My top 3

Over the last three months, I know that I have definitely learned how to write more concisely taking into account my word count.  I also have learned that I work best under pressure and have submitted most of my assignments between 11:40p.m. and 11:45p.m..  However, all kidding aside, I am very happy with the course curriculum.  I am a mature student that has been working in the non-profit sector for over 16 years and although I have access to the internet and am aware of social media, I am definitely not a produser. 

I wouldn’t say that I am now an expert in new new media but certainly I am more enlightened about technology and the various social media platforms.  The top three key learnings I can take away are the idea of planned obsolescence, the great environmental impact from the use of technology, and how powerful social media can be.  I always thought with all the great engineers and manufacturing advances that products should be able to last longer.  I also always used to roll my eyes when my mother would say, “Back in my time, things were made of much higher quality.”  Now, I know she was right and that moms really do know best.

Since I recycle and compost my food waste, I thought I was doing my part in keeping our environment sustainable.  This course has certainly made me aware of the environmental impact that technology has on our environment globally.  The energy consumed and wasted, the disposal of hardware in third world countries, and the financial resources to keep ahead in technological advances really frightens me about our ecological future.  I hope we can find ways to keep these large corporations in check.

I knew that social media was influential but this course has really allowed me to see how social divides and inequalities can be amplified online, how big social media companies can basically bully users into foregoing their privacy rights, and how social media can be used for political campaigns.  Wikipedia, Facebook, and YouTube are also major influences on how we view and use social media.  It surprised me that someone could actually earn a living through YouTube.   These are all very powerful social media platforms and I was glad to see that they are being challenged by the public but we need more checks and balances for such powerful forces in shaping our future.

From these key learnings, I will participate more on Twitter, continue to abstain from Facebook, and be more aware of how social media influences us as a society.  One thing is for certain.  Social media is here to stay and will continue to grow and evolve. 

The Digital Divide

I think socio-economic factors definitely play a role in digital inequalities.   It is hard to argue with the empirical numbers from Hargittai’s findings.  I also think about how quickly technology changes and that it would be extremely difficult for lower income families to keep up.  The next generation of phones, laptops, desktops are constantly being released to provide more application features, more memory, and more hype for those that can afford these gadgets.  I have a first generation iPod and I can’t download any apps for it any more.  It is slow and I have to charge it every couple of hours because the battery is so weak.  This goes back to the Planned Obsolescence discussion about termed lifespan of products to encourage future sales but I won’t get started on that again.  Well we fell into the trap, hook, line and sinker.  We purchased an iPad and the old iPod just sits in a bowl.  Our four year old son doesn’t even want to play with it because he sees it as an “old” device. 

In John Oliver’s YouTube video, he shines a light on the net neutrality issue in the United States.  Even though we have different regulations in Canada, I do recall Bell and Rogers offering at one point, dial-up, regular speed, and high speed internet options.  That sounds a lot like net neutrality to me.  My husband and I first went the dial-up route but it didn’t take very long for us to move to high speed.  However, we were both working with no kids at the time so we could splurge on high speed internet.  However, now that we have kids and a mortgage, I wish we didn’t incur the cost of the internet but we are so used to having it. 

I think having digital inequalities is a real concern because social divisions and racism are harder to fight online.  We hear of so many cyberbullying stories and the subsequent suicides that occur.  Students who are bullied at school have no escape even in their own home.    The use or abuse of social media also contributes to the social divisions by extending those hurtful activities to the online platform.   Boyd described the scenario of a student mocking an Asian student and posting a disparaging video on YouTube.  This student chose to express her view online which was definitely amplified because of the nature of YouTube and social media for that matter.  Once a video is posted, millions of people have access and can form an opinion which either fuels the original racist view or inflames an opposing view which it did in this case.   It seems in this case, the use of social media fuelled the two sides.

When thinking about an online class format, I think there are instances that reinforce inequalities.  For instance, some online courses may require group work in a chat or discussion forum.  Perhaps, for lower income families, the online student may have to work or help with family responsibilities and may not be available for scheduled chats.  Participating in an online course may already in itself perpetuate inequality excluding some students who do not have access to a computer or internet access at home. 

On the flip side, online classes could also provide an even playing field providing all students have access to computers and the internet.  For instance, in this online course, we were placed into discussion groups alphabetically.  There weren’t any social factors determining the groups.  Although names are provided, physical appearance, ethnicity, and religion were not known which seems to me to be the top three factors in social division.  Other than group work, online classes allow students to work on their own schedule so if there are other commitments then there is flexibility to accommodate work or family responsibilities.

