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| http://www.flickr.com/photos/fncll/6847365223/ |
This photo, originally from ChrisL_AK's flickr profile, explains social media through donuts. More interestingly, it explains how something even more simple than a meme is transformed only through social media sites and not the entire internet. The simple idea of a donut--a simple food that is familiar to us all--is expressed in varying ways through different social media venues. Because each venue serves a different purpose and targets a different audience, the message or idea is altered only slightly so that it satisfies both its audience and purpose. An example of this is apparent through the transformation the "donut" idea took when it was altered to secure the interest of Pinterest users. Pinterest users are typically categorized as women who are interested in crafts, makeup, fashion, and cooking recipes. Because of the last stated interest, "donut" is transformed into "Here's a donut recipe" in order to fit the profile for a typical Pinterest user, who searches for recipes through the website.
This image suggests that a more complicated idea might transform even more dramatically across the mentioned social media websites. Not only this, but it helps one understand why a meme, a piece of information easily and often purposefully transformed through communication, is altered so severely as it travels the entirety of the internet. If an identical idea is transformed when it is simply moved from one website to another, an idea
not intended to remain identical will transform in much greater ways once internet users may access it.
Andrea Solomon
