6 ms·

Show HN: MemeKit, meme your Facebook friends

22 points by slewis 14y ago

slewis 14y ago
Here's my newest creation. A fun little app that's really my first attempt to make something viral. I'd love to hear feedback from anyone who knows how to drive FB app traffic. For example one thing I learned is that I probably should have made it a Facebook canvas app. True? Any other feedback is much appreciated as well.
_pius 14y ago
This could be really huge, nice job.
- slewis 14y ago
  Thanks! I think so too. But... From what I've seen so far initial users will create a few images of their friends and then post them back to Facebook. But the incoming traffic from those Facebook links doesn't seem to get people signing up. So in marketing speak the viral coefficient is too low. Here's an example of the landing page: http://www.memekit.com/im/d1bbe86c-3333-4d0e-bcf0-d0641c57b2e1.png http://www.memekit.com/im/d1bbe86c-3333-4d0e-bcf0-d0641c57b2... I need to get more people clicking through to it from Facebook, and more people clicking "Start Meming" on that page. So I'd really love to here from HNers who have ideas.
  - rjvir 14y ago
    I created a very similar app called BuddyMeme (http://buddymeme.com http://buddymeme.com) and we ran into the exact same problem - images posted to Facebook would often get 50+ likes, but it was tough to convert those impressions into signups onto BuddyMeme.
    - slewis 14y ago
      Awesome. I'll shoot you an email.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
dustywusty 14y ago
This, according to 4chan kids, is "cancer". However, that generally means that it'll be spectacularly successful. Nice work and good luck.
- tawm 14y ago
  I thought about posting the "cancer" part, but I was, and rightfully so, afraid of the downvotes. The whole concept of the website seems to be especially cancerous because of the use of the word "meme". A meme isn't a picture with text slapped on, but rather a quite complex concept of the development and evolution of an idea.
  - slewis 14y ago
    A meme has to start somewhere. I actually love how divisive this is. Folks on reddit told me I'm a terrible person: http://www.reddit.com/r/facebook/comments/syov0/i_made_memekit_make_meme_pics_of_your_fb_friends/ http://www.reddit.com/r/facebook/comments/syov0/i_made_memek.... Honestly, why does it matter if people use a term differently than you if they're just having some fun?
    - trotsky 14y ago
      Probably for the same reason that marketing done in a foreign language with poor translations or literal translations of idioms is received poorly: it identifies you as an outsider and may evoke shades of exploitation.
    - gailees 14y ago
      I totally agree. The overall concept and definition of "meme" is something that diffuses through a culture, but that's pretty broad within itself. Sure, internet memes at first began as popular images that were spread across the entire internet, but what's wrong with taking a picture of your friends and slapping some text on it to joke around with them on Facebook? I don't think there's a problem with calling these internet memes; I just think that the term "internet meme" has evolved to consist of the macro memes that you see used all over the internet and the micro memes you will soon see created of you and your friends. Memekit.com and BuddyMeme.com sure sound better than Slapfunnyinsidejokesonpicturesofyourfriends.com
farmdawgnation 14y ago
Brilliant idea. I do think that the memetrain has been overused. I saw it used for Student Government Association promotions at my university. HOWEVER, it is a true statement that plenty of memeworthy moments are documented in my photos.
scoot 14y ago
Can we get one thing clear - a photo with (dubiously humorous) words on it is not a meme, even (generally speaking) in the unlikely event it has "gone viral". The act of putting words on a photo in an attempt to be funny on the other hand is an example of a meme.
- slewis 14y ago
  Semantics. :)
  - scoot 14y ago
    Not exactly - the definition of meme as originally coined by Richard Dawkins [1], and as has been adopted to describe internet memes [2] is pretty well understood (outsite of 4chan ;-) [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme
    - nightpool 14y ago
      Actually, you'd be surprised. 4chan pretty well understands the difference here, as a lot of their memes are the non-image-macro types. They were the ones that invented the concept of the "forced meme" and other meta-meme terminology.
      - scoot 14y ago
        Fair point: :%s/4chan/reddit/g
- joshu 14y ago
  You are correct. The proper name for these are "image macros".
bedspax 14y ago
cool
ecto 14y ago
Hey, good work! I did this like a year ago. https://github.com/ecto/memify.me https://github.com/ecto/memify.me
- slewis 14y ago
  What was your experience?

