Meme personae arise when meme faces intentionally monetize their iconized image
Evidence
In the second stage, “Meme personae,” a person who has attained transient virality from being the face of a meme decides to extend their fame by intentionally pursuing a public persona modeled after the narrative for which their meme has become popular. In other words, faces of memes become meme personae when they decide to bring their iconized image to life and consistently rehash their meme narrative as an image, role, and character that they are able to monetize and profit from. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 167
In the second stage, “Meme personae,” a person who has attained transient virality from being the face of a meme decides to extend their fame by intentionally pursuing a public persona modeled after the narrative for which their meme has become popular. In other words, faces of memes become meme personae when they decide to bring their iconized image to life and consistently rehash their meme narrative as an image, role, and character that they are able to monetize and profit from. This is also a practice of “further[ing] the memetic premises attached to” these initial viral images. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 167
Categorization
- DEFINE: Core typology term for the reader’s foundational survey — distinguishes meme personas from faces of memes.
- XREF: This typology stage connects to Abidin’s larger framework of internet celebrity, and distinguishes personae from the passive ‘face of a meme.’ — connects to: Some viral faces become unwilling memes who reject their fame. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 175; Micro-celebrity requires deliberately commodifying the self into a marketable persona — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 278; Viral meme fame can be non-consensual, damaging, and unmanageable by the subject. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 182 (+3 more)
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 167
Broader Connections
- Micro-celebrity requires deliberately commodifying the self into a marketable persona
#expands(0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 278 - Some viral faces become unwilling memes who reject their fame.
#qualifies(0.75) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 175 - Viral meme fame can be non-consensual, damaging, and unmanageable by the subject.
#qualifies(0.75) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 182