RE: Instance of Memetic dissemination

From: Lawrence DeBivort (debivort@umd5.umd.edu)
Date: Thu 13 Mar 2003 - 04:36:01 GMT

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    Yes. I think this is also an example of how the content and form of a message can be particularly appealing, and lend itself to an accelerated, more powerful dissemination.

    Cheers, Lawry

    > -----Original Message-----
    > From: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk [mailto:fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk]On Behalf
    > Of Keith Henson
    > Sent: Wed, March 12, 2003 7:33 PM
    > To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
    > Subject: Re: Instance of Memetic dissemination
    >
    >
    > At 09:15 AM 11/03/03 -0500, Lawrence DeBivort wrote:
    > > From a friend...
    > >
    > >LdB
    > >
    > > >> Laurie
    > > >> Garrett of Newsday -- and author of a great work of contemporary
    > > >> history,
    > > >> The Coming Plague -- sent this email to a bunch of her
    > friends. It got
    > > >> around. Then it got loose. Reportedly she is quite steamed
    > about it, as
    > > >> well she might be. But it's been circulated to thousands already...]
    > >
    > > >From a colleague on the PHIL-LIT list I find out that there
    > >is quite alot of analysis and discussion of this e-mail out
    > >there. The e-mail, how it spread, and privacy issues which
    > >arise, along with lots of links, on LawMeme:
    > >
    > >Accidental Privacy Spills: Musings on Privacy, Democracy,
    > >and the Internet
    > >Posted by James Grimmelmann on Wednesday, February 19 @
    > >22:02:50 EST
    >
    > snip
    >
    > Great meme example also giving an example of how computers and
    > the Internet
    > can make meme spread very fast.
    >
    > There are a lot of memes of this class, chunks of information that don't
    > elicit particular behavior except people pass them on. Some of the memes
    > related to computer viruses are of that class (the ones that
    > would have you
    > delete an OS file). Of course, there are memes that people passed around
    > for a long time about dangers where the meme inhibited behavior.
    > A modern
    > one being "don't play in the streets." A much older one would be
    > for tribe
    > members to pass on to other members that picking berries in a
    > certain place
    > was not a good idea until the bears left. :-)
    >
    > Keith Henson
    >
    >
    >
    > ===============================================================
    > This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
    > Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
    > For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
    > see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
    >

    =============================================================== This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing) see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit



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