the.com/internet culture
humanity's group chat, running twenty-four seven since 1995, minutes from being weaponized.
means the shared jokes, slang, rituals, and reflexes that emerged from millions of strangers being online together and copying each other on purpose.
from grew out of early usenet and bbs communities in the 1980s-90s, where inside jokes and shorthand spread fast because bandwidth was scarce and everyone was making it up as they went.
first emoji ancestoremoticon :-) posted by scott fahlman, 1982
meme coinedrichard dawkins, 1976, decades before the internet needed it
lifespana meme can die and resurrect ironically within a week
export ratetiktok slang now reaches grandparents in months, not years
for instance
rickrolling — a 2007 bait-and-switch prank still functional in 2024
doge — 2013 shiba inu meme that became a real cryptocurrency
among us sus — 2020 game term that infiltrated actual classrooms
this is fine dog — 2013 comic panel now shorthand for any collapsing situation