I don’t believe technology will solve the world’s problems but progress and technological advances certainly make life interesting.  The ever changing technology, the deep rooted social economic factors and racism will always be a challenge for equality.  Tolerance, information, and acceptance have to start offline before we can make any advances to closing the digital divide.  

Big Bad You Tube

Big, Bad YouTube

 

As YouTube grew, it had to establish some definitive rules and guidelines.  Not to mention that it was constantly being sued for copyright infringement.  Below is a link to a video gamer’s rant about YouTube’s copyright policy.  The gamer’s rant regarding earning billions of dollars from people like him is referring to the YouTube Partner Program which, “allows creators to monetize content on YouTube through a variety of ways including advertisements, paid subscriptions, and merchandise. In addition to joining the Partner Program, Creators can take advantage of the variety of resources, features, and programs that YouTube provides to help you build your channel(s) and your audience.”  This is just one example of how the video gamer population of YouTube users were affected.   

 

Youtube Copyright Disaster! Angry Rant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQfHdasuWtI

Many YouTubers affected by the new copyright policy were enrolled in the Partner Program losing their livelihood because their videos were being removed which means ads could not run in front of their videos resulting in lost revenue.  Many of the videos were flagged because of their introductions and the music in the videos.  YouTubers who earn their living through the Partner Program could have hundreds of videos earning revenue and so removing many of the videos would greatly impact their earnings.  The following link is to a recorded chat from popular YouTube personalities discussing the copyright issue and its impact on the video gaming community.

YouTube Copyright Controversy with TotalBiscuit, FarFromSubtle, itmeJP, and Adam Sessler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt1ubSVMwaw

YouTube engaged in a Content ID sweep in December 2013 and the following YouTube video gamer, Force Strategy Gaming details what are the biggest offenders.  He explains that the biggest offenders for this Content ID sweep are trailers and music from video games.  Footage of ten seconds or more will likely be flagged in a Content ID sweep.  If a video is flagged, it will immediately lose monetization.  Force Strategy Gaming provides his insights on what he feels is fair and unfair and provides information for those that may wish to earn a living through YouTube.

YouTube Content ID Apocalypse (What’s Going On?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6-TOZat-wo

YouTube has received an extremely large amount of criticism since Google bought YouTube. Many hate videos and comments have been posted on YouTube.  The following site, wikia.com, outlines some of the most common issues receiving criticism such as community guidelines, flagging, copyright, channel layouts, commenting features, YouTube staff, Vevo, etc. 

Criticism of YouTube

http://youtube.wikia.com/wiki/Criticism_of_YouTube

Even famous personalities have publically criticized YouTube including the very popular and influential Stephen Colbert.  Although, I was not able to access this video, the commentary surrounding the video provided a clear picture of Colbert’s opinion of YouTube’s censorship and its infringement on free speech.  Colbert asked his viewers to post messages to clog up YouTube’s site and the developers at YouTube shrugged it off and basically said it was not much of a challenge.

http://gigaom.com/2013/09/26/youtube-vs-colbert/

There are several professional and active YouTube personalities that wanted to chime in on the Content ID issue and here is a video from one of these personalities.  YouTube certainly encourages and provides people with the sense that their opinion is important and valuable and this is propagated by the fact that people do view these videos and have followers.

YouTubers vs Corporations (Theft via Content ID)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP2VfcXmUEY

So with all the griping from these professional users, YouTube did in fact change its policies allowing some flexibility and an opportunity to appeal decisions.  We have seen this happen on Facebook with its users content.

YouTube bows to criticism, extends options for appealing false Content ID copyright claims

 

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/3/3450876/youtube-content-id-appeals-copyright-dmca

Another area for criticism is the paid music service.  Everyone was used to the free service  and that is now gone.

YouTube Announces Plan to Launch Paid Music Service Amid Criticism

http://tech.co/youtube-announces-plan-launch-paid-music-service-amid-criticism-2014-06

 

YouTube, MeTube, We All Tube

The nature of YouTube lends itself to sharing opinions, endorsements and criticism of people, culture, music, society, products, and almost anything including YouTube itself.  Wikipedia describes YouTube as, “…a video-sharing website. The site allows users to upload, view, and share videos, and it makes use of Adobe Flash Video and HTML5 technology to display a wide variety of user-generated and corporate media video. Available content includes video clips, TV clips, music videos, and amateur content such as video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos.”  There are endless categories of videos posted on YouTube, many of which are criticisms of one issue or another like political debates, music video parodies, and what some might call professional YouTube personalities.  So it is not a far stretch to think that there would be criticism of YouTube itself on YouTube.

