Photoshop and Memes

I am very experienced with photoshop so the videos weren't necessary for me. The article said a few interesting things. I wasn't surprised that shorter memes had more attraction seeing that we have shorter attention spans. Though I was surprised to see that memes with swear words were least likely to be shared, it seems to me that people my age love to swear so I'd expect memes with more swear words would be more popular. It was interesting to read that the term 'meme' was coined so long ago, I feel like I never heard that word until recently and I know many adults that had never heard of it until recently. This study seemed to make memes a very mechanical thing, but in my experience, anything could become a meme and it's not something that often takes someone a lot of effort to create. Also, the memes they references were very outdated and honestly not that popular anymore, but then again this was posted in 2015.

I have never used photoshop before, only have watched people use it, so the videos helped me get a grasp of what I would be dealing with. I'm a little nervous about making memes because I feel like I'm only funny at random moments and can't magically make it happen. Despite that, memes are something I love and look at daily. It doesn't surprise me that shorter memes are successful. It tends to be that way with a lot of things because people don't like to take time out of their day to read something super long when they're just looking for a laugh. Also, at the end of the article when they wrote about how people are lazy but some people like certain hashtags capitalized and formatted in certain ways. It really just makes me take a look at humans and wonder why we're so confusing. 

I've never used photoshop, so having all these videos accessible is really helpful.  Watching some of the videos was really helpful, and it's nice to know if I have questions about specific issues that I can probably find a video on it. I thought that the article was really interesting. I agree that short messages can make memes spread faster, it allows the meme to be applied to more circumstances. I thought that it was really fun to read the article because it was written a while ago, so all of the memes it mentioned are kind of dead now. 

I've never used photoshop, so the videos were helpful. I thought the way the researchers analyzed the memes was really interesting. I definitely see how shorter memes are more powerful. I think a lot more can be conveyed with less. Popular images included in memes are often very effective in carrying the message through and helping the words piece together a cohesive meaning. Essentially, relying on the image to convey the meaning and using fewer words is probably a smart tactic for creating memes. 

I have never used the Photoshop program before. The video tutorials were insightful and informative on how to create my project. I did not realize how useful the Photoshop program can be for projects. I always wondered how do people photoshop items. It is not as challenging as it appears and anyone with some basic training can work with the Photoshop program.

The article about the memes is interesting as it highlights which memes become more popular than other memes. I did not realize the conception of memes was created before the formation of the internet and social media. I was surprised to learn that the original definition of memes, sharing cultural ideas and behavior, was influenced by the term, genes. It makes sense that short memes are more popular. However, I was surprised that memes with obscene language were not as popular. This article helped me prepare for how I will make my meme intriguing.

As someone that has never used photoshop, I am a little worried about this new project. Luckily, there seem to be a lot of videos about using photoshop and I'm sure a quick google search will be able to point me in the right direction. Even though I'm a little worried about my photoshop skills, I am excited to work on this project and becoming more familiar with how to use this new tool. After this project, I'm curious/excited to see how I can use it more in my life and in my other projects. The article about memes was also interesting, especially the history of the word. I definitely agree that shorter messages have a more powerful impact. I personally think a meme is more powerful if you can look at it and you don't have to think too deeply to understand the message. Just like with photoshop, I'm a little apprehensive about making memes. I feel like you need to have a very specific sense of humor to make a good meme and it's not something I've ever tried before.  

I am new to photoshop, but thankfully have some friends who are pretty proficient in it themselves. Having access to the videos and my friends with their own experiential knowledge will be important to my success in this project. I did already know that the creation of memes came from the "Kilroy was here" trend during WWII, but it was interesting to read about what these researchers found to be the most effective strategies among modern memes. Having a template seemed like a self-explanatory characteristic. People are definitely more likely to do or take part in something if it is easy to use or create, hence a meme being more widely shared and used. Not having any swear words is interesting, but that may also be my college mind coming out and exposing me. However, I can see how not wanting my grandpa to see that I shared a funny meme that has the F-word in it may put a damper on the overall success of a meme. I have made one meme prior to this project, and it was for a different academic project that I did earlier in the semester. I'll be interested to see how my skill set and ability to make a meme changes with my increased ability to access and utilize Photoshop (I'm ashamed and also proud to say that I made my last meme by carefully spacing out text and an image on a Google Doc).

Some interesting things I found was that shorter memes were 2.8 times more likely to be successful. This makes sense because people's attention spans are short.

The article said that swear words were less successful because "[we] figured that people communicating with friends and family may not want to use taboo words." So, from this, it is implied that people use memes to sends to their friends and families. What does that mean? When someone finds a funny meme or makes a funny meme, their reaction is to share it with someone else, someone they care about, hence friends and families.

