Apparently, Northwestern Memes can has more publicity.
The popular Facebook page landed on a list of meme-friendly schools posted by Mashable.com on Friday. Northwestern joined Big Ten peers Indiana University and Purdue University on the website’s rundown of “20 Colleges Where Memes Are All the Rage.”
The meme stockpile, created by McCormick freshmen Samir Helmy and Santiago Nielsen, went viral earlier this month after it attracted more than 250 submissions and several thousand “likes.”
In an email to The Daily on Monday, Helmy called the page’s overnight success “shocking but rewarding.”
“In such a short space of time I’m glad that the page has been able to reach so many people and is continuing to grow,” he wrote.
Mashable writer Brian Anthony Hernandez said he compiled the list after “a few quick searches” and getting recommendations from Mashable colleagues, including NU alum Zoe Fox (Medill ‘11).
Northwestern Memes was also featured prominently in the list’s accompanying story, which quoted North by Northwestern Editor-in-Chief Nolan Feeney. The Medill junior offered a possible explanation of memes’ recent explosion in popularity on campus.
“They’re also about identifying and recognizing what’s unique to us as a student body,” Feeney told Mashable. “I think memes wouldn’t have a struck a chord with students if they didn’t shed light on what the shared experience is.”
As of Monday evening, the Facebook page had over 3,400 likes – more than 100 more likes than when it was first cited by Mashable on Friday.
