Some it leaders are growing weary of the phrase digital transformation. Its about transforming business models and how we engage. The companies embracing digital transformation and eschewing traditional company roles are best poised to adapt. Modern factory and communication network concept stock. Leaders should support the adoption of digital culture not merely through commands but through actions. Patrick sharbaugh, asiascape memes in digital culture is a superb overview of the study, power and potential of memes. Memes in digital culture by limor shifman is another great addition to the mit press essential knowledge series. It goes against the grain of established ways of working and is a threat to management practices that have existed for decades. Author limor shifman provides a comprehensive and clear definition of what internet memes are.
This file contains additional information such as exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. Too much focus is on new technology and too little on usability too many applications and processes are transformed at once changes arent measured for overall e. For many organization, culture shifts are among the most difficult aspects of undertaking digital transformation. Limor shifmans 29 research works with 1,369 citations and 7,866 reads, including. Thomas friedman on human interaction in the digital age the. Apr 22, 2016 when transitioning to a digital business, culture is at least as important as business processes and technology. This file is licensed under the creative commons attributionshare alike 3. Ultimately, it is those behaviours that will decide whether your digital transformation is successful. For this reason, we must pay special attention to aligning the organization around key goals and principles associated with the. Shifman, limor memes in digital culture 2014 free ebook download as pdf file. Internet memes may be entertaining, but in this book limor shifman makes a compelling argument for taking them seriously. Most of their time and energy is focused on developing new business models and pursuing new digital objectives rather than worrying about culture. The riskaverse find themselves vulnerable in the face of change. Limor shifmans research works hebrew university of.
Digital technologies allow companies to build deep engagement with their customers and create the opportunity to maintain strong relationships across the globe. Oct 30, 20 11 components of a digital culture we believe businesses must adopt are agility, collaboration, empowerment, and an intense focus on the customer. They are the market digital globalization, mother nature climate change and the environment, and moores law the fact that technology is. Thousands responded by creating and posting their own variations of the videomaking gangnam style and its parodies the most famous example of an internet meme. Memes epub, shifman argues, encapsulate some of the most fundamental aspects of the internet in general and of the participatory web 2. Transform a brand in light of digital disruption img. Lusch department of marketing, eller college of management, university of arizona, tucson, az 857210108 u. Digital disruption is more than just a technology shift.
It is only possible to orient behaviours towards a digital culture once we know what distinguishes an analog environment from a digital. In this sense, digital culture seems to represent a new amalgamation. When transitioning to a digital business, culture is at least as important as business processes and technology. Sep 30, 2015 becoming a true digital organization is not just about becoming techsavvy.
A digital culture serves as a code of conduct that gives employees the latitude to make judgement calls, onthespot. Defined as cultural units that spread from person to person, memes were debated long before the digital era. View all slideshows theres a huge difference between how companies executives believe they are encouraging a digital culture and how employees think their leadership is doing, according to a recent survey from capgemini and brian solis, a prominent digital analyst and author. Were great at making up terms that sound exciting but arent all theyre cracked up to be. This book doesnt dive the deepest, but it lays out all of the important issues well enough for anyone to understand why memes are so sticky from a college student to an interested grandparent in why kids these days are making wacky cat videos. Lesson one of ten from my new book, disrupting digital business. In this book, limor shifman investigates internet memes and what they tell us about digital culture. They are the market digital globalization, mother nature climate change and the environment, and moores law the fact that technology is advancing at an exponential rate. Imitation, internet, memes, memetic videos, participatory culture, remix. A concise history, paul ceruzzi crowdsourcing, daren c.
If we combine these categories, it appears that the only content type. Shifman discusses a series of wellknown internet memesincluding leave britney alone, the pepperspraying cop, lolcats, scumbag steve, and occupy wall streets we are the 99 percent. The cultural logic of photobased meme genres limor shifman. A digital culture supports the need for speed and promotes continuous iteration rather than perfecting a product or idea before launching it. Jan 10, 2017 in the book, he boils down the major changes happening in our world into three distinct accelerations. And so the trail linking culture to digital technology runs cold unless one approaches the topic of keywords not in terms of a lone. Its not a digital transformation without a digital culture. Aug 04, 2016 the following is an edited transcript of the netroots nation 2016 keynote plenary the digital cultureshift. Limor shifman edit data she studies digital media and popular culture, and is particularly interested in two realms. These and many others are the sorts of questions limor shifman tackles in memes in digital culture, which describes itself as a primer to. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file.