The last thing to note is the difference on capitalization for tweets. The article stated that the hashtag #saveTheNHS is more popular than #savethenhs even though the two are the same exact words. The reasoning is that "if a hashtag is all lower case, it is too hard to read," so readability is important too. If someone can't read or understand the tweet, #savethenhs then it's likely to be unsuccessful.

I am surprised how much research actually goes into memes. Also, when I first started reading I was not suprised to hear that shorter memes were the most popular. In my opinion, I think this is because if there is a shorter phrase or shorter amount of words, it is easy to interpret the meme any way you want. The shorter memes keep you thinking while the longer memes give you exactly what you want to. By saying “shorter memes were 2.8 times more likely to be successful” is what caused me to realize how important it is to be concise.

It was also a surprise to me that memes started in world war II way before the time of computers. It is funny that something as simple as phrases has gone such a long way in making people laugh and entertained.

As far as photoshop, I am surprisingly not very good with it. I have never used it unlike many others. The good thing is, I was able to learn some about photoshop from the videos and videos on youtube so it made me feel good about the project. I am sure once I get the hang of it I can make good progress. 

Before taking the class, I have been certified in photoshop, so I didn't necessarily need the videos. I feel that, though, they would be helpful for people who don't have prior experience with the application. As for the article, it's interesting that we got to read about the history and development of memes. One thing that I wish we could learn more about is the popularity of different formats of memes, such as twitter memes. The traditional, bolded text over a picture has faded in popularity over the past several years, and is not as widely used anymore. I think that it's also interesting, but definitely true, that memes that are shorter are more likely to be popular. I think that memes which are concise and to the point are the most effective. The most important part for memes is the ability to recreate, repost, or spread them somehow. Therefore, the easier you can replicate them will further incentivize this. 

I have had a little experience using photoshop and while some of the videos seem overwhelming I think I'll get the hang of using photoshop as I ease into using it. I thought the article was interesting but it definitely makes sense. I think that memes that use fewer words and rely on a funny image are much more useful. I personally prefer memes that show images rather than text, and I probably would not take the time to read through a long series of words if I was scrolling through memes on my phone. 

Having never used Photoshop before, I found the tutorial videos to be quite helpful. The videos on the use of layers were especially helpful for the purposes of this course. Referring to the article, I was not surprised that shorter memes were more successful. Shorter memes are a better fit for most people's attention spans, especially when they are using social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter, where most memes are viewed by the general public. Although I found it surprising that memes with profanity were less likely to be shared, I suppose this finding makes sense logically. Many people are friends with relatives or even professional peers on social media and would therefore feel less comfortable sharing memes with curse words. 

I have not had much experience with photoshop but I do use Adobe Illustrator often for work. From what I've seen from the videos I watched, the two seem very similar so I believe that transitioning from one to the other will not be too difficult. The article on memes is helpful for the brainstorming process of this next unit. It's good to know what does well because it gives more direction that going in blind. Keeping the memes simple and making them relatable by using common meme templates is how i am going to go about making mine.

I have experience with photoshop and am comfortable with the program and its features. The meme article was helpful in that it approached memes in a way which I have never considered. The article will definitely be useful in the coming assignment, as it spoke to the value of keeping things simple and easy to understand. Further, it highlighted the importance of making memes relatable and simple to digest, with a consistent direction throughout the creation process.

I have played around with Photoshop before for a business project but relied heavily on Google searches and my best friend from back home to get me through. These videos were very helpful to learn some new skills. From a poetic and marketing background, it makes sense that memes make the most impact when they are more concise. In popular culture, we've gone from making sophisticated references to movies or books to 7-second vines or 15 second Tik Toks. People can categorize humor quicker when it is more concise. I agree with many people above that the key to a successful meme is it's ability to be reposted by a wide audience, or at the very least an audience that understands the niche humor.  

I have seen several memes and images as a result of photoshop, but this was my first time actually being on the software and attempting to use it. It was interesting to see the unique features of photoshop as I never realized how difficult it was to actually perform the actions especially since I have never used it before. The article was interesting and the facts made sense. I have always been drawn to shorter memes which do not take much effort to understand. Also, as we move toward a more scrutinized world where anything you post can come back to bite you, it makes sense that users will be less likely to interact with a meme without profanity. 

I have zero Photoshop experience, so this was very helpful to see.

Memes seem to be an old thing - we've had single issue comic strips (Far Side by Gary Larson is a classic) for decades, and older mediums for long before that. Short humorous thoughts. It's more interesting to see how the medium and the jokes have changed rather than the format itself.