Comments on: Its our ten year anniversary, my future girlfriend...

Its our ten year anniversary, my future girlfriend...

allkindsoftime — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:27:39 -0800

Handy Internet Meme Timeline

By: not sure this is a good idea

not sure this is a good idea — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:06:57 -0800

hamster dance was way earlier, wasn't it?

By: DU

DU — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:28:49 -0800

Firefox Download Day is on there but not Christmas. Damn libruls.

By: jim in austin

jim in austin — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:32:29 -0800

Actually this appears to be a Web time-line. An inclusion of the Usenet would have extended back to 1979...

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:32:42 -0800

What, no tubgirl?

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:41:54 -0800

In Russia, all your Star Wars Kids have been RickRolld.

By: sien

sien — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:46:23 -0800

Goddamit. I remember reading William Gibson in 1989 and there he was talking about cyberspace and how it was going to be this incredible place where you 'flew' to the translucent flourescent pyramid that was your bank. I wanted my Ono-Sendai deck. And here we are with the real deal, and what's it all about? Freakin cat's with captions, rick-rolling, will it blend, OK go. I want my cool future net back.

By: autodidact

autodidact — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:51:59 -0800

^^ And apostrophes everywhere. On the web, if in doubt, use an apostrophe!

By: TedW

TedW — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:52:15 -0800

Missing: July 14, 1999: Cat-Scan.com: Cat-Scan.com is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their cats wedged into their scanners, or why.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:53:45 -0800

OK Go + lolcats > 3D stylized wankfest.

By: abulafa

abulafa — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:59:29 -0800

Er, Homestar Runner was a thing at least a year (if not two) earlier than that timeline suggests. Or are they pretending they can measure a tip rather than the creator's inception? This is just a prettier version of a top ten list. Seconded, though, BrotherCaine. Real people doing real inane things > discovering the fantastical unlimited imagination of a species rendered godlike in their consensual hallucinatory universe leading inevitably to a proliferation of ego-sculpted 90 foot penises with neon hairdos. And swords.

By: nasreddin

nasreddin — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:02:39 -0800

What have you done, allkindsoftime?! What if the Timeline of Memes itself becomes a meme, creating a GIANT RECURSIVE MEME VORTEX THAT WILL DESTROY THE INTERNET?! Also, I hope you people realize that within 50 years there will be a legitimate academic field called Internet History. People will be publishing articles in refereed journals with titles like "Who Won the Great alt.politics Flamewar of 1985?: Consequences and Reinterpretations."

By: allen.spaulding

allen.spaulding — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:03:02 -0800

I always enjoy these things, but they often leave out the more obscure memes. This timeline does a good job, but it's in a difficult-to-read format. I think this site has a better layout.

By: cgomez

cgomez — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:03:17 -0800

I don't believe meme means what the creator of this timeline thinks it means.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:07:19 -0800

The "meme" has jumped the shark.

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:17:27 -0800

I swear the bald dude from OK GO is Cory Doctorow's older eccentric brother.

By: MarshallPoe

MarshallPoe — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:18:21 -0800

OK Go. I liked them better when they were called "the Buzzcocks."

By: xchmp

xchmp — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:20:17 -0800

Also, I hope you people realize that within 50 years there will be a legitimate academic field called Internet History. People will be publishing articles in refereed journals with titles like "Who Won the Great alt.politics Flamewar of 1985?: Consequences and Reinterpretations." But not exactly like that, because the alt.* hierarchy didn't exist until 1987.

By: Danf

Danf — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:26:44 -0800

I was surprised to note the omission of Craig Shergold. One of the first mass emails I ever saw was my boss sending one out, encouraging everyone he knew to send along those business cards. The other one I noticed was missing was Hatt Baby, although whether this was an actual meme or not is debatable.

By: rmd1023

rmd1023 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:39:33 -0800

danf: craig shergold's search for cards predates the web, so i guess it's not part of this "internet timeline" (sic)

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:41:50 -0800

Bert is Evil was way before December 2002. I remember someone holding up a poster that had Bert and Bin Laden together in Pakistan just days after 9/11. It was my first smile in about a week after the horror of the attacks. Clicking on the Bert is Evil mention on the page says it won a Webby award in 1998. So why does it get placed at 2002?

By: Mid

Mid — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:55:01 -0800

Hat Baby is on there. I don't get the relative sizes -- some items seem too small or too large in relation to their meme-iness. "I Kiss You," for example, should be huge, at least as I recall it.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:56:56 -0800

Tourist Guy showed up on 9-10? HE DID WTC!

By: Bromius

Bromius — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:57:43 -0800

Please. I'm aware of all Internet traditions.

By: tylermoody

tylermoody — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:03:06 -0800

nasreddin: giant recursive meme vortices aren't actually that much fun. See the 'Milhouse is not a meme' meme and its spawn for an example.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:09:09 -0800

No Jennicam? She's as much an "internet meme" as that damn coffeepot was. And just as entertaining.

By: nax

nax — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:18:36 -0800

Despite the best efforts here, via the trolling thread and Prof. Wesch, I had heard of exactly 18 of those, and it doesn't count because I heard of every single one either through traditional media or my young adult kids. Therefore, I now pronounce it officially-- I have no idea what is going on on teh internets.

By: nax

nax — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:21:30 -0800

Metafilter: GIANT RECURSIVE MEME VORTEX THAT WILL DESTROY THE INTERNET

By: etc.

etc. — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:23:08 -0800

I can't believe I just got Rickrolled. Damn you, allen.spaulding! I was looking for a web-meme timeline the other day, but this is not quite what I hoped for. It lacks, um, rigor, I would say.

By: horsemuth

horsemuth — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:42:25 -0800

Metafilter ate my balls.

