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  The Life Cycle of an Internet Meme

  Posted Thursday, February 21, 2008 4:27 PM | By Christopher Beam

  Feb. 14: Barack Obama was your new bicycle.
  Feb. 16: Hillary Clinton was decidedly not.
  Feb. 17: John McCain tried to get in on the joke.
  Feb. 17: Ron Paul made it weird.
  Feb. 17: Michelle Obama made it annoying.
  Feb. 18: Steve Jobs made it jump the shark.
  Feb. 19: It all went meta.

  One week: That's how much time an Internet meme needs to propagate, become its own opposite, and then finally collapse back in on itself.

  All dates come from Network Solutions domain registration information.
  

About Christopher Beam

• Christopher Beam is a Slate political reporter.

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