Memes to the moon: SXSW covers how comedic creators can profit

Alex Canterbury
SXSX 2025 - SJMC Student Media Coverage

(The following content is a preview of a SXSW 2025 panel from a member of the SXSW Content Team, a group of 26 SJMC students who will partner with SXSW marketing professionals to cover the event from March 7-15. This is the 10th year of this collaboration between SJMC students and SXSW.)

Internet memes, now a staple in our lives, provide great expressions of state of affairs in 2025. The ingenuity of these creations yields one trend after another, now up to 23% of the entire internet by some estimates. Memes have the potential to reshape our world-view -  and at SXSW 2025 you ought to learn why.

Marcie Jastrow dipped her toes into Web3 three years ago , and now plans to scuba-around in the ocean of digital currency. With over 25 years of experience in entertainment and media behind her, Jastrow recently expanded her interests into meme culture, observing how digital communities are transforming memes from viral images into valuable digital assets, meme-tokens.

“What’s going to unfold over the next four years is essentially a memeified economy,” Jastrow said.

She pointed out the recent headlines surrounding the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as a household name deriving from the seasoned meme of the Shiba Inu dog breed, known as Doge. 

"When you look at it on a globalized level, every decision they make is going to evoke some crazy emotion,." Jastrow said.

The impact of memes extends beyond entertainment. She counts  recent developments, such as Australia's creation of its own version of Dogecoin, as evidence of meme culture's growing influence on global economics and politics.

At “Monetizing Memes: The Future of Digital Expression,” Jastrow will be accompanied by Nick Kaufman, who she calls a “trend expert.” Social media platforms Snapchat and TikTok had Kaufman identifying and amplifying emerging trends as part of their respective content programming teams. Together, they'll examine how memes evolve from cultural touchpoints into profitable opportunities for creators.

Tokens are transparent user validations, to put it simply, so quantity is key. Value is in the eyes of the beholders.

  • Success depends heavily on viral marketing, social media presence, and the strength of the community supporting them.
  • Value fluctuations are often driven by influential figures' comments or actions – for
    example, Elon Musk's tweets have historically caused significant price movements in Dogecoin and other meme tokens.

This SXSW fireside chat aims to demystify meme monetization while addressing broader societal implications. Jastrow will discuss various revenue streams available to creators, from token creation to developing episodic content based on memes. However, she also wants to spark a larger conversation about social responsibility in digital spaces.

"I want people to understand that if they're a creator, there are places for them to be able to monetize their creations," Jastrow said. “I believe that what is happening in traditional entertainment and media is that they're not looking at the new creatives that are out there.”

Jastrow also plans to address concerns about market manipulation and the importance of building sustainable, community-focused projects rather than short-term profit schemes. Major players in the space will be mentioned, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, while assessing how these technologies can be used responsibly to foster connection and creativity.

For creators, investors, and anyone interested in the future of digital culture, this chat promises insights into how memes are reshaping our economic and social landscape. Attendees will learn about practical monetization strategies and consider the broader implications of our increasingly meme-driven world. Check it out on March 11 at 10 a.m. in Room 5ABC of the Austin  Convention Center.