Every economy develops its own vocabulary. Words make certain things recognizable, comparable, and valuable, while providing the means to negotiate what they mean and who gets to decide. In Kekonomics, much of this language has taken shape across imageboards, group chats, comment sections, and speculative markets, where expressions are invented, borrowed, and transformed through their repeated use.
These words do more than describe an existing reality. They help establish affiliations, shape expectations, and influence how people act towards one another. A joke may become a shared identity, an obscure reference a sign of belonging, or a fictional narrative the basis for genuine financial speculation. Such developments rarely depend on a common understanding or a shared intention. Participants may be mocking a phenomenon, investing in it, or simply enjoying its absurdity, often without any clear distinction between these positions. The resulting social and economic effects are no less real for that ambiguity.
The meanings of these terms are shaped by their circulation, but their circulation also changes the environments in which they are used. Expressions can reinforce the hierarchies they ridicule, acquire authority through repetition, or lose their original significance as they move between communities and platforms. Their contradictions are not necessarily problems to resolve. They often reveal the competing interests, interpretations, and forms of participation through which Kekonomics takes shape.
This glossary offers a provisional account of that vocabulary. Its definitions provide points of orientation rather than fixed meanings, recognizing that the words collected here are not merely descriptions of Kekonomics, but among the many things through which it is continuously constituted.
Absurdity PremiumThe added cultural or economic value generated when something becomes valuable precisely because it appears stupid, irrational, or meaningless. In Kekonomics, absurdity can function as a speculative asset.
AccelerationismA political and social theory suggesting that accelerating capitalism's processes can lead to its collapse or transformation. In Kekonomics, this concept humorously mirrors the chaotic acceleration of meme culture.
Affective LaborThe emotional work involved in creating connections or producing value, often seen in digital spaces. In Kekonomics, meme creators and shitposters perform affective labor by eliciting reactions and engagement.
Algorithm FaceThe facial expression, pose or aesthetic people adopt because they know they are being watched, ranked and optimized by platforms
Algorithmic AbsurdismThe condition in which platforms reward bizarre, exaggerated, or nonsensical content because it maximizes engagement. Kekonomics treats this as one of the core engines of meme-driven value.
Algorithmic CapitalismAn economic model driven by algorithms optimizing content delivery for engagement. Kekonomics highlights how algorithms amplify the value of memes through prioritizing sensational or humorous content.
AlienationA condition in which individuals become estranged from their own activity, social relations, or sense of meaning. In Kekonomics, alienation appears when users produce endless content and engagement without controlling the value they create.
Always OnlineA condition in which someone appears permanently connected to digital discourse, trends and platform drama. In Kekonomics, being always online becomes both a social skill and a psychological burden.
AnomieA state of normlessness or social disorientation, often emerging when shared values weaken. In Kekonomics, meme culture can be read as both symptom and response to anomic digital life.
AstroturfingThe creation of a fake grassroots movement. Meme culture can be used to simulate organic support, making coordinated campaigns appear spontaneous.
Attention ArbitrageThe practice of capturing attention in one context and redirecting it to another for profit. In Kekonomics, memes are used to drive traffic to products, ideas, or political movements.
Attention CaptureThe process by which platforms, creators, brands, or political actors seize and retain users’ focus. In Kekonomics, attention capture is the first stage in converting cultural noise into capital.
Attention EconomyAn economic system where attention is a scarce and valuable resource. In Kekonomics, attention becomes currency, with memes, shitposts, and viral content functioning as commodities.
Attention SinkA digital object, platform, or trend that absorbs large amounts of attention without necessarily producing meaningful content. Memes, drama cycles, and viral controversies often function as attention sinks.
Aura FarmingThe deliberate cultivation of mystique, status or symbolic power through controlled posting, visual style, ambiguity or strategic silence.
B
BasedA term used to signal approval, usually for something seen as unapologetic, transgressive or resistant to mainstream norms. In Kekonomics, “based” functions as a compressed unit of ideological and subcultural value.
Blockchain MemeticsThe use of blockchain technology to validate the authenticity and ownership of memes, turning them into tradable assets (e.g., NFTs).
