Swampy Memes Watch

I think two of the most stressful things any American deals with are politics and finding a job. Fortunately for lovers of memes, both of those things came into the fray this week on campus thanks to Student Government elections and Career Showcase week. While most meme battles and "fights" that happen in the Swampy Meme page are lighthearted fun based around which library (Team Marston!) is better, things got very serious this week. Impact party (referred to often as The System Party in the Swampy Memes pag, due to it allegedly being a rebrand of past Greek dominated parties Swamp and Unite)  has always been the target of hostile memes on both UF alumni Facebook pages and twitter accounts. Very rarely are any memes posted in support of Impact, or attacking independent/minority student government members. However, that changed this week after a sitting Impact senator, who posted he was tired of propaganda, mocked the new Inspire party for their serious approach to Student G...

[ View the story "Student Government Elections Heats Up Swampy Memes" on Storify ] One thing is for sure, regardless of the election result, there will be some heavy meme activity Wednesday night.

In  this  article by Steve Brown at Roi Online, I think he provides a good jumping off point for this blog. Why internet memes? What are they? Do they serve any purpose? I think Brown outlines the history of the word and its value as an informational and entertainment source. Memes can be used to get a political point across or wielded by corporations for cost effective advertising (Wendy's is the best at this in my opinion). Overall, it's a versatile form of communication in our global, online society and everyone better get used to it, and proficient in its alphabet if they don't want to get left behind.

Now, I'll be honest here. These are juvenile but undeniably hilarious. The recent trend of out of context porn snapshots repurposed to display the minds of college Gators is a little random but ultimately shows the creativity and internet culture that defines the humor of the millennial generation. Even the negative reactions to this trend have resulted in funny memes. Because many of the same pictures are being recycled into different set ups and scenarios, people have grown a little weary (not me) and have responded in kind. I think this shows that the humor on campus can come from anywhere. Soon this trend will fade and we'll see a new format pop up for a little while like political alignment memes and screenshots of badly translated anime.

Hello Dear Reader! Welcome to Swampy Memes Watch. In this blog we will be following weekly updates on the content and status of the University of Florida's main meme page,  Swampy UF memes for Top Ten Public Teens . The Swampy meme page contains over 21,000 members who both view and produce content for the page. The closed group's membership is made of of UF students, alumni, faculty, Gainesville residents and individuals around the state of Florida. The Swampy memes page is a nexus of local news, politics and humor with memes focusing on shared cultural experiences at UF and events of note that are of importance to students (Like the NPB Tree being destroyed in hurricane Irma).  I am your author, Raymon Troncoso. I am a third year student at the University of Florida pursuing a degree in Political Science and another in Telecommunication News. This blog is not just an assignment for RTV3106: Interactive Media, but it's also a fun side project to archive and catalogue th...