== Beme ==

The term "beme" (IPA: /biːm/, to rhyme with "theme", not or /bimi/), is a meme spread by blogs or other social media.

Origins and concepts

First coined in 2006 by Silicon Valley software executive Tom Hayes, based on concepts pioneered by Marshall McLuhan and Richard Dawkins, who first conceived of memes in 1976. McLuhan posited that the message, in this case a popularized artifact, is naturally affected by the medium that propagates it. McLuhan stated:

<blockquote>
Each new form of media shapes messages differently thereby requiring new filters to be engaged in the experience of viewing and listening to those messages.
</blockquote>

Hayes observed that a beme is a product of the network effect, the Internet and blogs, and therefore its properties and behavior differ intrinsically from a meme:

<blockquote>
"A meme is old media, a beme is new media;
a meme takes off by accident, a beme by design;
a meme can take years to surface, a beme hours;
a memes is linear, a beme is nonlinear;
a meme moves in a jet stream, a beme has a splatter pattern;
a meme is viral, a beme is pandemic."
</blockquote>

References

1. Malone, Michael S. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/IndustryInfo/story?id=2877712&page=1

2. Searls, Doc http://doc.weblogs.com/2007/02/12]]

3. University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), http://ebiquity.umbc.edu/blogger/2007/02/18/a-beme-is-a-meme-spread-by-social-media/

4. Rheingold, Howard, Gerrit Visser, et al http://www.smartmobs.com/archive/2007/02/19/a_beme_is_a_mem....html

5. http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/citations/beme_11/

6. http://tombomb.typepad.com/tombomb/2007/02/bemes_are_defin.html

7. Conrad, R.: "Errors of Immediate Memory," The British Journal of Psychology, November1959, pp. 349-359.

8. Crannell, C. W., and J. M. Parrish: "A Comparison of Immediate Memory Span for Digits, Letters and Words," The Journal of Psychology, 44, October 1957, pp. 319-327.

9. Dermer, J D.: "Cognitive Characteristics and the Perceived Importance of Information," The Accounting Review, 48, 1973, pp. 511-519.

10. Dickson, G. W., J. A. Senn, and N. L. Chervany: "Research in Management Information Systems: The Minnesota Experiments," Management Science, 23:9, May 1977, pp. 913-923.

11. Eysenck, M. W.: "Human Memory: Theory, Research and Differences," Pergamon, Oxford, 1977.

12. Bate, Paul. Strategies for Cultural Change. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd.. 1994.

13. Burkhardt, Marlene, Brass, Daniel J.. "Changing Patterns or Patterns of Change: The Effects of a Change in Technology on Social Network Structure and Power." Administrative Science Quarterly. Volume 35, 1, March 1990, 104-127.

14. Burkhardt, Marlene E.. "Social Interaction Effects Following a Technological Change: A Longitudinal Investigation." Academy of Management Review. Volume 37, 4, December 1994, 869-898.


Categories: Anthropology | Culture | Cultural studies | Cultural anthropology | Futurology | Internet memes | Memetics | Philosophy of mind