That is the question. I'm asking because I want to know who to thank. Until the last week of January, visitor stats to my relatively new blog was over 500 but definitely far from a thousand. Within the next 2 weeks, it rapidly skyrocketed to over 3,000 hits! I attribute these hits to one particular entry--
how to find your doppelganger. This is all thanks to the latest and most viral of Facebook memes: Doppelganger Week.
"Meme" is derived from the Greek mneme and
mimëma, meaning "memory" and "something imitated," respectively. An Internet meme is an idea or practice that spreads like wildfire through the Web and thus becoming pop culture. This includes viral videos, e-mail hoaxes, and other Web-based media turning obscure personalities into instant Internet celebrities, or e-lebrities (see YouTube).
Like the "change your fb status into your bra color to raise breast cancer awareness" meme, Doppelganger Week seemed to start out as an internal arrangement between Facebook friends to use as profile picture a photo of a celebrity whom you've been told you resemble. Soon enough, Facebook began to crawl with Megan Foxes and Robert Pattinsons, driving more and more users into a wild search for celebrity look-alike generators or facial recognition applications, such as
MyHeritage.com,
FaceDouble, and
Find My Doppelganger.
NowPublic says that Chloë Carter this meme, while NYDailyNews gives credit to Bob Patel as Doppelganger Week's creator. Although the definite source of the meme is yet to be known, one thing is certain: there are too many people who want to find their "twin," especially the famous variety--whether out of curiosity or narcissism
.
Doppelganger Week has spawned critic Facebook groups, such as
"But... Your Doppelganger is hot, and you are really, really ugly," which, I must admit, is a bit funny albeit a tad harsh (if not cruel). Personally, I have mixed feelings about doppelgangers. It's exciting to know that somewhere out there, there's someone I resemble, someone that I'm totally unrelated to. At the same time, it makes me think that I look too common. I guess, the reason why finding our celebrity look-alike is so important for many is that it is a personal affirmation, in a way. It somehow gives you a sense that there's something likable, if not special, about you.
. 