Like several of the other platforms such as Facebook and Wikipedia, as the platform grows and attracts more users and page views, more guidelines and bureaucratic practices are put into place.  YouTube is no different.  As it grew, it had to establish some rules of use and that did not sit well with many of the users that were accustomed to the “free” reign it may have once had in the early stages of the platform.

YouTube’s criticism has been expressed on social media platforms, tech talk type websites, blogs, and even YouTube itself.  The most recent criticism has revolved around YouTube’s copyright policy, the public’s view of censorship by YouTube, and the recent paid music service.  Even high profile personalities like Stephen Colbert have expressed critical opinions about YouTube.

Several weeks ago, we discussed technological determinism and how social media has impacted our culture, our daily lives, and our activities.  YouTube is certainly one of the social media platforms that has been influential in our modern history.  Almost anything can be recorded and uploaded onto YouTube with some stipulations.  As stated on Wikipedia, “YouTube’s community policy is aimed to reduce abuse of the site’s features. Generally prohibited material includes sexually explicit content, videos of animal abuse, shock videos, content uploaded without the copyright holder’s consent, hate speech, spam, and predatory behaviour.  Despite the guidelines, YouTube has faced criticism from news sources for content in violation of these guidelines.”

With billions of views on YouTube, it is a social media force.  YouTube executives are always forming new partnerships with music companies, movie companies, and corporations to increase revenue and build its arsenal of products.  Like Facebook and Wikipedia, YouTube is so large and powerful, that it can make up rules, change them, and revert back if it wants and won’t lose much market share if any. These media platforms are so widely used that it cannot please everyone and criticism is inevitable.  However, it is you, me, and all of us that can voice our opinion and strive for improvement and change in big companies, government and the big social media titans.  That how we can progress and advance.

Cut it Out!

As defined on Wikipedia, Wikipedia is a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free-access, free content Internet encyclopedia that is supported and hosted by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Volunteers worldwide collaboratively write Wikipedia’s 30 million articles in 287 languages, including over 4.5 million in the English Wikipedia. Anyone who can access the site can edit almost any of its articles, which on the Internet comprise the largest and most popular general reference work.

Well, after reading the arguments for inclusionists vs exclusionists of Wikipedia, I would like to side with the exclusionists. I personally visit Wikipedia almost daily to look up trivial information for personal use or for work-related purposes. I prefer to have the information on Wikipedia be as accurate and succinct as possible. I understand that in the beginning Wikipedia was supposed to be open and free for anyone to contribute and many critics feel this is a myth because there is a bureaucracy controlling Wikipedia. However, with its growth and success, checks and balances had to be imposed and I am okay with that. Given all the vandalism that takes place whether minor or serious, we need some controls or “semi-protection” to ensure the quality of information is maintained. I need a free encyclopedia that is accurate and current and as reported by Nature’s study in 2005, Wikipedia and Britannica’s online edition were basically comparable. As Nicholas Carr wrote, “What might be more interesting about Wikipedia as an organization is the way it has evolved, as it has pursued its goal of matching the quality of Encyclopedia Britannica.”

It is my hope that those with the administrator rights have checks and balances too so that misinformation is not posted like the wrong reports of the deaths of Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd. Since then, there are now stricter contributor controls but this also seems to have irked the inclusionists. Along with the checks and balances, I hope there are open minds to include pages of cultural value like the Missing Wikipedians even if the story is not based from our North American culture. I agree with the exclusionist point of view but I think the ones making those exclusions should have a broad sense of what is important and to perhaps, rotate this responsibility so it is not always the same decision makers.

What I like about Wikipedia is that it is timely. Information and additions are updated so quickly and is readily available but it also provides information on significant events from hundreds of years ago to today. Kate Dries writes, “Wikipedia’s role: to be an archive and a reference point.” To record everything in history is unimaginable. Someone needs to condense it, to provide direction to what was significant in that time period, and to provide context for the information. For me, I need a starting point for information. I always check other websites to corroborate the information on Wikipedia.

It’s not a perfect system at Wikipedia but I think it works and if people really want something to be included they advocate and use other social and conventional media to support their submission like Kenya’s Makmende page. It probably shouldn’t be as hard as the Makmende example but hopefully that experience opened the minds of the bureaucrats at Wikipedia. I love all the information that has become available from Wikipedia and although I sympathize with the inclusionists because it is not the free and open platform they had hoped, I am all for cutting out all the irrelevant and or unimportant information. Just give me the good stuff.