22 points by slewis 14y ago

Here's my newest creation. A fun little app that's really my first attempt to make something viral. I'd love to hear feedback from anyone who knows how to drive FB app traffic. For example one thing I learned is that I probably should have made it a Facebook canvas app. True? Any other feedback is much appreciated as well.

_pius 14y ago

This could be really huge, nice job.

slewis 14y ago
Thanks! I think so too. But... From what I've seen so far initial users will create a few images of their friends and then post them back to Facebook. But the incoming traffic from those Facebook links doesn't seem to get people signing up. So in marketing speak the viral coefficient is too low. Here's an example of the landing page: http://www.memekit.com/im/d1bbe86c-3333-4d0e-bcf0-d0641c57b2e1.png http://www.memekit.com/im/d1bbe86c-3333-4d0e-bcf0-d0641c57b2... I need to get more people clicking through to it from Facebook, and more people clicking "Start Meming" on that page. So I'd really love to here from HNers who have ideas.
- rjvir 14y ago
  I created a very similar app called BuddyMeme (http://buddymeme.com http://buddymeme.com) and we ran into the exact same problem - images posted to Facebook would often get 50+ likes, but it was tough to convert those impressions into signups onto BuddyMeme.
  - slewis 14y ago
    Awesome. I'll shoot you an email.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

dustywusty 14y ago

This, according to 4chan kids, is "cancer". However, that generally means that it'll be spectacularly successful. Nice work and good luck.

tawm 14y ago
I thought about posting the "cancer" part, but I was, and rightfully so, afraid of the downvotes. The whole concept of the website seems to be especially cancerous because of the use of the word "meme". A meme isn't a picture with text slapped on, but rather a quite complex concept of the development and evolution of an idea.
- slewis 14y ago
  A meme has to start somewhere. I actually love how divisive this is. Folks on reddit told me I'm a terrible person: http://www.reddit.com/r/facebook/comments/syov0/i_made_memekit_make_meme_pics_of_your_fb_friends/ http://www.reddit.com/r/facebook/comments/syov0/i_made_memek.... Honestly, why does it matter if people use a term differently than you if they're just having some fun?
  - trotsky 14y ago
    Probably for the same reason that marketing done in a foreign language with poor translations or literal translations of idioms is received poorly: it identifies you as an outsider and may evoke shades of exploitation.
  - gailees 14y ago
    I totally agree. The overall concept and definition of "meme" is something that diffuses through a culture, but that's pretty broad within itself. Sure, internet memes at first began as popular images that were spread across the entire internet, but what's wrong with taking a picture of your friends and slapping some text on it to joke around with them on Facebook? I don't think there's a problem with calling these internet memes; I just think that the term "internet meme" has evolved to consist of the macro memes that you see used all over the internet and the micro memes you will soon see created of you and your friends. Memekit.com and BuddyMeme.com sure sound better than Slapfunnyinsidejokesonpicturesofyourfriends.com

farmdawgnation 14y ago

Brilliant idea. I do think that the memetrain has been overused. I saw it used for Student Government Association promotions at my university. HOWEVER, it is a true statement that plenty of memeworthy moments are documented in my photos.

scoot 14y ago

Can we get one thing clear - a photo with (dubiously humorous) words on it is not a meme, even (generally speaking) in the unlikely event it has "gone viral". The act of putting words on a photo in an attempt to be funny on the other hand is an example of a meme.

slewis 14y ago
Semantics. :)
- scoot 14y ago
  Not exactly - the definition of meme as originally coined by Richard Dawkins [1], and as has been adopted to describe internet memes [2] is pretty well understood (outsite of 4chan ;-) [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme
  - nightpool 14y ago
    Actually, you'd be surprised. 4chan pretty well understands the difference here, as a lot of their memes are the non-image-macro types. They were the ones that invented the concept of the "forced meme" and other meta-meme terminology.
    - scoot 14y ago
      Fair point: :%s/4chan/reddit/g
joshu 14y ago
You are correct. The proper name for these are "image macros".

bedspax 14y ago

cool

ecto 14y ago

Hey, good work! I did this like a year ago. https://github.com/ecto/memify.me https://github.com/ecto/memify.me

slewis 14y ago
What was your experience?