Pixel

In the realm of social media, a pixel denotes a diminutive piece of code that gets embedded within a website or any digital asset. Advertisers use pixels to accomplish three things: track what users do on the site, for which they use the pixel to send and log what's called an 'event'; collect as much data as possible, using the pixel not only to track the user but also to log the kind of device the user is using as well as other relevant (and user-identified) characteristics; and measure, with as much accuracy as possible, the effectiveness of a given advertising campaign, especially in terms of figuring out the 'return on investment' (ROI) quotient for that campaign. The most widely recognized advertising pixel comes from Facebook, but just about every major social media platform, including Twitter and Instagram, has its own pixel.

Pixeling is akin to the silent, backstage work of a loyal scribe; the pixel logs away an impressive amount of detail—certainly more than most of us would like to have logged about us—for the nominal appearance of great visual pictures on the screen.