Image macro

Not to be confused with macro photography.
An example of a lolcat, one of the more frequent types of image macro.

In internet culture, an image macro is a picture superimposed with text for humorous effect. If an image macro becomes recognizable enough, it can be considered an instance (sometimes the only instance) of an associated internet meme. Image macros are usually overlaid with white Impact font bordered with a thin black outline. The use of image macros of this format was widespread from 2007 to 2011, after which the popularity declined rapidly, with very few of the original websites and sources actively sharing and creating new versions and iterations using this format as it had become "overused". The format popularised in internet culture from 2015 to present is a white area above the image (or sometimes even a video) containing a caption, originating with screenshots from the Twitter mobile application.

Etymology and use

The term "image macro" originated on the Something Awful forums.[1] The name derived from the fact that the "macros" were a short bit of text a user could enter that the forum software would automatically parse and expand into the code for a pre-defined image.[1] This in turn related to the computer science topic of a macro, defined as "a rule or pattern that specifies how a certain input sequence (often a sequence of characters) should be mapped to an output sequence (also often a sequence of characters) according to a defined procedure".

Beginning in 2007, lolcats and similar image macros (a form of internet phenomenon) spread beyond the initial communities who created them and became widely popular.[2]

Formats

Although they come in many forms, the most common type of image macro is a photograph with large text superimposed in Impact font, using all upper-case letters and coloured white with a thick black outline.[3] Exaggerated, intentional spelling errors are also used frequently for humorous effect.

One of the more famous image macros is "O RLY?" O RLY is often used on the internet as an abbreviation for the phrase "Oh, really?" Originally started with a snowy owl photograph (which is the classic O RLY image macro),[4] it spread out over the Web quickly and was followed by other macros that convey a wide range of emotions. Another style of image macro that has amassed its own separate subculture is the "lolcat", an image combining a photograph of a cat with text intended to contribute humour. The text is often idiosyncratic and grammatically incorrect, and its use in this way is known as "lolspeak" or "kitty pidgin".[5]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Memes and image macros.

References

  1. 1 2 "SAClopedia entry for "image macro"". Something Awful SAClopedia. Retrieved 2008-07-28.(registration required)
  2. ↑ Rutkoff, Aaron (2007-08-25). "With 'LOLcats' Internet Fad, Anyone Can Get In on the Joke". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  3. ↑ Phil Edwards (2015-07-26). "The reason every meme uses that one font". Vox. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
  4. ↑ Stephen Phillips (2006-01-18). "Internet Term of the Week". The Independent Tiger Weekly. Archived from the original on 27 January 2008. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
  5. ↑ Dwight Silverman (2007-06-06). "Web photo phenomenon centers on felines, poor spelling". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
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