The Future of Memes, the Crowd, and the World

In early 2021, a tweet sparked a frenzy among online communities, Elon Musk, and Dogecoin, causing the market value of this meme cryptocurrency to soar to around $14 billion in a short period. Memes are indeed interesting; they can implant ideas in people's minds in a concise manner.

This internet meme phenomenon is also discussed in the science fiction novel "Snow Crash." Although the phrase "memes influence the market" is striking, it seems that few people have really thought deeply about its meaning or have read "Snow Crash."

meme: a weapon

In "Snow Crash", this phenomenon is referred to as "psychological virus". A meme is not just visual humor; it actually represents "memetics", which refers to information and cultural elements that are intended to take root in people's minds to effectively spread ideas and thoughts.

The real-world applications of these meme technologies, particularly the targeted memes spread through social media, have shown a destructive impact on the democratic process. During the COVID-19 pandemic, memes also played a role in spreading misinformation, leading to protests against public health measures globally and resulting in real consequences.

In fact, memes are far from just jokes.

The Power of Netizens: Internet Memes and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)

After the "GameStop" stock price fluctuation incident, retail investors united and successfully countered the short-selling operations of large Wall Street hedge funds. Through collective action, these retail investors not only protested against the strategies of the hedge funds but also effectively retaliated in the market through coordinated cooperation.

We have seen similar group behavior affecting the market on platforms like Twitter and Reddit, especially in "pump and dump" operations. This market manipulation has been ongoing for many years.

A similar group dynamic has emerged in the cryptocurrency space, especially in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). There exists a subtle interaction between project founders and active users in online forums, primarily driven by economic interests, namely the expectation of an increase in the value of the cryptocurrency.

This phenomenon raises a question: In the future where the digital space and the real world are increasingly merging, how will those networked groups that can coordinate actions to influence physical markets and public behavior shape our world?

The Prophecy of the Password Punk Comes True

In the 1990s, cypherpunks foresaw this development trend. They believed that online mobs and organized crime groups were the inevitable result of a decentralized internet. The side effects of this trend include increasingly frequent, severe, and costly DDoS attacks, as well as the flourishing of dark web markets.

"Snow Crash" depicts a future where cyberspace is intricately intertwined with everyday life. The world in the book has been privatized, managed by different private cartels overseeing various areas of the city, allowing people to choose the jurisdiction they find least objectionable. This provides a vivid picture of a possible future for the online world.

At the same time, crypto projects are beginning to realize that they are actually adopting new, more decentralized and digital approaches to governance design. This indicates that digitalization and decentralization are not only technological trends but are also becoming important components of social and governance structures.

The Future of Governance

If memes truly become the "controlling force of the future economy", the challenge we will face is how to respond when the ideals of "freedom" and "justice" are no longer determined by the "invisible hand" of the market or the "immutable code" of cryptocurrencies, but instead originate from "desire memetics".

So, how should we create a cyberspace based on "sharing" rather than "cartel control"?

The attention of distributed network communities to governance design is rapidly increasing. People are gradually realizing that a "Decentralized Autonomous Organization" is not a flawless code machine. Even permissionless digital infrastructures cannot completely escape governance issues. Ostrom's theoretical framework on managing common goods is becoming an important guide for online community governance. This provides us with a perspective to view digital infrastructure as "shared resources" or common goods, with the goal of co-building and co-maintaining, rather than as a tool for attack.

The emergence of Gamestop, Dogecoin, and more memes reminds us that all infrastructures, including digital infrastructure, have political attributes. Internet citizens need to be aware that memes are a powerful tool in the war for mental and behavioral influence.

The most effective antidote has been proven to be education. European researchers created the GoViral! game to train students to recognize and understand the development process of memes, helping them to distinguish between memes and misinformation.

Although the information infrastructure offers individuals greater freedom, power, and the possibility of participating in governance, we are still exploring the guidelines for living that are suitable for this era.