Blog Post #4 Victor Legrand

 When we scratch beneath the surface of the story of Martin Luther's 95 Theses, we find an incredibly deep role of technology in their creation in his case, the printing press. This was 16th-century social media. These were the theses that Luther wrote to dispute the church, which sold indulgences for, to him, it was just not moral. More than what he actually said, this spreading like wildfire challenge was also in part due to how he said it, printed words. This made it possible for his ideas to be known internationally and that very many people were reached within a very short period. This was a far cry from in ages past when ideas trickled out through word of mouth, or at best, through hand-copied texts that would be re-copied a few select times. And this completely changed with the invention of the printing press; now the ideas could travel further and rise to discourses that eventually changed society and religion so essentially.

Now, let's jump to our time and look at the "OH LAWD HE COMIN" meme. This meme of a fat cat has gone viral on the Internet. The meme spread not through modern digital platforms, as did the theses of Luther, because these are our versions of the printing press on steroids. It can create an international chain reaction, and the content can be made viral in a few hours, even minutes. The humor and relatability of the meme were timeless, showing how now the present viral content is either emotion or humor based.

That was a lighter example than the theses of Luther, but it proved the same principle: when content relates to people, be it through humor, common worries, or common interests, it is able to go viral. In comparing these two examples, we're looking at how the concept of 'going viral' has evolved. From Luther's serious and reformative tracts to today's light-hearted internet memes, the underlying process has remained the same: a piece of content would strike a chord, enabled by whatever technology was available at the time to make it easily and at scale, and the human desire to connect and communicate would do the rest.

It can be observed that, in both these instances, the medium of the time be that the printing press or social media was used most effectively to propagate ideas. What's cool here is to see how different or similar the viral thing is from one point in time to another. Luther's work struck a deeper religious and social chord, considering that it appealed to the general discontentment and urge for reformation.

But the cat meme, with content and impact so vastly different, tapped into a common sentiment yet again, this time of amusement and joy. Both traveled far and wide for their day through the technologies of their time and human predisposition to sharing and commenting on things they see and find worthwhile. This way, the spirit of virality combines human emotions with technology capabilities and societal context for either serious debates or Internet jokes. They are classic examples of what tools and platforms come and go, but the innate human instinct to share the most impacting or relatable content drives what goes viral.