Memes!

The interwebs define them as;

1. An element of a culture or behavior that may be passed from one individual to another by non genetic means, esp. imitation.
2. An image, video, etc. that is passed electronically from one Internet user to another.

Whether its Nyan cat, Rick Rolling or even adding "all of the " to *insert item/topic* memes are a popular and very handy thing to know how to use. They can make you and others get a good chuckle out of them if used properly.

Idea - First you need an idea whether it be from a obscure game or film or even one you created you need to have something that's catchy, annoying and sure to be used a hell of a lot. Even bad stuff can become memes (see Rebecca Black, Friday). 

Catchy - It has to be something simple that everyone can say/do or join in on. It doesn't even need to make much sense. Repetitive things seem to work well or simple tunes. Combine the two for epic memes.

Adaptability - The meme has to be able to be used in a wide range of scenarios. It's all good having a catchy tune but if you can bring it up often it will soon die out. The "All your base are belong to us" meme from bad Zero Wing translation has been used in a lot of things. "all your chips are belong to use" etc. Another notable one is over 9000! (Google these if you have never heard them before).

Audience - What ever meme you make intentionally or not they need to be able to be viewed and enjoyed by people of all ages and categories. This will insure maximum exposure and make them travel fast. If enough people are not sharing this and showing it to their friends chances are it won't survive as a meme.

Finally Life Span - A good meme will last a while or even return after some down time. If you can create a meme that is original, interesting, catchy and can adapt to many scenarios and have the talent to manipulate that you can be very rich. A good example of this is the Numa Numa guy, Gary Brolsma, who although making himself look a bit silly is now quite well off.

 Apologies for the weird background on the text slight issue with blogger :/