The Cool Club

I personally am not a Facebook user but I would have to live in a cave to not know what Facebook is or its impact on our culture.  Even though I have never had a Facebook account, I can relate to Gehl’s commentary.  I think his central argument is that Facebook has become very powerful and without some checks and balances, we could, if we haven’t already, give up too much.

I chose not to start an account on Facebook for some of the same reasons that were outlined in Gehl’s excerpt.  I thought too much information was being shared.  I was not confident it would be kept within my personal network and would be properly or permanently erased if I chose to leave Facebook.  I also did not have the time to interpret or comprehend all the trivial information that was posted.  I learned all this information about Facebook from others and it overwhelmed me.

As Gehl suggests, we are providing so much personal information on Facebook and it can be stored and kept in their system for as long as Facebook wants.  We are throwing away our right for privacy and the majority of users do not care to fight for their privacy rights.  Gehl also writes about how the word “friend” and “like” have new meanings because of Facebook and certainly I would agree that the word “friend” is a very loose term today due to its use on Facebook.  I had one real life friend say she was a bit annoyed because a relative did not “like” her photos of her kids and that offended her because she always “likes” her relative’s pictures.  As a non-Facebook user, I considered this a non-issue but if you are in this social culture of always looking for acknowledgement and approval from others then I guess this would be off-putting.

I must admit that almost everyone I know has a Facebook account including my husband.  In fact, many of my friends have asked him to be friends on Facebook so they can relay messages to me through him.  As Gehl writes, “The economic theory has a sociological aspect as more people join a network, more pressure builds on non-users to get on board.”  I also find for work purposes when I need to look up an event that it often leads to a Facebook page that I cannot access because I don’t have an account.  This is where I login as my husband to do my research.  So I am not completely cut off from the Facebook world but I do like keeping my distance.

I think Facebook will lose some of its lustre as time progresses but in the interim, it is a powerful force in our culture.  With such great economical and sociological impact, we must be willing to challenge this dominant social media platform.  Those that have chosen to “unlike” Facebook are expressing their concerns and I would agree that these concerns are valid.  I think Facebook has many great attributes and will go down in history as a “game changer” but I am sure there will be another new new media platform that will dethrone Facebook and when it does, we must be mindful that we don’t give up too much of ourselves or our rights to be part of the “cool” club.

Being creative with electronic waste

Here’s a look at what some people have done with electronic waste. If only there was a viable market for these products and more people thinking of ways to reuse electronic waste, then we might be able to sleep better.

N+ew Lights -This is an innovative way to put waste to good use with a modern look to the lights but many lights will need to be made to put a dent in the landfills.  Home décor is certainly a competitive market but many consumers are looking for green options and this niche market seems to be growing.  Now, if only we could purchase light bulbs that could last 15 years then we could start making progress.

Rodrigo Alonso’s Plastic Furniture and the compressed furniture are examples of sleek modern furniture produced from electronic and other plastic products.  The more options and products offered, the greater interest and awareness can be created.  Many home owners want to have a unique look so this type of furniture could be attractive.  The price point of this furniture will certainly factor into the success of this business and the availability of the products.  It would be interesting to see if these products were exclusively sold online or at a retail location.

Steampunk collage, Nike Air Max, and Diablo are pieces of art that illustrate how artists are finding ways to make a statement and use electronic waste to create unique sculptures.  Many artists have used recycled metal and other forms of “junk” in sculptures but now electronic waste is a new medium or material for these artists.  Hopefully, these artists can earn enough revenue to sustain the use of this medium.  By creating a sculpture in the likeness of the Nike Air Max or cool cars/bikes provides a “cool” factor.

Using the iMac as an aquarium is a neat idea as well and may save a few monitor shells from the landfill but it certainly isn’t a solution to the electronic waste problem.  However, if each person could find one creative way to reuse or recycle one or more of their electronic devices then that would be a start in the right direction.

The EcoATM is a real step forward in addressing the electronic waste issue.  The EcoATM makes fully automated self-serve kiosks that buy back electronics from consumers in exchange for cash.  As Bowles explains, “We’re using technology to solve a problem that technology created.”  We need more companies to find ways to engage the consumer and to provide an attractive incentive to recycle.  However, this is a costly business.  Bowles had to secure $72 million in financing to get this company off the ground.

