上網時，好友發過來一個鏈接，打開一看是個超級搞笑的視頻，于是，你又把這個鏈接發送給了更多的人。這樣的場景相信大部分網民都經歷過吧？隨著互聯網的不斷發展，這樣的信息傳播方式正在創造一個又一個的網絡爆紅現象。今天，我們就從相對專業的角度解釋一下這個現象。

An Internet meme, is some kind of idea or piece of information that spreads very rapidly across a large number of Internet users. It's a bit like the online equivalent of an inside joke, a fashionable, attention-grabbing concept that a large number of Internet users become aware of. A meme often takes the form of a hyperlink, propagated via e-mail, blogs, social networking, instant messaging, etc.

“網絡迷因”（又稱“網絡爆紅”）指某個理念或信息迅速在互聯網用戶間傳播的現象。這樣的信息有點類似于“圈兒內笑話”，也就是只有大批互聯網用戶知曉的、最前沿的、引人關注的信息。網絡迷因通常以超鏈接的形式通過電郵、博客、社交網站還有即時信息等途徑傳播。

A meme might be a joke or quotation, a rumor or simple fact, an image, piece of video, or even a particular website – virtually any titbit that can be passed from one person to another via electronic communication. A key facet of a meme is that it is voluntary, a communication which spreads from one place to the next without any kind of compulsion or automation.

網絡迷因的內容可以是個笑話、一句引語、傳言或某個事實、圖像、一段視頻、甚至可以是某個網站，基本上只要是能夠通過電子通訊技術從一個人傳給另一個人的內容都可以成為迷因。網絡迷因一個重要的特點是所有的傳播過程都是自發的，沒有任何強迫或自動發送屬性。

Memes might stay the same as they transfer from one source to another, but can sometimes 'evolve', modified or expanded by each new recipient. They can also fade as fast as they spread, ascending in popularity and then disappearing within a matter of days.

在傳播過程中，迷因的內容可能保持原樣，也有可能會被后來的接收者加以改造或延伸。它們在網絡上消逝的速度可能跟爆紅的速度一樣快，幾天之內就有可能不見蹤跡了。

The term Meme was coined by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 popular science bestseller, The Selfish Gene. The term may refer to the content that spreads from user to user, the idea behind the content, or the phenomenon of its spread.

“迷因”這個詞最早是由英國進化生物學家理查德?道金斯在他1976年的大眾科學暢銷書《自私的基因》中使用的。這個詞既可以指在用戶間傳播的內容，也可以指隱藏在內容背后的理念或者其轉播的這種現象。

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