Meme Central
This is a forum that enables people to view topics of interest through customised meme feeds. Along with that it uses memes as a tool to impart knowledge about those areas of interest by linking up related articles. It further enables one to discover more and grasp information through memes and also pushes one to take some kind of action by linking petitions, donations and so on.
Collecting the Data
The primary method of data collection was a google form which consisted of questions about how memes influence people, where they come across them, who they share them with, if they get relevant information from memes and if it has pushed them to take any action and so on. Then we organised the data that we received and sorted them into categories based on the questions. After that we condensed it and were able to generate connections and gather insights based on the data we had collected.
Features of the Platform
There are two main features that we have highlighted through our prototype.
Feature 1
This forum begins with asking the user for their interest areas so as to provide information on the topics that they would like to see. With these interest areas it generates a personalised feed that will consist of memes from those categories.
Feature 2
While scrolling through the feed, if the user come across a meme that they would like to know more about, this feature enables them to explore further into the topic. For example, if the meme is about global warming, in the explore page it will connect the user to petitions and fundraisers to stop climate change, articles related to global warming and so on. It will also connect them to forums of people who are involved or working in that sphere, on other social media platforms.
Other features include the ability to create your own memes, share memes and upload memes from other media outlets.
