First, it was just a silly scene at the end of The O.C. episode “Dear Sister” — I know, of all TV shows to create a meme, THE O.C.

Then Saturday Night Live (SNL) made it into a “digital short” (Sidenote — I’m guessing “LorneMichaelsSNL” isn’t the real Lorne Michaels, but this video is the only copy I found online.)

After seeing it spoofed on SNL, YouTube users made remixes of popular Internet videos based on the “Dear Sister” spoofs like this “Charlie Bit My Finger” remix

From there, it esploded — yes, I meant to say that — all over the Internet. Just look at how many search results you can find for “Dear Sister” now — many of them completely recreated by users.

Has it now come full circle with a remix of scenes from The Office into a series of “Dear Sister” spoofs?

That’s a sample anatomy of an Internet meme — or in this case, a viral video — that I discovered today.

*sigh* The things I do with my evenings.

Dan Ackerman Greenberg’s guest post on TechCrunch sparked heated discussion about the ethics of gaming YouTube to get more views.

I am not a fan of gaming the system with fake comments and trickery like changing titles, tags and thumbnails, but there is no doubt that many “viral video specialists” use these tactics to get their videos viewed.

If you really want to generate a following and positive karma for your brand, I think it’s best to let the good videos rise to the top and go viral. Call me a dreamer. Natural selection FTW!

Here’s a little tongue-in-cheek video that shows you how it’s done by the people that brought us Ooh Girl!:

I personally miss the “Wild West days,” as Greenberg termed them, when a great video on YouTube would rise to the top with no tampering. I think the best videos still do, but the space will certainly be cluttered by those who will try to manipulate it in the coming years just like the blogosphere.

If I am going to open a conversation on social media and community building on this blog, we are going to have to discuss Web culture from time to time. Hence, a new category!

Want to know what makes a video go viral? Just look at the history. Here’s a quick Web culture test to start off your education–or continue it. South Park recently tackled the life of an Internet superstar in the “Canada on Strike” episode.

Can you name every meme/viral sensation featured in this clip?

WARNING: This clips is not entirely “family friendly.” It IS South Park after all.

Bonus points if you knew what a meme was before reading this post. Maybe we can all learn something from South Park after all.

via Veronica Belmont’s Pownce sharing (You do know Pownce, don’t you?)

I work two jobs. My first job is a day job that pays me enough to be full-time where I get to practice public relations, and my second job is blogging on my three current sites, ugachaka.net, Fantasy Football Fools and here at wannabeMogul.com, which doesn’t exactly pay me full-time but one can always dream.

Both jobs allow me to exercise my passions. Blogging lets me explore my passion for writing, sharing and interacting while experimenting with online marketing. Working in public relations helps me grow my PR, networking and business skills. In both of these roles, I have fun.

After reading what Seth had to say today about workaholics and passionate workers, I think it’s safe to say that I am a passionate worker but NOT a workaholic.

The passionate worker doesn’t show up because she’s afraid of getting in trouble, she shows up because it’s a hobby that pays. The passionate worker is busy blogging on vacation… because posting that thought and seeing the feedback it generates is actually more fun than sitting on the beach for another hour. The passionate worker tweaks a site design after dinner because, hey, it’s a lot more fun than watching TV.

I come home from one job to jump into the next because it IS a lot more fun than watching TV. Maybe more post-college workers will start to be this kind of workaholic now that the Internet allows you to easily enjoy a two-job lifestyle.

The best advice I can give to any college grad is to look for a job that you are passionate about. If you can, at least when your friends acuse you of being a workaholic, you can tell them that you are just a passionate worker.