Aptly stated by the Women and Memory Forum, "Narratives of the Arab Spring are not uniform: they range from idealistic celebration to dark pessimism." I would like to better understand the underlying significance of such a comment: what are these narratives? What really went viral? By examining contemporary literature, Google Analytics, trending terms, Instagram and Twitter, I would like to examine the concepts, images and videos that went viral during the recent political revolutions across the Arab World.

 These memes are creating humor about Kim Jung Un and North Korea.  There are multiple memes out there, but I will probably focus on those that make fun of North Korea's technology and Kim Jung Un's weight (the cake memes).  I will be writing my paper about these memes and what they say about how the internet (and the United States) view North Korea.  It's an interesting paradox that we, on the one hand, make fun of the Korean leader and his country, but on the other, are in a heightened state of alertness because of the national security threats North Korea may pose. 

 Here are two videos with completely different emotional content (one uplifiting, the other saddening), yet both have gone viral--this demonstrates that nature of content (e.g. positive or negative) is not quite as important as the specific emotions that are activated by the video imploring the interactive agent to share the content.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

Explore how the video "Charlie bit my Finger - again" has almost reached 500 million views on YouTube. It's amazing how a video of a child biting another child's finger can be watched by almost 500 million people all over the world. It would be interesting to find out the background of this video and how exactly such a video has been viewed so many times.

To the surprise of Jason Russell, co-founder of Invisible Children, Inc., the Kony 2012 went viral shortly after its release. The culture of humanitarianism has gone viral, causing millions to jump into donating money, doing work in Third World Countries, and feeding hungry mouths for eleemosynary purposes. Because making a difference is as quick and easy as pushing a button to spread awareness or donate money, these actions are well-intentioned but short-sighted as they merely alleviate the symptoms behind larger structural (cultural, political, historical, social, economic) issues. The viral nature of humanitarianism has benefited the world greatly, but those under its banner must elevate the conversation beyond 'giving' and 'serving.'

 From YouTube video to radio hit, Gangnam style is one of the first Asian songs to cross over into American popular culture. It has also spawned off popular parodies, most notably a version satirizing Mitt Romney. 

 It would be interesting to see how media in different countries report distinctly from various angles on the same facts (news) based on culture, politics, and tradition. (i.e. World Cup, Olympics, and etc.)

How has mass consumption of narratives on tv shows like 24 and homeland shaped popular view of foreign policy and, eventually, political opinion? Do these fictional portrayals of terrorism and other crime (as evolved from political thriller novels) have the ability to effect change in political opinion, especially in the context of a hotly contested election hinging somewhat on foreign policy? 

There must be a lot people into this like me. 

 Why is Munich the most livable city? What makes it special? 

Public Infrastructure? Food? Weather? Work-life balance? Culture? History? Education? Green space? From English garden to Museums, from Munich University to BMW headquater, from Marienplaza to loyal palaces, the city offers limitless ways of exploration!