Boomer PostingA style of posting associated with outdated formats, obvious jokes, moral panic or misunderstanding internet culture. Often used ironically, even by non-boomers.
BrainrotA term used to describe content so repetitive, absurd, or overstimulating that it appears to degrade attention or cognition. In Kekonomics, brainrot is both a symptom and a product of the attention economy.
BrandjackingThe appropriation or distortion of a brand’s image by online communities. In Kekonomics, brandjacking shows how value and meaning can escape official corporate control.
C
Clout EconomyAn economy based on visibility, recognition, and status within digital networks. In Kekonomics, clout functions as a form of unstable social currency.
Clown WorldA meme-derived term reflecting a perception of absurdity and chaos in modern society.
Cognitive CapitalismAn economic system where knowledge, creativity, and attention are key drivers of value.
Collective EffervescenceA term from Durkheim describing moments of shared emotional intensity within a group. In Kekonomics, viral memes produce brief flashes of collective effervescence across digital communities.
Conspicuous ConsumptionThe public display of goods, taste, or lifestyle to signal status. Online, this extends to aesthetic choices, niche knowledge, meme fluency, and platform identity.
Content ExhaustionThe fatigue produced by the endless demand for new posts, reactions, formats, and takes. Kekonomics sees content exhaustion as the psychological cost of permanent online production.
CopeA dismissive term suggesting that someone’s argument, belief or emotional reaction is merely a way to deal with defeat or discomfort. In Kekonomics, “cope” turns psychology into meme warfare.
CopiumA fictional substance people are said to inhale when refusing to accept reality. It functions as an ironic diagnosis of denial.
Cringe CapitalValue generated by content that is embarrassing, awkward, or unintentionally ridiculous. In Kekonomics, cringe can become profitable when it attracts attention, mockery, or ironic appreciation.
Crowdsourced CapitalValue generated collectively by internet communities, often without monetary exchange.
Cultural CapitalThe knowledge, taste, references, and symbolic skills that create social distinction. In Kekonomics, knowing how to read, use, or remix memes functions as cultural capital.
Cultural CommodificationThe transformation of cultural products into commodities for sale.
Cultural LiquidityThe ability of cultural objects to move quickly between contexts, platforms, meanings, and markets. Memes are highly liquid because they can be endlessly adapted and repurposed.
D
DanknessA quality associated with memes that are obscure, absurd, self-aware, or culturally saturated. In Kekonomics, dankness signals insider knowledge and memetic depth.
Datafied LaughterThe conversion of humor into measurable platform data: clicks, likes, shares, watch time, comments, and reactions. Kekonomics treats laughter as something that can be captured and monetized.
Dead MemeA meme that has lost its cultural force through overuse, mainstream adoption, or platform exhaustion. In Kekonomics, dead memes can still retain archival, nostalgic, or ironic value.
Digital BarterThe exchange of non-monetary assets, like memes, for social capital or attention.
Digital DetritusThe leftover fragments of online culture: abandoned memes, screenshots, deleted posts, obsolete formats, and forgotten viral moments. Kekonomics sees this debris as part of the cultural infrastructure of the internet.
DiscordianismA parody religion and philosophical framework centered on chaos and absurdity.
Dog WhistleA coded message that appears neutral to outsiders but carries specific meaning for an intended group. Memes often function as dog whistles because their meaning depends on context and subcultural literacy.
DoomerA meme figure representing exhaustion, pessimism and resignation in the face of social, ecological or economic collapse.
DoomscrollingThe compulsive consumption of negative, alarming or emotionally draining content. In Kekonomics, doomscrolling is attention capture through despair.
E
Economic AbsurdityA concept describing how value in digital economies is often based on humor, irony, or randomness.
EdgelordSomeone who uses provocative, offensive or extreme statements to gain attention, signal detachment or test social boundaries.
EmojinomicsThe economy of visual symbols, such as emojis and memes, that create emotional and cultural value.
Engagement BaitContent designed primarily to provoke replies, arguments, shares or emotional reactions rather than communicate something meaningful.
Engagement FarmingThe deliberate creation of content designed to provoke reactions, comments, shares, or outrage. In Kekonomics, engagement farming is one of the clearest examples of attention turned into value.