By: yellowbinder

yellowbinder — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:55:24 -0800

Wait wait wait wait wait. Bert is Evil in 2002? No way man, that's some old school shit. That was around ever since the days of the "Andie McDowell is the Devil" page, and that one where you could slowly kill Barney with a variety of blood patterns.

By: heresiarch

heresiarch — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:57:20 -0800

Yeah, the timing is definitely wonky. It looks like anyone can submit an event, so I don't think there's necessarily a high level of accuracy. All Your Base, for instance, hit the scene way before 2001. That was making the rounds in a relatively small way in 1999. And the source material is another ten years older than that. So maybe they really are aiming for the "peak" date? Otherwise Rick Astley needs to get pushed way back, too.

By: jbickers

jbickers — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:57:57 -0800

I don't believe meme means what the creator of this timeline thinks it means. Yes, somebody should hack that word.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:25:14 -0800

No "David Hasselhoff Is The Antichrist?"

By: Skeptic

Skeptic — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:25:18 -0800

Goatse is almost 10 years old? Somebody should hold a birthday party!

By: Herodios

Herodios — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:28:05 -0800

o JenniCam? o suck.com (a fish, a barrel, a smoking gun)? o Tommy Seebach's 1970s video of Apache? o This is hugh!!!111!! I'm series!!!111!! Get a brain, morans!!!111!! o get your war on? o surely this? Also, what cgomez said. 'Meme'?

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:34:50 -0800

On the upside, the timeline includes Bubb Rubb... "The whistles go Whoooooooooooo, whooooooo!" On the downside, Kenya was much better than Badger Badger or Bananaphone but it's completely missing.

By: empath

empath — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:40:38 -0800

I think some people are missing that you can zoom in to see more. This is a titanic achievement.

By: beelzbubba

beelzbubba — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:42:11 -0800

You are all ignoring Cubic 4 day Creation. And Kids in Sandbox. (Uh, obligatory NSFW disclaimer on the latter.) Return to your stations. That is all.

By: beelzbubba

beelzbubba — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:43:55 -0800

Is Godwin's Law or Rule 34 an internet meme? Why are they not listed?

By: JBennett

JBennett — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:45:34 -0800

no Tunak Tun? (summer, 2001)

By: jennaratrix

jennaratrix — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:40:11 -0800

This is teh awesome. I just found what I'll be doing for the next hour - figuring out how close to the beginning I was on various memes (prediction: not very, in almost every case).

By: abulafa

abulafa — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:45:35 -0800

Empath, in an attempt to refine my snark, I zoomed to the edges. I must submit that at the most-zoomed-out, all that shows up is

The Spirit of Christmas
Trojan Room Coffee Pot
Hampsterdance
The first abkanauts fly to outer space

This does not look like the memetic history of the last couple decades. I would expect that zoom level to look more like

I kiss you
All your base
Rickrolling
The paris hilton answers John McCain video

By: aubilenon

aubilenon — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:26:11 -0800

leekspin.com is still my favorite thing ever.

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:00:16 -0800

sien writes "I want my cool future net back." I maded you a cool future, but I eated it.

By: Sk4n

Sk4n — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:50:54 -0800

Wikipedia: It looks like anyone can submit an event, so I don't think there's necessarily a high level of accuracy.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:33:51 -0800

No brunching. No suck.com. And no "Fail."

By: damn dirty ape

damn dirty ape — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:58:02 -0800

I want my cool future net back. That's the problem with futurists. They think the future will always be ruled by hip, in touch, techies or intellectuals, who found their creations on some noble ideals. They never care to think of the future with Joe Average in it. You really gotta lower your heads from the clouds to forsee stuff like Caturday, youtube comments, furries, 9/11 conspiracy websites, vanity pages/myspace, timecube, and alt.tasteless invades rec.pets. This is what happens when you empower normal people. Neuromancer is what happens when you empower the characters in William Gibson's head.

By: Herodios

Herodios — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:28:37 -0800

No brunching. No suck.com. And no "Fail." posted by JHarris "Fail" is there. Look for "Fail Blog" at May 15 2008. There were display tools here and there, So it wasn't hard to bear. The day. . . I surfed a meme. Still, it could have been a little better designed. Is Godwin's Law or Rule 34 an internet meme? Why are they not listed? The timeline seems to be focussed on visuals. Godwin and Rule 34 are certainly prime examples, but perhaps a bit more difficult to illustrate. . . . All right, you are now thinking of linking to devastatingly clever examples illustrating Godwin and Rule 34. (Two memes, one cup!) This time, please, just chuckle quietly to yourself.

By: marble

marble — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:33:34 -0800

What, no Canter and Siegel? I remember the net's innocence before that.

By: clearly

clearly — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:48:13 -0800

They definitely overlooked some of the best. Trogdor it wasn't about homestar. George Washington motherfucker had like 30 goddamn dicks Rogue Helicopter Pilot Rant chameleon lemon headed coward terrorist pussy The Fifth Avocado the ducky's name was Jammaalll Is it Christmas? No Is the sun burning? Yes Red vs. Blue Mcsweeney's Lists Victoria's Secret: herpes Tucker Max's Date Application inspired a best selling book and started an asshole empire The Best Page in the Universe am I right or what?

By: Dr-Baa

Dr-Baa — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:15:38 -0800

I got your Rule 34 illustration right here.

By: Samizdata

Samizdata — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:27:13 -0800

Forget that. I didn't see a single pan, nor a pot. Not even 1 cup.

By: manguero

manguero — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:24:50 -0800

what, no I LIEK MILK? George Washington motherfucker had like 30 goddamn dicks yesssss still one of the best.

By: manguero

manguero — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:25:58 -0800

Oh, and I forgot to mention engrish, but this one might be more obscure.