Assignment #5: “So I Herd U Like Mudkipz” (Ryan Puglisi)

The “I Herd U Liek Mudkipz” meme is a long-lived and widely known meme, referring to the pokemon character of the same name, Mudkip. It’s origin is generally agreed to be a Deviant Art group dedicated to Mudkip and related art, “MudKipClub.” This group utilized the phrase in random posts trying to promote themselves and their group; their actions can be traced back as far as 2005 (though the group existed as far back as 2004).

The phrase became a popular one on sites like 4chan boards as a way of identifying fellow miscreants on the internet. It retained its hilarity and following due to a copypasta story frequently posted around the internet (but originating on 4chan) based on a Halloween costumed Ash Ketchum sexually gratifying himself with a Mudkip doll. The phrase became so ubiquitous that many members of the Anonymous group adopted it during the period of Project Chanology, the internet group’s actions against the Church of Scientology.

The above graph shows that the meme began to catch widespread attention around the end of 2005 and grew enormously from there. The mudkipz meme culminated in an extreme spike in 2008, likely associated with an April Fools prank done by DeviantArt, in which all the photos in the site were abruptly changed to pictures of mudkips in honor of the meme.

It is difficult to assess the true extent of mudkipz legacy when evaluating the many pokemon-based memes that have since arose. Many of these might be attributed to the popularity of pokemon on the internet and less on mudkipz, one of these is the “F*&k yeah Seaking” (which emerged in 2008).

However, the numerous spinoffs and amount of material on the internet which has developed based on the “I herd u like Mudkipz” meme is truly staggering. These include scantily clad cosplayers in mudkip themed costumes being posted around the internet (pictures omitted due to potentially objectifying nature), videos featuring mudkip with music to popular songs, crossover memes featuring Kanye West (from “Ima let you finish” meme fame), matched up with Mudkip, as well as other and other popular memes.

The term itself has lent itself well to numerous crossovers, including into the world of “My Little Pony”.

Sources:

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-herd-u-like-mudkips

http://meme.wikia.com/wiki/I_herd_u_liek_Mudkips

https://encyclopediadramatica.es/So_i_herd_u_liek_mudkip

Assignment #5: Cone-ing (Theresa Chan)

            
            Cone-ing (also known as coning) is a popular prank video Internet meme. It involves going through a drive-thru and ordering a soft serve ice cream cone; when the server hands it over, one grabs the ice cream portion rather than the cone portion. This whole ordeal is video taped and then subsequently posted on YouTube or other social media channels. The reaction of the server is key to the cone-ing process as well as the prankster acting as if everything is normal. Cone-ing is seen as part of this “-ing” fad and a sort of follow-up to the popular act of planking.

            Alki Stevens is credited as the inventor of cone-ing. He’s an Australian comedian who first posted an act of cone-ing in 2009 onto YouTube, but the meme was not popularized until he posted another video on June 5, 2011 titled “CONE-ING IS THE NEW PLANKING!!!!! (AlkiStevens).” From there it quickly amassed millions of views, hundreds of thousands of Facebook and Twitter shares, and a legion of followers who posted their own versions of cone-ing. It was featured on Internet blogs and news sources, and even Justin Bieber has posted his own act of cone-ing.

            Cone-ing was extremely popular in the back half of 2011, and its popularity waned from there. To this day, Alki Stevens’s 2011 video that spurred the meme has amassed over 10 million views and YouTube yields over 100,000 videos when searching for “cone-ing.” It’s easy to see how this meme became popular, as it’s easy to participate in it, and it’s a funny prank; yielding the most spectacular reaction out of a server was certainly a goal of a lot of the posters. The act is ridiculous and absurd, but most viral memes seem to follow this trend.