Content is “something […] expressed through some medium, as speech, writing or any of various arts.”^[2] A main aspect of content is the medium (from Latin medium, “means, surface”) which consists in the infrastructure, surface, and system in which a message is disseminated.^[3] However, the medium provides little to no value to the end-user without the information and experiences that make up the content. Communication theory philosopher Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase “The medium is the message.”^[4] The phrase highlights how the means used to communicate a message (the medium) have a bearing on the way the message itself will be interpreted, and provide important contextual information.^{[citation needed]}

Content notably distinguishes itself by its memetic property, wherein users replicate and adapt content for retransmission. The author, producer or publisher of a source of information and experiences may directly be responsible for the entire value they establish as content. Users develop their own, “new” content in media featuring user innovation. Much of social media content is derived this way, by effectively re-cycling content in a slightly different format.^[5] The increased rate at which information is exchanged over the Internet compared to traditional analog media, as well as the ability to broadcast one’s own media, leads to the development of meme content online. Social media platforms give users the space for storage and provide tools to create content. It includes platforms that give users a space for storage and provide plenty of tools to promote, organize and advertise their thoughts.