iWorld
Instagram shares top trends and themes from Indian Memeaverse
Mumbai: Photo sharing site Instagram has revealed that memes have become a pivotal part of pop culture on the platform and it shared the top trends and themes from the memeaverse in India. Comedy, crypto, gaming and astrology memes are the most popular memes on Instagram. Comedy memes are well liked with the prominence of topical memes like #sharktankmemes and rise of regional memes like #gujjumemes and #tamilmemes.
Globally, with over three million people following #meme, memes are the way people express themselves, to communicate who they are and how they feel at a certain moment. To discuss trends in memes, share best practices and celebrate meme culture, memers and creators from around the world came together virtually for the second annual Global MemeCon (formerly known as Global Meme Summit), organised by Instagram. An exclusive viewing party was also held in Mumbai with top memers and creators from India in attendance, where trends pertaining to the Indian memeaverse were shared.
Facebook India (Meta) director media partnerships Paras Sharma said, “Trends from the Indian memeaverse highlight how memes fuel culture and we’re glad to share them, so more people in the ecosystem understand the meme space even further. Now with Reels, memes have evolved from photos, GIFs, to short videos, and creative tools like remix, collab and original audio, are helping accelerate creativity in memes all across India.”
Ankit Chauhan aka @oyeankit, a meme creator from Surat, who’s rib tickling memes have traversed the internet and travelled internationally too, was one of the speakers at the global MemeCon. He said, “It’s great to see the meme community come together and chart the ways and means by which memes can be intertwined with culture even further. I was glad to be representing India at the Summit and highlight some of my memes that have travelled from Surat to San Francisco and beyond, on Instagram!”
BoAt co-founder, CMO Aman Gupta said, “Memes are an extremely interesting content format and are most representative of youth lingo and appeal. #SharkTankMemes is the perfect example, as people meme-d moments and dialogues from the show on Instagram, and pushed it to pop culture status. Creators are certainly flag bearers of this meme-language and I hope the trends from Instagram provide the structure for people, communities and brands to think about memes more intentionally.”
Top trends from the Indian memeaverse:
Top followed meme hashtags in India
#funnymemes
#gujjumemes
#tamilmemes
#memesdaily
#marathimeme
Trending hashtags
#iplmemes
#telugumemes
#kgf2
#gujjumemes
#willsmith
Topical and cultural moments that created meme-storms:
Choti Bachi Ho Kya?
Shark Tank India memes
Your accent is so sexy
Hera Pheri Memes
Mr McAdams
Gaming
Nodwin Gaming partners with Runestone for esports data and integrity solutions
South Asian esports leader joins forces with Czech tech firm to enhance tournament operations.
MUMBAI: Nodwin Gaming has just levelled up its game by bringing in a specialist to keep the scoreboard honest and the fans fully engaged. The leading South Asian esports and gaming company has announced a strategic partnership with Runestone, a Prague-headquartered esports technology firm specialising in real-time data and engagement solutions for tournament organisers and publishers.
The collaboration aims to strengthen competitive integrity, improve operational oversight, and deliver more interactive viewing experiences across Nodwin’s properties. It will initially focus on the Nodwin Clutch Series for Counter-Strike 2, a Tier 2 tournament that provides emerging teams with consistent competitive opportunities and helps build the talent pipeline.
The latest edition of the series recently concluded with Big defeating ECSTATIC 2–1 in the grand final of the $50,000 online event.
Nodwin Gaming chief business officer at MENA and global head of data monetization Teemu Koski said, “Integrity and transparency are fundamental to sustainable esports ecosystems, especially in Tier 2 competition where the next generation of talent emerges. Runestone’s expertise complements our experience in building scalable esports IPs.”
Runestone head of partnerships Michael Schwartz added, “Nodwin Gaming has built one of the most dynamic esports ecosystems across emerging markets. We’re thrilled to collaborate on supporting tournaments with greater transparency, deeper fan interaction, and scalable tools.”
Both companies are exploring opportunities to extend the partnership across additional titles, including mobile-first competitive ecosystems, and to develop new products for publishers, tournament operators, and event promoters.
In the rapidly growing world of esports, where fair play and fan excitement are equally crucial, Nodwin Gaming and Runestone are teaming up to ensure every match is not only competitive but also transparent and engaging. This alliance could well become a game-changer for Tier 2 tournaments across South Asia and beyond.
