Meme

Ruth Walker has an interesting piece in the Christian Science Monitor. It is entitled "Where Meme and Mimicry Meet" and talks about the various ways the word "meme" is used. She wrote:

Running across a new word isn't always quite like making a new friend. But at the very least it's like noticing that some interesting-looking new neighbors have moved into the house across the street: Hmm, what are they up to over there?

... So I'm not quite ready to declare meme a new word-friend. But it does look like an interesting new neighbor to keep an eye on.

In the piece she talks about a couple of uses of the word. Her piece should remind us to pay attention to how words are used so that we do not misread someone.