Image macro

An image macro of Johann Sebastian Bach.

In internet culture, an Image macro is an image superimposed with text for humorous effect.^[1]

Etymology and use

The term "image macro" originated on forum web-sites.^[2] 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.^[2] 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 phenomena) spread beyond the initial communities who created them and became widely popular.^[1]

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. 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),^[3] 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".^[4]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Memes and image macros.

• Motivational poster
• Internet meme
• Rage face

References