Engagement TrapA post or meme designed to make users respond even when they recognize its manipulative nature. The trap works because awareness does not prevent participation.
Exhausted IronyA mode of expression in which irony no longer creates distance, but becomes the default condition of communication. In Kekonomics, exhausted irony reflects the difficulty of sincerity in platform culture.
F
Failson EnergyA semi-ironic online label for cultivated incompetence, inherited comfort, soft nihilism or performative underachievement.
Fandom CapitalThe social and economic value generated by intense fan communities. In Kekonomics, fandom capital can be converted into merchandise sales, platform traffic, symbolic status, or political energy.
FinancializationThe expansion of financial logic into more areas of life and culture. Meme stocks, NFTs, crypto-assets, and speculative online communities are key Kekonomic examples.
Financialized CultureThe transformation of cultural objects into speculative assets. In Kekonomics, memes, NFTs, viral images, and online identities can all become part of this process.
For the AlgorithmA phrase used to acknowledge that a post, comment or action exists partly to satisfy platform logic rather than human communication.
G
Gamified AttentionThe structuring of online interaction through scores, streaks, likes, badges, rankings, and metrics. Kekonomics sees this as a way of making attention measurable, addictive, and economically useful.
Gig Meme EconomyA decentralized economy where individuals create and distribute memes as freelance cultural products.
Go ViralTo spread rapidly across digital networks. In Kekonomics, virality is not only a cultural event but a mechanism of value production.
Going Goblin ModeRejecting productivity, self-optimization and social polish in favour of chaotic, indulgent or antisocial behaviour. In Kekonomics, goblin mode is both refusal and aesthetic.
Gramscian CaptureThe slow occupation of cultural common sense through media, language, humour, and everyday symbols. In Kekonomics, memes can shift what feels normal before formal politics catches up.
GriftcoreA style or strategy in which online irony, identity, politics, or lifestyle branding is used to extract money, followers, or influence. Kekonomics treats griftcore as a parasitic form of meme monetization.
GrindsetA memeified ideology of constant self-improvement, productivity and entrepreneurial discipline. Often used sincerely and ironically at the same time.
H
Hate-WatchingConsuming content precisely because one dislikes it. In Kekonomics, hate-watching shows how opposition still generates value.
HegemonyThe dominance of certain ideas, values, and norms until they appear natural or self-evident. Kekonomics examines how memes both challenge and reproduce hegemonic structures.
HopiumThe hopeful counterpart to copium: irrational optimism maintained despite evidence of decline or failure.
Hot TakeA quick, provocative opinion designed to stand out in a crowded attention market.
Humor ArbitrageExploiting humor to create disproportionate value, such as turning a viral meme into a profitable NFT.
Hype CycleThe rise, saturation, decline, and possible revival of a digital trend. In Kekonomics, memes often follow hype cycles similar to speculative markets.
HyperstitionA concept from speculative philosophy referring to fictional ideas that become reality through belief and action.
I
IckA sudden, often irrational feeling of repulsion toward someone’s behaviour, style or presence. Online, the “ick” turns minor social discomfort into shareable judgment.
Impression ManagementThe strategic presentation of the self in social situations. In platform culture, posting, irony, profile aesthetics, and meme choice all become forms of impression management.
Influence ArbitrageThe conversion of cultural credibility, irony, or niche knowledge into money, status, or institutional access.
Internet MonetizationThe process of generating revenue through online content.
Ironic DetachmentA mode of participation where users engage with something while pretending not to care. Kekonomics depends heavily on this unstable position.
IronyA central mode of expression in Kekonomics, representing detachment, humor, and a layered approach to meaning.
Irony PoisoningA condition in which continuous ironic detachment makes sincere belief or communication difficult. In Kekonomics, irony poisoning is both cultural defense mechanism and market condition.
It’s GivingA phrase used to categorize the vibe or social meaning of something.
K
KekA deity-like figure originating from internet meme culture, often depicted as a green frog (Pepe).
PLATE KKek, deity of the meme economy, in his customary form.
KekonomicsA satirical economic framework that highlights the interplay of memes, digital culture, and absurdity in the creation of value.