Have you seen the remote?

I wouldn’t consider myself a techy kind of person but when I reflect on the number of devices I do own or use on a daily basis, I think maybe I am….(Giving my head a shake).  No, I am not that techy but probably have an average amount of tech devices.  We, as in my husband and two kids, own four televisions, a smart phone each for the two adults, a laptop, a desktop computer, an iPad, and a Leap Pad (it is pretty high tech if you ask me).  With our main tv, there is a receiver, satellite receiver, a dvd player, and apple tv.   Of course, with each of these devices, is a remote.  I have to draw a diagram and explicit instructions for my mother when she comes over to babysit and wants to watch tv after the kids are in bed.  So my husband purchased a universal remote and that seems to work most of the time leaving all the other remotes in a safe drawer.

Our personal devices were all purchased at a retail electronics store like Best Buy and usually at the retail store location except for the iPad.  We did purchase the iPad through Best Buy but from their website during an online promotion.  Our desktop is actually a Mac mini and we purchased it when it first went to market so over 10 years ago.  In the technology world, it is quite old and even the white case is yellowing.  We rarely use it anymore but it holds a lot of our photos and music.  We loved using the Mac mini because it never froze and was so easy to use.  However, now on the rare occasion we want to use it, it seems so slow and just chugs to get through a photo search.

So, now we use our PC laptop and iPad mostly.  When it came down to it, we thought, we only use the computer to check emails and surf the net so we could just get a regular run of the mill, PC laptop.  It is fine and we don’t do anything too fancy with it but we have had two PC laptops in the last six years because they get bugs, seem super slow, and because we used up all the data space.  I have had two blackberries in the last two years but that is because our company has a pretty good deal with Bell and can upgrade a phone easily and would rather upgrade the phone than buy us a new phone battery.  Where the old phone goes, I don’t know.  When I handed in my first one, it went into a big bin with several other abandoned phones.  I didn’t think to ask where they were heading.

We did have an iPod.  It was one of the first ones to come out so we can’t even get any apps for it anymore.  Now, we let our kids play games with it but even they are not that interested in it anymore.   They like the iPad for games and watching music videos.  I also keep one of my old mobile phones around for my daughter who likes to pretend she is having very important conversations on it.  Fisher Price’s phones are not as authentic as my old cell so my daughter just loves walking around with it pretending she is wheeling and dealing with Grandma.  We also have an ancient television that is so heavy it is making our stand sag in the middle.  It is a perfectly good working television so there is no reason to get rid of it except that it takes up so much room where all our other televisions are flat screens.

We have seen notices for electronic disposal of items once a year stating the devices will be recycled.  We brought our old 19” computer monitor which was also a beast in weight.  Other times, we simply brought the devices to the city dump.  Truthfully, I never gave much consideration to the social environmental impact of technological devices as much as our household recycling plastics, batteries, styrofoam, paper, etc.  Then we focused on composting our food waste.  I guess I never really thought about how much waste is generated through the constant upgrading of our technological devices.  I do hope that these mobile phone companies and tech companies can offer consumers incentives to return old or used devices for discounts on upgrades and that the tech companies can recycle or reuse most of the parts in other products like remote controllers.

#whocares

According to Techopedia, Hashtag activism is the act of fighting for or supporting a cause that people are advocating through social media like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other networking websites. This is the kind of activism that does not require any action from the person other than sharing or “liking” a post or “retweeting” tweets on Twitter. The term gets its name from the liberal use of hashtags (#) that are often used to spread the word about a cause over Twitter.

Ben Scott writes on slate.com, “Hashtag activism is a gateway between politics and popular culture, a platform to educate the ignorant and draw attention to the operation of power in the world.”  While Andrew Peng writes, “The social network’s popularity has given birth to a phenomenon known as “hashtag activism,” where a hashtag focusing on a specific cause is amplified and trended.”  I guess I would equate hashtag activism with throwing your virtual support behind a cause.  They are both passive ways of expressing a stance and the more people supporting the cause, the more attention it gets.

Here is an example from Ben Scott of real world consequences of hashtag activism and the role of social media in Turkey. “Prime Minister Recep Erdogan first called Twitter an enemy of the public and then temporarily blocked access to the site before critical elections. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin has followed in the footsteps of many authoritarian nations and signed a law requiring that all influential online voices register with the government. Power is closely linked to the distribution of information. The Internet is only the newest technology to demonstrate this truth and elicit a reaction from those who seek to have or hold power.”  Taking away people’s freedom to use social media and to express your views is definitely a real world consequence.

