If meme-types are relational semiotic potentials—patterns that arise from recurring instantiations—then we can ask how these patterns come into being, maintain themselves, and change. In this post, we’ll sketch a life cycle of meme-types, framed in terms of emergence, stabilisation, variation, and transformation. This gives us a dynamic, systemic-functional view of memetic evolution.
1. Emergence: From Repetition to Recognition
Meme-types don’t begin as meme-types. They emerge gradually, when:
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A configuration of semiotic resources (e.g., image + text pattern) is used repeatedly
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Each use reinforces a recognisable relational structure
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Cultural memory begins to orient expectations toward that structure
At first, there is no template—only a novel instance. But if that instance is repeated and recontextualised, the structure becomes recognisable, and its potential begins to stabilise.
Emergence is the point at which a usage becomes a pattern.
2. Stabilisation: Constraints and Conventions
As the meme-type takes hold:
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It becomes recognisable across contexts and users
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Expectations begin to form around what “counts” as a valid variation
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Certain semiotic constraints become conventionalised
This is where the meme-type begins to act as an instantial system—a semiotic attractor that:
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Constrains instantiation
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Supports reproducibility
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Encourages resonance with prior uses
At this stage, the meme-type is socially maintained through repetition, recognition, and shared memory.
3. Variation: Individuation and Drift
No two instantiations of a meme-type are exactly alike. Even within constraint, there is semiotic play. Meme-users:
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Experiment with variation (e.g., irony, reversal, mixing templates)
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Expand the range of possible meanings
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Test the edges of recognisability
This is where individuation becomes key. Users actualise the meme-type differently, reflecting:
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Their own meaning potential
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Their social positioning
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Their communicative goals
If enough variations gain traction, the meme-type may drift—its core structure shifting through accumulated instantiations.
4. Transformation or Dissolution
Eventually, a meme-type may:
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Transform into a new meme-type, through radical individuation
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Fragment into sub-types
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Fade from collective memory, losing its recognisability
This process is not unlike language change. A stable structure becomes unstable, and:
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The original constraints no longer hold
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Users no longer orient to the meme-type
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The semiotic memory dissolves or is repurposed
Transformation is not the end of the meme-type—it’s often the beginning of something else.
Why This Life Cycle Matters
Seeing meme-types as dynamic configurations rather than fixed units allows us to:
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Account for their emergence and evolution without reifying them
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Emphasise the role of semiotic memory and individuation
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Understand memes as part of a broader meaning economy, driven by value and selection
This life cycle model offers a nuanced alternative to simplistic replication metaphors. It sees meme-types as temporary stabilisations in an ongoing flow of social semiosis.
What’s Next
In the next post, we’ll explore the tension between meme stability and cultural change. How do dominant meme-types shape discourse—and how do new ones break through?
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