An internet meme is something famous on the internet such as an image, a video, or even a person. Internet memes are usually created when someone published something and that thing was spread widely over the Internet. Famous internet phenomena are lolcats, Chuck Norris Facts, Advice Dog, Angry German Kid, Doge, We are number one Tay Zonday's "Chocolate Rain", Polandball and Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" (A.K.A. "Rickroll").

In the early days of the Internet, memes were primarily spread via email or Usenet discussion communities. Messageboards and newsgroups were also popular because they allowed a simple method for people to share information or memes with a large population of internet users in a short period. They encourage communication between people, and thus between meme sets, that do not normally come in contact. They also actively promote meme-sharing within the messageboard or newsgroup population by asking for feedback, comments, opinions, etc. This format is what gave rise to early internet memes, like the Hampster Dance. Another factor in the increased meme transmission observed over the internet is its interactive nature. Print matter, radio, and television are all essentially passive experiences requiring the reader, listener, or viewer to perform all necessary cognitive processing; in contrast the social nature of the Internet allows phenomena to propagate more readily. Many phenomena are also spread via web search engines, internet forums, social networking services, social news sites, and video hosting services. Much of the Internet's ability to spread information is assisted from results found through search engines, which can allow users to find memes even with obscure information.