm or the audience. Maybe the LinkedIn Meme-Lord Diego Borgo ᵍᵐ can provide some insights here?
Let’s start with some basics
- Humor and what’s considered to be funny is not a stable thing. It is ever-evolving and influenced heavily by a variety of factors: Zeitgeist, cultural influences, economic circumstances, important events amongst others. These factors consistently impact what we perceive as funny.
- In the last decades, rapid advancements in technology was a key contributor to changes in humor. Through the digitization of our lives a subset of people developing their own humor and inside jokes online developed into a globally understood phenomenon: Memes.
So, what are Memes actually?
The term Meme was coined by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his book „The Selfish Gene“ from 1976. His definition is rather complex: Dawkins’ theory states that memes are a cultural parallel to biological genes being in control of their own reproduction. Therefore, they carry information, are replicated and have the ability to evolve, mutate and undergo natural selection.
The actual „birthdate“ of an online-Meme was in 1996 when an animation with a dancing baby became popular and made the headlines. This is considered to be the first Meme and to this day, it is quite famous. For a bit of a Meme-history lesson, check out this Article by TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/gallery/a-brief-history-of-the-dancing-baby-meme/
What are some of the reasons why Memes are so important for Web3-projects?
Community
Memes have been established throughout societies and are a part of all sorts of groups and communities. There are “universal” memes that are understood and loved by the general public as well as there are memes that are only known by certain communities. A community which its own memes and is able to establish them as part of their community, is on the right way. Through memes, a sense of belonging within the community can be created, which in turn is one of the most important aspects of Community Building.
Access
Good memes are intuitively understood or already known to people. In a time like ours with a low attention-span, memes enable people to grasp a message or an idea quite easily. Thereby, memes can act as a supportive measure to inform people about what a Web3-project is about easily without the need of reading several pages of technical white papers.
So how can you use Memes for your Web3-project and Community?
Know your community
In order to successfully take advantage of memes, you’ve got to use them in the proper way and at the right time. This implies, that you have to „know your community“. If you’re building a fashion-related project, you can assume a large portion of your community is into fashion. Thus, it’d be intuitive to use this common interest and create memes according to this common interest. To execute this in a natural and effective way, your team should be a part of your communities’ sub-culture and have a deeper understanding of underlying principles and fundamentals.
Leverage the power of user-generated content
Micro-trends can appear out of thin air and it is impossible to stay up-to-date with every trend that is happening. This is exactly where your community comes into play – Through a large community, you can take advantage of the numbers and make use of their user-generated content. You just have to provide the according platform and tools to your community and enable them to create memes and publish them. Thus, you create a fun way for engagement and enable your members to contribute themselves and get positive feedback at the same time.
Don’t be insulting
At times, memes tend to be slightly offensive, which in many cases is part of why they’re funny. But the line between “slightly offensive” and a vulgarity or straight-up insult is very thin. You should always keep this in mind and observe how your community develops. If necessary, don’t hesitate to intervene and moderate actively. Rather make fun of yourselves then making fun of others! Once you’ve crossed a line where memes become insulting, it is difficult to reverse this trend.
There are many more ways how to use Memes for you Web3-project but I guess you get the idea…
Some legendary Web3-Memes
There are some communities that stand out in making really funny Memes and there are some Memes that are certainly legendary! Björn Jansen hinted me to probably the most legendary Crypto-Meme which has a history of its own:
HODL – which is an intentional misspelling of the word “Hold” and it’s supposed to make people resist the urge to sell off cryptocurrencies.
Which legendary Web3-Memes pop-up in your mind? Share them here and let’s have some fun in the comments!
And if you want to know more how to use Memes for your Web3-Community, contact me on LinkedIn or via the TIVAN-Website!