L
L PostingPublicly taking a loss, embarrassing oneself or being perceived as defeated in online discourse.
Larp EconomyAn economy built around performative identities, fictional roles, ideological cosplay, and online personas. In Kekonomics, larping can produce real social and economic effects.
Liquidity of MeaningThe ability of a sign, meme, or phrase to shift meaning depending on context. Kekonomics depends on this liquidity: the same meme can be joke, critique, commodity, signal, and weapon.
LoreThe accumulated backstory, references, conflicts and myths around a person, community, meme or platform event. In Kekonomics, lore increases symbolic value.
Low-Effort PostingContent that appears minimal, lazy or careless but can still become valuable through timing, context or absurdity.
M
Main Character SyndromeThe tendency to frame one’s life as if it were a film, narrative or personal brand. Online, this becomes a mode of self-mythologizing.
Mainstream CaptureThe process by which subcultural symbols are absorbed by brands, media, politics, or institutions. In Kekonomics, mainstream capture often marks the moment a meme begins to lose subcultural power but gain commercial value.
Manufactured ConsensusThe production of apparent agreement through media, repetition, platform amplification, or coordinated messaging. Memes can help manufacture consensus by making certain ideas feel obvious or widely shared.
Meme ArbitrageThe exploitation of viral trends by translating them into merchandise, NFTs, or other monetizable formats.
Meme CapitalThe symbolic or actual value generated by memes within digital economies.
Meme DecayThe loss of force that occurs when a meme is overused, misunderstood, or detached from its original context. Meme decay is part of the lifecycle of digital value.
Meme DerivativeA variation, remix, or financialized extension of an existing meme. In Kekonomics, derivatives can include merchandise, NFTs, spin-off formats, or ideological adaptations.
Meme FuturesA speculative concept where the future popularity of memes is traded like financial derivatives.
Meme LaunderingThe process by which extreme, absurd, or marginal ideas are softened through humor and repetition until they become acceptable or marketable.
Meme NumerologyThe placement of in-joke numbers such as 69, 420 or 1337 in prices, dates, offers and official figures. The number reads as ordinary business to one audience and as a wink to another. In Kekonomics, it marks the moment the market and the meme speak at once. The Kek Composite Index starts at 420.69 for this reason.
Memetic ActA phrase, prop, stunt, gesture or image produced to be copied and circulated, often by people who already hold power. In Kekonomics, the memetic act runs the meme cycle from the top down: the audience does the distribution.
MetamodernismA cultural movement that oscillates between modernist sincerity and postmodern irony.
Metrics FetishismThe tendency to treat likes, shares, impressions, views, and follower counts as direct measures of value. In Kekonomics, metrics become the visible surface of deeper attention extraction.
MicrotransactionsSmall, frequent financial transactions often used in digital platforms and games.
MidA dismissive term for something considered average, overhyped or lacking distinction. In Kekonomics, “mid” is a compact form of status judgment.
Monetized IronyThe process of turning ironic content into a revenue stream.
N
Networked IndividualismA social condition in which individuals are connected through flexible, shifting networks rather than stable communities. Kekonomics operates in this world of temporary alliances, swarms, and micro-publics.
Niche FameA form of recognition limited to specific online communities. In Kekonomics, niche fame can still produce real social and economic capital.
NPC (Non-Player Character)A meme symbolizing conformity and lack of individuality.
PLATE N
NPC EnergyA perceived lack of originality, autonomy or self-awareness. In Kekonomics, NPC language is used to mock conformity while often producing its own conformity.
O
OverpostingThe compulsive production of content beyond communicative necessity. In Kekonomics, overposting becomes both symptom and strategy.
P
Phrase MintingThe deliberate creation of a short, repeatable phrase designed to outlive its context. “Alternative facts” and “beautiful clean coal” are minted phrases.
Platform CapitalismAn economic model where platforms generate value by hosting user content.
Platform FeudalismA condition in which users produce value on privately owned digital infrastructures while having little control over the conditions of circulation.
Post-Ironic ValueValue created when audiences cannot clearly distinguish between sincerity, irony, parody, and belief. Kekonomics thrives in this ambiguity.
Post-Scarcity HumorThe abundance of memes creates a condition where humor becomes the main currency for attention.
