About
/r/MemeEconomy is a satirical subreddit in which users discuss memes as though they were stocks, seeking and offering advice on whether to “invest” or “sell” memes.
Precursor
The first instance of instance of memes being discussed as stocks came on June 11th, 2012. Redditor HomeButton submitted a post titled “Mad Karma with Jim Cramer” to the /r/AdviceAnimals[1] subreddit, which featured a screenshot of Cramer hosting Mad Money with the headline news ticker edited to list trending memes on Reddit instead of stock quotes. The image macro was captioned with “Dump all your karma in pictures of feet” (shown below), referencing a foot photograph post that had reached the front page the day before.[2] Prior to being archived, the post received over 4,300 up votes and 100 comments. The following memes became known as Mad Karma With Jim Cramer.
History
On September 28th, 2016, killameme7[3] created the subreddit /r/MemeEconomy. The subreddit’s description reads:
“/r/MemeEconomy is a place where individuals can buy, sell, share, make, and invest in memes freely. You’ll also get updates on the market and be able to collaborate with other fellow dank meme traders.”
As of November 11th, 2016, the subreddit has 31,941 subscribers.
Highlights
The subreddit was rocked during the Meme Renaissance of Me_IRL when memes were posted at “an unsustainable rate.”[4] They’ve also responded intensely to memes related to the 2016 United States Presidential Election and other major events.
On October 17th, LuckyCosmos posted a pinned thread[5] explaining the way the subreddit and “meme trading” works, including a FAQ. Memes are bought and sold on “GoodBoyPoints (GBP).”
Search Interest
External References
[1]Reddit – Mad Karma with Jim Cramer
[2]Reddit – The feet of a female ballet dancer
[3]Reddit – /r/MemeEconomy
[4]/r/MemeEconomy – WARNING! ME_IRL CREATINGMEMES AT AN UNSUSTAINABLERATE!
[5]/r/MemeEconomy – BIG meme economics update