What I Know About

2012image macroclassic

What I Know About is a Tumblr slideshow meme format from 2012 where users create intentionally low-quality PowerPoint presentations explaining topics they know little about. The format became popular for outsiders humorously describing fandoms they had only encountered through their Tumblr dashboard, typically using Comic Sans and sloppy copy-pasting.

slideshow memestumblr memesfandom discourse memesearly 2010s memes2012 memes

Overview

What I Know About is a Tumblr meme format consisting of deliberately crude slideshow presentations that explain a topic from the perspective of someone with only passing, secondhand knowledge3. The slideshows are designed to look like Microsoft PowerPoint presentations and feature hallmarks of amateur design: Comic Sans font, randomly placed narration, and low-quality copy-pasted images3. The format became a staple of Tumblr humor in the early 2010s.

The meme works by having creators summarize complex fandoms, TV shows, or cultural phenomena based solely on what they had gleaned from their Tumblr dashboard3. This outsider perspective leads to hilariously wrong or oversimplified explanations that fans of the actual content find entertaining. Posts are typically titled "What I know about [X] from my dash," with "dash" referring to the Tumblr dashboard where users see posts from accounts they follow2.

The appeal lies in the contrast between the earnest presentation format and the wildly inaccurate content. Someone explaining Homestuck as "something about grey kids and buckets" or describing Doctor Who as "British man runs from statues" captures how fandoms appear to outsiders scrolling past the endless posts without context.

How It Spread

The What I Know About format spread rapidly across Tumblr in late 2012. On November 11th, 2012, Tumblr user JinnyMoose created a meta post titled "What I Know About Tumblr" that explained the platform itself using the format3. The post gained over 35,000 notes within just over a week, prompting JinnyMoose to create a second part on November 15th3. The meta approach of using the meme to explain the meme's home platform proved especially popular.

By November 2013, the format had become so ubiquitous that user thesquirtleshavethephonebox created an even more meta version titled "What I Know About 'What I Know About My Dash' From My Dash"3. Popular Tumblr tags for the slideshows included "What I Know" and "What I Know About"24. The format was applied to virtually every major fandom active on Tumblr at the time, from Supernatural to Sherlock to Attack on Titan.

Outside of the What I Know About format specifically, PowerPoint parody had already established itself across the internet. YTMND hosted nearly 30 PowerPoint-style pages, with a 2006 page depicting Obi-Wan Kenobi presenting about a Death Star attack among the most viewed3. In January 2012, the non-profit Growing Leaders uploaded a YouTube video parodying over-the-top presentation styles, which had gained over 270,000 views by March 20143.

How to Use This Meme

To create a What I Know About slideshow, pick a topic you know very little about, typically a fandom or show you have only encountered through social media. Create slides that look intentionally amateur: use Comic Sans font, paste images at awkward angles without proper cropping, and add narration that sounds confident despite being clearly wrong or oversimplified. Title it "What I Know About [Topic] from my dash" and share the images as a series. The humor comes from presenting obviously incorrect information with the earnest formatting of an actual educational presentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What I Know About

2012image macroclassic

What I Know About is a Tumblr slideshow meme format from 2012 where users create intentionally low-quality PowerPoint presentations explaining topics they know little about. The format became popular for outsiders humorously describing fandoms they had only encountered through their Tumblr dashboard, typically using Comic Sans and sloppy copy-pasting.

slideshow memes tumblr memes fandom discourse memes early 2010s memes 2012 memes

Overview

What I Know About is a Tumblr meme format consisting of deliberately crude slideshow presentations that explain a topic from the perspective of someone with only passing, secondhand knowledge3. The slideshows are designed to look like Microsoft PowerPoint presentations and feature hallmarks of amateur design: Comic Sans font, randomly placed narration, and low-quality copy-pasted images3. The format became a staple of Tumblr humor in the early 2010s.

The meme works by having creators summarize complex fandoms, TV shows, or cultural phenomena based solely on what they had gleaned from their Tumblr dashboard3. This outsider perspective leads to hilariously wrong or oversimplified explanations that fans of the actual content find entertaining. Posts are typically titled "What I know about [X] from my dash," with "dash" referring to the Tumblr dashboard where users see posts from accounts they follow2.

The appeal lies in the contrast between the earnest presentation format and the wildly inaccurate content. Someone explaining Homestuck as "something about grey kids and buckets" or describing Doctor Who as "British man runs from statues" captures how fandoms appear to outsiders scrolling past the endless posts without context.

How It Spread

The What I Know About format spread rapidly across Tumblr in late 2012. On November 11th, 2012, Tumblr user JinnyMoose created a meta post titled "What I Know About Tumblr" that explained the platform itself using the format3. The post gained over 35,000 notes within just over a week, prompting JinnyMoose to create a second part on November 15th3. The meta approach of using the meme to explain the meme's home platform proved especially popular.

By November 2013, the format had become so ubiquitous that user thesquirtleshavethephonebox created an even more meta version titled "What I Know About 'What I Know About My Dash' From My Dash"3. Popular Tumblr tags for the slideshows included "What I Know" and "What I Know About"24. The format was applied to virtually every major fandom active on Tumblr at the time, from Supernatural to Sherlock to Attack on Titan.

Outside of the What I Know About format specifically, PowerPoint parody had already established itself across the internet. YTMND hosted nearly 30 PowerPoint-style pages, with a 2006 page depicting Obi-Wan Kenobi presenting about a Death Star attack among the most viewed3. In January 2012, the non-profit Growing Leaders uploaded a YouTube video parodying over-the-top presentation styles, which had gained over 270,000 views by March 20143.

How to Use This Meme

To create a What I Know About slideshow, pick a topic you know very little about, typically a fandom or show you have only encountered through social media. Create slides that look intentionally amateur: use Comic Sans font, paste images at awkward angles without proper cropping, and add narration that sounds confident despite being clearly wrong or oversimplified. Title it "What I Know About [Topic] from my dash" and share the images as a series. The humor comes from presenting obviously incorrect information with the earnest formatting of an actual educational presentation.

Frequently Asked Questions