Talk to strangers about memes

Humour is the fastest compatibility test there is — you know within two messages whether a stranger is on your wavelength. And because internet culture splits hard by country and platform, someone elsewhere is deep in a corner of it you have never seen.

• Formats that peaked and formats that need to retire
• The weirdest corner of the internet you visit
• Regional humour that does not translate at all
• The last thing that actually made you laugh out loud
• Which platform has the best humour now

• “Meme format that needs to retire?”Use this
• “Last thing that actually made you laugh out loud?”Use this
• “Most unhinged corner of the internet you visit?”Use this
• “A joke only your country would understand?”Use this
• “Which app has the best humour right now?”Use this
• “Most chronically online thing about you?”Use this

• Describe a meme instead of sending a link. It is funnier than you would expect, keeps the chat on the platform and quickly shows whether you share a sense of humour.
• Ask which meme format they think deserves a comeback. Old formats bring out nostalgia and very specific opinions.
• Ask where they find their memes. Different corners of the internet have very different humour, and the answer says a lot about someone.

Humour that punches down at groups of people is an easy way to lose a stranger, and it can break the platform’s rules. Not everyone knows the same references, so explain one rather than mocking someone for missing it. And never click a stranger’s link to “the funniest video ever”.