Communicating through Memes | Yuxuan Chua | TEDxTanglinTrustSchool
Memes, content spread through images or video, can capture attention by delivering condensed, shareable ideas. The speaker argues that in today's crowded digital space where attention is a scarce resource, true value—like humor and context—is required to earn an audience's focus, rather than just being attention-grabbing. This is demonstrated by creating localized, contextualized memes for Singaporeans or building a compelling narrative around simple imagery. ## Speakers & Context - Unnamed speaker who was a fresh graduate from University Comms, now part of a team creating content/memes in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. - The speaker’s team was hired by individuals who create content for brands, media organizations, agencies, and government organizations. ## Theses & Positions - Memes are a content or catchphrase spread across the internet, usually in the form of an image, GIF, or video, used to spread condensed ideas in digestible, shareable pieces. - The most important commodity that an audience can pay to any creator is *attention*. - Attention cannot be assumed; it must be earned by thinking from the audience's point of view and providing true value. - Content must be localized and contextualized for specific audiences (e.g., Singaporeans) to avoid becoming generic. - Storytelling is a powerful mechanism for capturing and maintaining attention, as shown by images with underlying narrative context. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Memes** — A content or catchphrase that spreads across the internet, expressed person-to-person, usually as an image, GIF, or video; they are a way to spread condensed ideas in digestible, shareable pieces of content. - **Attention** — Considered the most critical resource that an audience can give to any source. - **Contextualization** — The process of tailoring content to resonate with a specific cultural or local background (e.g., referencing Singaporean life like chewing gum packaging or local trends). ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Content Creation Workflow:** Developing content for various clients (brands, media organizations, etc.) that involves creating memes across multiple regions (Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines). - **Attention Capture (Value Exchange):** Shifting from purely "attention grabbing" tactics (like creating fights to drum up behavioral attention) to providing genuine value, such as humor or relevant commentary. - **Contextual Engagement:** Structuring content around shared local realities (e.g., mentioning the weather with the Joker meme; referencing local products where chewing gum is scarce). - **Narrative Structuring:** Attaching a story to an otherwise ambiguous image transforms the image from "vague and ambiguous" to one that captures prolonged attention. - **Meeting Facilitation:** To gain full attention in a meeting, it is beneficial to start by addressing everyone and having them share aspects of their lives to make the session feel fruitful. ## Named Entities - **University Comms** — The speaker's field of graduation. - **Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines** — The three countries where the speaker's team operates. - **Joker meme** — Used as an example of contextualizing content (referencing the weather). - **Pokemon go** — Used as an example of writing on trends. - **Marina Bay Sands flyer** — Used as a visual example to convey a trending message (blowing haze away). ## Numbers & Data - The team spans **three countries**. - The meeting advice suggests structuring the start to gain full attention for **15 minutes** instead of letting a "one-hour meeting that doesn't amount to anything" occur. ## Examples & Cases - **The Comic Strip Example:** A visual example contrasting simple attention-grabbing tactics versus content that provides true value. - **Logan Paul fights:** Cited as an example of content that "drums up behavior" but is "not sustainable" and doesn't give true value. - **Gum packaging meme:** A specific contextual example where the visual of opening gum is adapted to evoke the feeling of the Portal opening in *The Avengers*. - **Haze Photoshop:** Photoshopping a Marina Bay Sands flyer into a fan to visually represent wishes for the haze to dissipate. - **Personal Photo Story:** Showing a photo from Thailand, which initially lacks context, but gains power and attention when the speaker narrates the story of a night training exercise where a farmer shot him mistaking him for a wild boar. - **Airborne Jump Photo:** Another example of a picture that requires a story to be meaningful. ## Tools, Tech & Products - **Memes** — The core output/medium. - **Image/GIF/Video** — The common format of the content. - **Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit** — Examples of platforms where attention is sought. ## References Cited - *The Avengers* (specifically, the concept of the Portal). - *Pokemon* (as a popular cultural touchstone). ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Generic Content:** Competing with big, generic meme pages leads to losing relevance. - **Attention Source:** The trade-off between attention purely based on shock/behavior (fights) versus attention earned through value (humor, context). - **Platform Placement:** Not posting memes on inappropriate platforms like LinkedIn or Pinterest, because those platforms do not guarantee reaching a "critical mass" of attention. ## Methodology - **Contextualization:** Researching and adapting content to fit specific local cultural points of view. - **Storytelling:** Employing narrative framing to elevate ambiguous visual content. - **Audience Empathy:** The overarching technique of thinking from the target audience's point of view to understand *why* they would choose to give attention. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - To succeed in the crowded digital space, one must *earn* attention. - Earning attention requires understanding the audience's point of view and providing contextual value. - Content must be deeply localized and contextualized to cut through the clutter. ## Implications & Consequences - The failure to localize content results in being indistinguishable from "random meme pages." - The failure to provide value means that the attention paid is temporary or superficial. ## Verbatim Moments - *"it's a content or catchphrase that spreads across the internet and it goes expressed by person to person"* - *"The most important thing that the audience can pay to you is in fact attention"* - *"there's a fine line to be drawn between this and attention that things that you do that give true value"* - *"we create localized contextualized memes because we realize that this is what Singaporeans want"* - *"if we don't differentiate ourselves from the other generic meme content pages out there we're just gonna end up like just just some random mean page"* - *"I think you have to realize that attention it's not something that is a given is earned"* - *"you have to think from someone's point of view"* - *"if I were to just show you this photo and you know just give it no there's no context no story to it I think it would have been a bit vague and ambiguous"*