If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
Brace yourselves, the world just got a whole lot more meme-able. Imgur, the giant social network specializing in photo-sharing and meme-trafficking, this week released the MemeGen app for iOS. It allows users to create their own memes from their phones using all the familiar templates -- from annoyed Picard to Y U NO -- or by using images from their phone's camera, accessible from within the app.
MemeGen started life as a web-based application, meaning you had to be at your computer if you wanted to try your hand at making a successfully infectious image. The iOS version is laid out simply -- just select one of 101 standard meme backgrounds from a scrolling menu, enter your two rows of Impact-fonted cleverness, and save.
There is something unnerving about seeing so many recognizable memes in one place, each charged with its own particular sense of humor. The challenge of achieving the right mix of tone and brevity feels reminiscent of constructing the perfect tweet. An effect of having this capability in people's mobile devices may be that, like Twitter, it turns memes into a more time- and location-specific social networking activity -- if inspiration strikes or a meme-worthy image presents itself to a user out in the wide world, there's nothing left to stop it from getting online within moments.
The app is all too eager to upload your latest creation straight to the Imgur community, with a wide button that transfers the file so fast sometimes the cancel button can't even stop it. The first of three main tabs in the home screen show the latest activity from other Imgurians, keeping the forum's ecosystem of shares, uploads and upvotes squarely at the center of the app.
It makes sense to see prominent sharing features built into the app since memes are inherently social, and because Imgur's sails are filled by constant gusts of fresh uploads. According to Imgur, within the last 30 days more than 135,000 memes were created, 40 thousand of which used unique backgrounds -- by going mobile, it's possible that number could increase dramatically. While all things social media are often just as much about quantity as quality, hopefully a further saturated meme-o-sphere doesn't lead to a decline of the form itself.
The app is available through iTunes and the App Store.