Post-TruthA condition in which emotional resonance, identity, and repetition become more influential than factual accuracy. Kekonomics is deeply tied to post-truth dynamics because memes often work through feeling before verification.
Posting PraxisThe idea that posting is not merely communication but a form of action, positioning, signaling, and cultural intervention.
Prop PoliticsThe use of a physical object as the carrier of a political message: a chainsaw, a banner, a marker on a map. The prop is easier to share than the policy it stands for.
R
Recursive IronyIrony that reflects on its own ironic status, making it impossible to determine whether something is joke, critique, belief, or performance.
Red Pill/Blue PillA metaphor representing the choice between harsh truth and comforting illusion.
Remix ValueThe value created when existing cultural material is altered, recontextualized, and redistributed. In Kekonomics, remixing is a primary mode of production.
Reply GuyA person who repeatedly responds to someone’s posts, often in a needy, argumentative or parasocial way.
S
ShitcoinA derogatory term for low-value cryptocurrencies.
ShitpostingThe act of posting deliberately low-quality or nonsensical content online.
SimulacrumA term from Baudrillard, describing a copy without an original.
Sincerity PremiumThe added value that sincerity gains in an environment saturated by irony. In Kekonomics, sincerity becomes rare and therefore potentially valuable.
SlayA term of approval, often exaggerated or ironic, used to mark confidence, style or performative success.
SlopLow-quality, mass-produced digital content generated for attention, clicks, or platform presence. In Kekonomics, slop represents the industrialization of cultural noise.
SnakeByteA fictional entity within Kekonomics representing the intersection of meme culture and digital activism.
Social CapitalThe value derived from social networks and relationships.
Soft PowerThe ability to shape preferences through culture, attraction, and influence rather than force. Meme culture can function as soft power when symbols, jokes, and aesthetics shift perception.
Soyjak / Soy FaceA meme image used to ridicule exaggerated enthusiasm, consumerist excitement and perceived lack of masculine energy. In Kekonomics, the Soyjak marks the point where enthusiasm becomes suspicious: every fandom, purchase, belief or reaction can be reframed as proof of capture by the market, the platform or the dominant ideology.
PLATE S.2
Speculative AbsurdityInvestment in seemingly meaningless digital assets purely for speculative purposes.
Status AnxietyThe fear of losing social position or failing to appear relevant. Online, this is intensified by metrics, visibility, follower counts, and the constant demand to react.
StonksA meme-based misspelling of 'stocks,' used to parody financial markets.
PLATE SInvestor at the moment of conviction.
Stunt CapitalThe attention value generated by a staged event, regardless of whether it succeeds. In Kekonomics, a failed stunt often circulates further than a successful one.
T
Tokenized CultureThe conversion of cultural objects into digital tokens or tradable units. NFTs are the most obvious example.
Trend ExtractionThe process by which brands, creators, or platforms identify emerging cultural trends and convert them into monetizable formats.
V
ViralityThe rapid spread of content across digital platforms.
Virality CapitalThe potential of content to generate widespread attention.
Virtual ScarcityThe artificial creation of rarity in digital spaces, often through NFTs.
W
W PostingPublicly taking a win or being perceived as victorious in online discourse.
We’re So Back / It’s OverA recurring emotional cycle of exaggerated hope and despair. In Kekonomics, this functions almost like a market indicator for online morale.
Weaponized IronyThe strategic use of irony to spread ideas while avoiding accountability. In Kekonomics, weaponized irony allows content to remain ambiguous: joke, belief, propaganda, or all three.
Web3 AbsurdismThe strange overlap between speculative finance, digital ownership, meme culture, and utopian technological language. Kekonomics treats Web3 absurdism as a key example of economic fantasy becoming infrastructure.
WojakA popular meme character used to express a wide range of emotions and situations.
PLATE WThe representative market participant.
Z
Zombie MemeA meme that appears dead but periodically returns through nostalgia, irony, or new contexts. Zombie memes show that online cultural value rarely disappears completely.
Zoomer NihilismA form of ironic pessimism associated with younger internet culture, combining humour, exhaustion, absurdity and low expectations for the future.