This transcript is posted here with permission from netroots nation and the participating panelists. Marketers, theorists, and pundits seized upon the term as a description for internet trends that made an average person like. The digital culture in your organisation is what makes or breaks your digital transformation initiatives. Success in a digital culture comes through collective work and information sharing across divisions, units, and functions.
Thousands of its viewers responded by creating and posting their own variations of the videomitt romney style, nasa johnson style, egyptian style, and. Culture is the biggest barrier to digital transformation. Creating dedicated tools and a website to explain privacy issues and protect consumer rights. Jul 15, 2016 as activism for police accountability, fair wages, just immigration, and more takes center stage, social justice movements are using technology to achieve greater scale and reach wider audiences. Cultural issues derail digital transformations cio insight. This article probes the cultural meaning of contemporary meme. Digital transformation doesnt have to leave employees behind. Digital transformation reports world economic forum. A third thread of definitions attempts to combine genres textual and. Pdf on mar 14, 2016, christopher lehman and others published memes in digital culture, edited by limor shifman. It is shaped and nurtured by previous successes and failures of your organization. Apr, 2018 a digital culture supports the need for speed and promotes continuous iteration rather than perfecting a product or idea before launching it. Most digital transformation initiatives fail because. Download this modern factory and communication network concept photo now.
For this reason, we must pay special attention to aligning the organization around key goals and principles associated with the change. Why digital transformation is useless without a cultural. The process of evolving to a digital culture is incremental and creative. This book doesnt dive the deepest, but it lays out all of the important issues well enough for anyone to understand why memes are so sticky from a college student to an interested grandparent in why kids these days are making. The theme of this special issue, service innovation in the digital age, suggests the need for a broader conceptuali. Aug 28, 2015 many companies struggle with digital transformation. Digital culture is not quite what it looks like at face value.
Memes, shifman argues, encapsulate some of the most fundamental aspects of the internet in general and of the participatory web 2. Memes in digital culture by limor shifman 9780262525435. Moving from scale to power to achieve racial justice, which took place in st. This is the view expressed by many businesses according to a new. Memes in digital culture mit press essential knowledge. Cultural issues derail digital transformations view slideshow. The company cultures that help or hinder digital transformation. More importantly, shifman argues that internet memes are indicators of an active digital culture. Yet the internet turned the spread of memes into a highly visible practice, and the term has become an integral part of the netizen vernacular. Keywords image macros, internet memes, meme genres, photo fads. Is digital transformation hampered by slow technology. Memes in digital culture by limor shifman goodreads.
Memes in digital culture examines the central aspect of digital culture that is internet memes. Pdf on jan 4, 2015, ali zaidi and others published memes in digital culture find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Jun 29, 2018 probably the hardest question for most organizations is having an honest conversation about whether they have leadership, at all levels, who will persevere and successfully deliver the business transformation. Along the way the culture will have to change and adapt to the new digital business model and often this means changing people at the top. In december 2012, the exuberant video gangnam style became the first youtube clip to be viewed more than one billion times. Your culture needs to articulate what you consider important and how it will act in accordance. Digital culture must precede digital transformation. Memes in digital culture is a superb overview of the study, power and potential of memes. Pdf an anatomy of a youtube meme limor shifman academia. It means embracing a new culture and mindset, where hierarchy fades and innovation happens through networks.
The book is smart yet accessible, balanced yet provocative. Memes in digital culture by limor shifman internet memes can be treated as post modern folklore, in which shared norms and values are constructed through cultural artifacts such as photoshopped images or urban legends. Id love to hear thoughts on this from all levels of businesses. Building a robust digital culture published on november, 2015 november, 2015 22 likes 12 comments. Memes in digital culture accomplishes a great deal in a very efficient package. The following is an edited transcript of the netroots nation 2016 keynote plenary the digital cultureshift. Millennials are drawn to digital and agile companies, with their promise of collaborative.
