Zeitgeist. It seems like I can’t turn on the radio without hearing a commentator - likely trying to sound more intelligent - using the word zeitgeist. It this a self fulfilling meme?

Am I adding to the zeitgeit by posting this log entry? Am I aiding and abetting an existing meme, or is this the birth of a new meme? (I also like saying “meme”. Meme, meme, meme.)

Further, what is the purpose of this particular addition to the…um, zeitgeist? Granted it’s a good word - worthy of a page in your word-of-the-day calendar - but why the sudden appearance? The egoist in me concludes it’s because the speaker wants to sound intelligent (or is that the cynic in me?) but maybe it’s just an example of a lingual mind virus run amok.