Humorist Andy Herald of Pasadena created the “banana sdded for scale” meme that has been hugely popular on the photo-sharing service Imgur. (Luis Sinco, Los Angeles Times / February 12, 2014)

Imgur pictures itself as YouTube for viral images

Online image-sharing service Imgur figured out early on how to cash in on its fast-growing popularity. The company says it is profitable and has 130 million people visiting the site each month.

And that is why Imgur has become such a force on the Internet, Altimeter Group analyst Brian Solis said. It’s an Internet meme machine. Images posted on Imgur’s home page typically are viewed 100,000 to 200,000 times on the first day.

“Imgur is almost the perfect medium for celebrating today’s idea of Internet pithiness,” Solis said.

Read the story over at the LA Times…