The Lifecycle of Memes: How Ideas Evolve and Spread + AI of the week and more

I came across a 1,680 page document full of research about memes and memetics.
You bet I'm gonna extract some info from it and share it with you.

Thing 1 - The Lifecycle of Memes: How Ideas Evolve and Spread

Why do some ideas stick while others fade? The answer lies in the lifecycle of memes - how they grow, spread, and survive in the culture.

A meme is more than just a funny image. In memetic theory, it’s any idea, behavior, or trend that spreads from person to person. Memes evolve like genes, competing for attention, adapting to environments, and aiming to replicate.

Ok, Z, what da heck, I expected memes and you're being all serious...

It's fine, I made some memes for you this week 🙃

Stage 1: Birth

Memes begin as a spark - an idea or image created by someone, somewhere. For a meme to catch on, it needs to be new but recognizable enough for people to grasp it in an instant. The more unique and eye-catching, the better the chance of survival.

"Distracted Boyfriend" meme - it started as a stock photo, but because it was simple and easy to remix, it spread across social media fast.

Stage 2: Replication

Once a meme gets attention, it must spread. This happens through imitation. A meme's success depends on how easily it can be shared without losing its essence. Simple formats and catchy visuals spread better because they are easy to replicate.

A great example is the "This or That" meme format. It lets people personalize it, making it simple to copy and spread.

Stage 3: Mutation

To stay alive, memes must change over time. As people remix or adapt them, the meme shifts, allowing it to fit new contexts. This keeps it relevant and boosts its lifespan. Memes that evolve stand a better chance of thriving in a shifting cultural landscape.

The "Drake Hotline Bling" meme, for instance, has had countless versions, each adding humor or meaning, keeping it in circulation for years.

Stage 4: Survival

Some memes go viral quickly but disappear just as fast. Others, like the "Keep Calm" series, stick around and evolve while staying recognizable. Memes that connect with emotions or larger trends tend to survive longer. Emotional resonance and relevance are key factors in this stage.

Stage 5: Death or Dormancy

Many memes fade if they can't adapt or keep an emotional link with the audience. Some may go dormant, waiting for a resurgence when the time is right. Nostalgia often brings back old memes when they become relevant again.

Memes follow the path of evolution: they are born, spread, adapt, and either survive or die.

This hasn't started scratching the surface yet, so it's a matter of time before I write about memes again 😂

Thing 2 - AI of the week

• Unitree Robotics G1 Humanoid Robot can now jump further than its height

• Amazon invested $500M into building NUCLEAR REACTORS TO POWER AI!!
• Cove is a tool that helps you and AI think and work together by using a visual space instead of just chat. You can organize ideas, edit together, and keep everything in one place to make complex tasks easier.
• e2-f5-tts (catchy name, I know) is model you can run locally to clone your voice - if you have an NVIDIA GPU and enough VRAM.
  Perplexity scolded me when I said e2-f5-tts requires a lot of VRAM saying "you only need like 12 GB perhaps", and I'm like "That's what I meant", but we have different concepts of how much is a lot since I'm trying to run it on a laptop lol...
• NVIDIA released a 70B (small-ish) model that beats GPT 4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet on some benchmarks.
• Mistral AI introduced two new models - Ministral 3B and Ministral 8B, designed for efficient on-device computing and edge use cases. They support local translation, smart assistants, and autonomous robotics with high efficiency and low latency.
• Playground AI introduced Playground v3 - a text-to-image model that integrates a large language model (LLM) for superior prompt-following, photo-realism, and graphic design capabilities. It introduces innovations like RGB color control, precise text rendering, and multilingual understanding. PGv3 surpasses human designers (grain of salt?) in tasks such as logos, posters, and stickers
• HeyGen's real-time avatars can now join Zoom calls and interact as a real person...

Thing 3 - A few quotes to help you with anxiety

Anxiety is what happens when you spend your time imagining the life you could be living without putting in any effort to get there.

- Orange Book

Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions, not outside.

- Marcus Aurelius

You think you are playing safe, but you are actually accumulating anxiety. Take bolder risks, it’s mentally liberating.

- Orange Book

Want more bite-sized, sizzling insights like this? You’re already in the right place. Until next week!

Cheers, Zvonimir