ROFLcon: How has the internet changed your life?

CBC spoke with Chris Torres, who reacted the Nyancat animation.(nyancat.com) Denizens of the internet gathered in Cambridge, Mass. for ROFLcon III, an internet culture convention to talk about what makes an online meme.

Who are the people behind the pictures with non-sequiter text superimposed onto them? What's so hysterical about the animation of a dancing hamster?

CBC Community's Lauren O'Neil spoke with some of the most famous (or infamous) guests at ROFLcon, and asked them how their lives have changed after their faces became synonymous with internet culture.

Blake Boston, a.k.a. Scumbag Steve

A photograph of a Boston (@BlakeBoston817) wearing a sideways cap, taken by his mother, circulated the internet in 2006. The Scumbag Steve persona was born when macro text added to the picture painted the picture of an obnoxious high school hanger-on.



Christopher 'Nyancat' Torres

Torres (@prguitarman)created the Youtube animation Nyancat. The simple graphic merged a Japanese pop song with a rainbow and a cat with a pop tart  for a body. The original video was uploaded to Youtube in April 2011, and has since amassed more than 72 million views.



Chuck Testa

The video that made Testa famous was part of the series Commercial Kings by Rhett and Link, and depicts Testa's taxidermy company. In it, Testa (@OjaiTaxidermy) responds "Nope!" to passersby confused by his stuffed animals.



Jay Maynard, a.k.a. TRON Guy

Jay Maynard's (@tronguy) electro-luminescent costume based on the 1982 film TRON earned him internet fame and appearances on the Jimmy Kimmel Live late night television show.



Liam Kyle Sullivan

Sullivan (@liamshow) is an American comedian and actor. He won a 2008 People's Choice Award for his Youtube music video "Shoes."



Paul Vasquez, a.k.a. The Double Rainbow Guy

Vasquez (@Yosemitebear62) became famous for a Youtube video of his emotional reaction to the sighting of a double rainbow in Yosemite National Park.



How has the internet changed your life? Have you ever been a part of an online meme, or a viral video? Tell us your favourite meme and share your stories in the comments section below.

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