Rickrolling

During our discussion about rickrolling last week, someone suggested that the purpose of rickrolling was for the "lulz." Although this might be true to some extent, I would argue that rickrolling has deeper social implications. The spread of this Internet meme is not only important for what it spreads, but how it is spread. The rapid and far reaching evolution of rickrolling helps to create a new language about how we share, spread, send, receive and communicate especially over the Internet. Moreover, this new form of social critique helps to create a new language in terms of how we understand IP and its effect on culture. In a way, the evolution of rickrolling demands an evolution of IP laws and practices. It creates new ideas, new way of thinking, and new ways of thinking about old ideas/concepts. Yeah, we lol when Obama gets rickrolled, but we also talk about it.