Rendering

In the context of social media, rendering refers to how visual, audio, or interactive components of a post, video, story, or ad are perceived by the user on their device. It is the platform's way of ensuring that whatever raw data was uploaded—whether as media files, text, or interactive components—appears as it was intended to be seen. Every rendering instance is real time, as in 'now,' and the faster the better, of course.

Because social media operate as real-time platforms, anything that appears to be lagging or 'cooking' could result in user engagement dropping like it was left out in the summer heat. Yet, speed isn't everything: If a platform sacrifices quality in the name of speed, that too could negatively impact engagement. And then there's compatibility.

Not only do all of the components have to work together seamlessly on the platform, but rendering has to take into account the different kinds of devices through which users are perceiving the completed image. From the next-generation smartphone to 'old faithful' on the other end of the spectrum, the rendering engine has to do its job with a high degree of confidence—so much so that several social media platforms get 'dinged' in the arena of not having a strong VR/AR experience to offer.