I hope #bringbackourgirls has real world results with the safe return of the kidnapped Nigerian girls and the start of political and cultural changes in Nigeria but that is really wishful thinking.  The increased attention because of this hashtag has resulted in offers of support from U.S. France, and the UK.  Laura Olin writes on Time.com, “Nigerian parents, without extraordinary power or resources can draw the kind of attention that leads to real pressure and real power….It’s not everything, but it’s a start. And the world is now talking about 276 stolen girls in Nigeria when before it wasn’t talking about them at all.”

David Rothschild of Yahoo! News reported in 2012 that soon after the Susan G. Komen Foundation announced it would no longer fund clinical breast exams and mammograms through Planned Parenthood, it reversed its decision amid a firestorm of criticism on Twitter, Facebook, and many blogs.  Rothschild further states, “There is little doubt that social and media pressure forced Komen to reverse its plan.”

Ben Scott writes, “Power is closely linked to the distribution of information. The Internet is only the newest technology to demonstrate this truth and elicit a reaction from those who seek to have or hold power.  This kind of reaction happens not because digital activism is a sufficient condition for transformative change. This kind of reaction happens because digital activism is a new tool that enables bottom-up and leaderless movements to emerge. This power exists despite the fact that hashtag movements alone cannot organize or sustain conventional political institutions. At present, they are strongest in calling attention to injustice and demanding change.”

So in the end, it doesn’t matter how many people retweet a message or use the same hashtag, it matters if change happens, if the Nigerian girls are saved, if governments listen to their people, and if justice prevails.  However, I am an optimist and think that if people are at least participating in the conversation through social media and making enough virtual noise, something good could happen and we can forget #whocares and start a new trend with #wecare.

Sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/05/08/bringbackourgirls-kony2012-and-the-complete-divisive-history-of-hashtag-activism/

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/05/16/bringbackourgirls_a_defense_of_hashtag_activism.html

View at Medium.com

http://www.techopedia.com/definition/29047/hashtag-activism

http://time.com/94059/bringbackourgirls-hashtag-activism-is-cheap-and-thats-a-good-thing/

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/signal/twitter-users-drove-furor-over-komen-planned-parenthood-160326208.html

 

 

 

An oldie but a goodie

http://memegenerator.net/instance/51223893

To me, this is a classic meme.  I remember the commercials for Dos Equis when it became very popular a number of years ago.  I remember memes circulating with this actor and didn’t even know what a meme was at the time.  I like how this meme works because you state an action at the top and then almost a counterstatement, an obvious observation, or just a humourous retort at the bottom.  These are usually keeping with the same dry humour as the original commercial.

I think the audience for this meme would be the same audience that viewed the other “Most Interesting Man in the World” memes.  This is just a fun meme that plays on the popularity of the commercials, the parodies, and other existing memes.

This particular meme pokes fun at the fact this actor has not appeared in many television commercials or is a well-known actor but because of the popularity of the commercials and memes has become very famous and extremely popular, therefore milking this one television acting opportunity.  This meme does not require any specialized knowledge but enough awareness of the Dos Equis beer commercial, the popularity of this character, and the famous lines associated with them.

This meme certainly shows the intertextuality property.  It is the same image with changing text that references the lines from the commercial.  It also has the templatability property because it follows the same structure throughout all the memes.  Most of the memes start with the line at the top, “I don’t always do…”(something) and then at the bottom, “But when I do, I…”(something).

When I was looking for samples of memes, I searched for the most popular memes and of course saw “The Most Interesting Man in the World” and knew that I wanted to model my meme after it because I enjoy that humour and fondly remember the commercials.  I read every meme with that character and format, that was posted on memegenerator.net to get a sense of what was already out in the public domain and to provide me with inspiration for my own.

Certainly, I built my meme on the shoulders of many clever existing memes with this character and format.  It took a while to get the right tone and try to be as clever and as creative as the others.  After reading so many, it was also difficult to come up with an original because I would think that I came up with a new idea but it was just because I read something similar a few minutes ago.  My meme certainly follows the same pattern and does not stray far from the others that have been created.

I don’t think my meme will ever be a classic but the original will be and will provide the opportunity for amateur meme creators like me feel like I added to the popularity of this meme.  Even after the commercial’s release several years ago, this meme remains at the top of the most popular memes of all time.  So in my mind, it definitely is an oldie but a goodie.