Convergent Cultures

Ryan Gosling is an actor. He is also, apparently, a meme. To be...

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:43:57 -0400

Ryan Gosling is an actor. He is also, apparently, a meme. To be more precise, he is a meme generator. A meme machine. The perfect blank slate on which to draw meme after meme. Ryan Gosling diehards create Ryan Gosling memes — just as many fandoms who circle around their object of affection do. This certainly isn’t an uncommon phenomenon. Part of the nature of fandom revolves around taking a single cultural item or person and spinning that item or person off into many, many iterations. The Internet makes that task unbelievably easy. But what’s it about Ryan Gosling that has caused his memes to be created at such a high volume? (via Ryan Gosling Cannot Escape His Own Memes — Vulture)

Darren Criss sings out against DOMA at the #glaadawards (by...

Tue, 07 May 2013 17:54:05 -0400

Darren Criss sings out against DOMA at the #glaadawards (by glaadmedia)

The YouTube Collection: The Magic of YouTube in Your Hands (by...

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:29:01 -0400

The YouTube Collection: The Magic of YouTube in Your Hands (by YouTube)

Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe (by CarlyRaeJepsenVEVO)

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:22:20 -0400

Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe (by CarlyRaeJepsenVEVO)

CALL ME MAYBE Prison Bus (by TheSecondCityNetwork)

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:18:49 -0400

CALL ME MAYBE Prison Bus (by TheSecondCityNetwork)

“Farm It Maybe” - Lil Fred, “Call Me...

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:08:42 -0400

“Farm It Maybe” - Lil Fred, “Call Me Maybe” Parody - Carly Rae Jepsen (by LittleFred2008)

Call Me Batman - (Call Me Maybe Parody Rises) (by DegaBros)

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:07:23 -0400

Call Me Batman - (Call Me Maybe Parody Rises) (by DegaBros)

Call Me Maybe - Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders vs US Military (by...

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:04:38 -0400

Call Me Maybe - Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders vs US Military (by TubeMultiplier)

re Miami Dolphins Chearleaders “Call Me Maybe” by...

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:03:48 -0400

re Miami Dolphins Chearleaders “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae - Folad Dolphins (by Michael Goodman)

call me maybe Afghanistan Royal Engineers (by juliet wisely)

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:03:04 -0400

call me maybe Afghanistan Royal Engineers (by juliet wisely)

Marines response to Harvard Baseball Call Me Maybe (by...

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:01:58 -0400

Marines response to Harvard Baseball Call Me Maybe (by bosphotoman2a)

“Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen - Feat. Justin...

Sun, 05 May 2013 15:51:15 -0400

“Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen - Feat. Justin Bieber, Selena, Ashley Tisdale & MORE! (by CarlosPenaTV)

Our YouTube community (by YouTube)

Sun, 05 May 2013 15:40:07 -0400

Our YouTube community (by YouTube)

“The future is already here,” Executive Chairman...

Sun, 05 May 2013 15:36:26 -0400

“The future is already here,” Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said as he kicked off an event for advertisers and brands on Wednesday at Pier 36 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. “Video is becoming the global shared experience.” Executives said during the event that more than one billion unique monthly visitors are watching more than 6 billion hours of video on YouTube every month. For a little perspective, that’s equal to nearly 684,000 years of viewing — or — an hour a month for every human on Earth. And it’s an increase from January’s level of 4 billion hours of video watched per month. A good portion of those viewers are part of what YouTube called “Generation C” — consumers who grew up with the Internet and are always connected. “If you want to win with that under 40 generation, you’ve got to be on YouTube,” Margo Georgiadis, president of the Americas for YouTube, said. YouTube’s pitch was part of the Digital NewFronts, a spin on the traditional upfronts where media companies pitch their newest TV shows to advertisers. Digital media companies are seeking to nab a bigger portion of ad spending in a time more content is moving online. Along with YouTube, many other companies such as AOL and CBS Interactive, which owns CNET, held their own events this week. (via YouTube to advertisers: You need us to attract a younger crowd | Internet & Media - CNET News)

Barakatak - Buka-Bukaan (by LouisRandy)

Fri, 03 May 2013 21:54:11 -0400

Barakatak - Buka-Bukaan (by LouisRandy)

Numa Numa Chatroulette (by Jerry Brito)

Fri, 03 May 2013 21:51:47 -0400

Numa Numa Chatroulette (by Jerry Brito)

Know Your Meme: Numa Numa (by KnowYourMeme)

Fri, 03 May 2013 21:48:20 -0400

Know Your Meme: Numa Numa (by KnowYourMeme)

Google’s trend charts of the phrase “Harlem Shake” are seismic....

Fri, 03 May 2013 21:30:16 -0400

Google’s trend charts of the phrase “Harlem Shake” are seismic. Almost no one looked for the words until Feb. 7, then searches surged faster than any term Google ever had, except for “Whitney Houston” after her death. A few weeks later, they fell close to zero. (via You didn’t make the Harlem Shake go viral—corporations did - Quartz)

On behalf of the conference organizers, I am proud to be able to...

Fri, 03 May 2013 21:25:13 -0400

On behalf of the conference organizers, I am proud to be able to share with you today the videos of our April 12 Transmedia Hollywood 4 conference. As many regular readers know, this event is run jointly by myself, representing USC’s Cinema School, and Denise Mann, representing our counterparts at UCLA and it is funded by a grant from the Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation. This year’s focus was on models of social change, and we were excited to see a conversation emerge across the four panels, starting with panel 1′s focus on the community outreach efforts of major brands and studios, panel 2′s focus on smaller scale transmedia projects and entertainment education, panel 3′s attention to grassroots activist efforts, and panel 4′s consideration of young entrepreneurs and philanthropists. Each of the panels is interesting in its own right, but those who attended the event agreed that there was something magical about how the parts came together as a whole this year. I want to specially think David McKenna who worked around the clock to get these videos up and out to the world in record time. Enjoy. (via Videos for Transmedia Hollywood 4: Spreading Change)

Game of Thrones SDCC Entire Panel 2011 (by Gonturan74)

Fri, 03 May 2013 20:44:38 -0400

Game of Thrones SDCC Entire Panel 2011 (by Gonturan74)