THE STORY BEHIND OLYMPIA MEMES >>>
In mid-December 2012, a new Facebook page was born - a page that appears on the surface to be one of mirth with a smattering of 'tude, a page that takes a cheeky look at life and times in Olympia. But Olympia Memes offers more to its community than JPEGs emblazoned with comical white text. Olympia Memes tries to do a little good for the world.
A person that remains anonymous heads the Olympia Memes Facebook up. We shall dub him or her Memester.
"My agenda is simple," says Memester. "Show Olympia as the great city it is. It's all comedy. But, if I'm really being honest with myself, for me, it's more than the laughs. It's the connections made. People come together here in a unique way. They take their nostalgic walks down the paths of their memories together and our stories intertwine to make up the fabric of Olympia."
The page enjoys taking steady digs at the rivalry between Shelton and Olympia as well as Oly stereotypes. Hippies and hipsters, anyone? But as Olympia Memes comes into its own, it's also reaching out to try and make the community a better and cooler place.
"There have been some surprising/exciting things to come off the site," says Memester. "At the very top of my list would have to be when one of our own, Jackie Waltrous, posted how she was looking for her biological parents. The page went to work sharing more than 700 times that night."
Within days, Waltrous located the family of her biological parents and Olympia Memes instantly became more than your average meme-engine.
If the page could help one person, why not help others? For Valentine's Day, the page invited singles to send in a picture with some general information and get posted on the page. While Memes has not heard of any weddings, at least a few dates came about.
Also in February 2013, the Memester got a whim - why not see who would show up for Olympia's own Harlem Shake? Memester invited people to meet upon the steps of the Capitol for the ultimate shakedown, but due to technical difficulties the video quality was meh. Memester was not daunted. A second Harlem Shake took place at the Heritage Park fountains and turned out bigger and better than the first.
"To those who scoff, I say sure, it's just a stupid dance in costumes, but I saw something amazing that weekend," says Memester. "I saw some of the very best of our town. Kids, parents, teens and adults all playing together in the fountains in the freezing middle of February. How cool is that? It's really cool, that's how much."
The page is even branching into partnerships with local businesses, most recently Eastside Big Tom. Olympia Memes ran trivia questions about the Olympia burger joint and Big Tom offered free meals as prizes. The result? Fifteen winners received free meals, and a burger boom at Big Tom.
Oly Memes hopes to continue to grow and provide some benefit to its community. Recently, the site took on a second person to help with the meme-ing. The page also benefits from several regular contributors. Coming up April 18, Memes will team up with local businesses and host an Oly Memes Meme Yourself Costume Party at Big Whisky Saloon; proceeds will go to SafePlace Olympia.
"I think there is a level of responsibility that goes into running a platform as big as this one, and for that reason my mind is constantly working to come up with the perfect way to support our town," says Memester. "I really like the idea of helping the small businesses of our community like we did with Big Tom. I hope to continue finding ways to build community and help people in the future."