Jul 04, 2017 some it leaders are growing weary of the phrase digital transformation. How company culture drives digital transformation and. Deloitte research finds four major barriers to digital transformation, and corporate culture ranks chief among them. With digital transformation, we are seeing the birth of smart cities, realtime retail opportunities, profiled shopping, online transactions for just about any transaction in the world from buying wine, to artifacts, to travel, to renting out your property, to chartering a boat. Talent is another significant obstacle, but study findings offer a model companies at various stages of digital maturity can use to access needed capabilities. Transform a brand in light of digital disruption 05032020 while auto manufacturing techniques are far more advanced today than when henry ford opened his first factory a century ago, one thing has remained consistent over time. An anatomy of a youtube meme author limor shifman, department of communication. The fast way to becoming a digital frontrunner 3 life and pensions is a market in transformation. Feb 06, 2017 deloitte research finds four major barriers to digital transformation, and corporate culture ranks chief among them. It values collaboration more than individual effort. In digital culture limor shifman paperback 216 pages october 20 in 2012, gangnam style became the first youtube clip viewed more than one billion times.
Cultures impact on digital transformation is a complex issue but one thats important to raise. Introducing sap user experience management sap uem by knoa. Brabham information and the modern corporation, james cortada memes in digital culture, limor shifman intellectual property strategy, john palfrey open access, peter suber waves, fred raichlen. According to patrick davison, an internet meme is a piece of culture, typically a joke, which gains influence through online transmission. Shifman s interest in using the analysis of internet memes to view contemporary culture in the digital age is a timely one. Digital developments are one of the main drivers of change, reshaping customer expectations, making products, services and prices easier to compare, and opening up the market to a new breed of datarich entrants and startups. Is digital transformation, as a business goal, being slowed down by the very technologies that are available for businesses to use. More than 90% of consumers are at least somewhat concerned about data privacy and how companies are using customer data, according to a gigya study in 2015.
How often does one see a book about internet memes and how the in depth analysis of the cultural icon. Several of these innovations can be termed digital or digitally enabled, which involve new combinations of digital and physical components to create novel market offerings yoo et al. In daytoday terms, this means setting up a series of new policies that will validate the new culture without abandoning the old. Shifman has done an exemplary job of balancing an analytical overview of her subject with forays into fascinating conceptual debates. The following diagram shows the key features of analog versus digital culture. Why did a youtube video of gangnam style, a song performed by south. Thomas friedman on human interaction in the digital age.
Becoming a true digital organization is not just about becoming techsavvy. Memes in digital culture the mit press essential knowledge. Aug 09, 2016 the companies embracing digital transformation and eschewing traditional company roles are best poised to adapt. Its not a digital transformation without a cultural.
As activism for police accountability, fair wages, just immigration, and more takes center stage, social justice movements are using technology to achieve greater scale and reach wider audiences. In the book, he boils down the major changes happening in our world into three distinct accelerations. Memes such as paula deens riding things, a comment on the celebrity chefs food festival antics, draw upon pop culture imagery, slicing and dicing them for internet consumption. Sep 12, 2014 these and many others are the sorts of questions limor shifman tackles in memes in digital culture, which describes itself as a primer to the world of memes. True, the term has become broadly used, to the point that it may describe a radical revamp of a business model or just a modest update to a particular process. However, the business needs driving this trend the need to move faster, to move nimbly, to rethink operating models, to cash into data. Shifman, limor memes in digital culture 2014 meme idea. Pdf memes in digital culture, edited by limor shifman. Sure there are certainly large pieces of activity that can be devoted to being on a digital platform. Columbia universitys report on postindustrial journalism as cited by campbell, 2018 highlights that with the dawn of the internet comes a new ecosystem of information production, distribution and consumption. Yet, at threequarters of a printed page, the write up is barely a skeleton. Digital media combine various verbal and visual dimensions. Digital transformation tech worlds latest buzzword is getting used by everyone and executed by few. Limor shifman s 29 research works with 1,369 citations and 7,866 reads, including.
Nov 16, 20 memes were a fitting metaphor for internet culture, affording exact copies of digital artifacts, rapid persontoperson spread, and enormous storage capacitya perfect storm of copyfidelity, fecundity, and longevity. Features of successful political posts on facebook. Memes in digital culture by limor shifman lse research online. The resulting report, the digital culture challenge. Lets define digital culture by looking at the tenets that make it up according to the bcg. Leaders, for example, are convinced that collaboration flows freely throughout functions and business units, but employees said that isnt the case. This paper offers the first systematic analysis of digital memetic nonsense.