As the world is fighting off the Corona Virus aka Covid 19, there was another virus which did spread and still is spreading like wildfire is popularly known as the Tik Tok virus, It isn’t disrespect to any Tik Tokers out there, I must admit that it needs tremendous amount of unique ideas to be viral on Tik Tok but at the same time the cringe and cheesy quality of Tik Tok clips makes me wanna throw away my phone but I am not rich as Dan Bilzerian yet so I can’t do that.
Formerly known as Musical.ly, Tiktok is now owned by a Chinese start up called ByteDance ( Currently world’s most valuable Startup ) which makes me wonder that why are the Chinese people so good at making viral things ( Pun Intended ) . But whatever Tik Tok isn’t totally a Gimmicky app and it does have a lot of useful features and advantages which is why it is becoming so viral, making more room for sleepless nights for Mark Zuckerberg.
The short form video of Tik Tok in portrait form with cheesy sound effects and filters might sound like Snapchat but it’s hard to get famous on snapchat and Tik Tok can make you a success overnight if you can nail its formula right. So, it isn’t surprising that Tik Tok is in the Top 10 apps list almost everywhere in the world. It’s forte is its algorithm , It exactly knows what kind of content you will like on Tik Tok and its eerily right always , keeping you hooked to the platform and with great AI Capabilities it does make your feed very close to your liking without you have to do anything much .
People nowadays are impatient and have a lot of choices which makes us restless so that’s why the AI driven app which chooses for you what you will watch and will take only 15 Sec of your time is a hit. It works in low bandwidth so while travelling you get entertained easily and won’t take a lot of your time and it’s a good platform to also spread social message and information in a very short and creative way , like during the time of this ongoing Pandemic a lot positive messages are being shared on the platform.
Tik Tok was never a Snapchat or YouTube Rivaling platform, it has its own market with a different set of target audience than any other platform be it Snapchat, Instagram or YouTube etc. You can expect a Person to find high quality Travel Films or Informative Videos on Youtube or a High-Quality Photography Page or a Brand Page on Instagram , which isn’t there on Tik Tok. But what you will find on Tik Tok, you wouldn’t generally anywhere else. It is mostly popular with Teens. Also, it is much easier to gain attention and become famous on Tik Tok than any other Platform. You only need a Mobile Phone and some crazy Talent then you have the potential for it.
So, in the end I would say Tik Tok is a Double-Edged Sword, it is up to you that how you would see this platform, it is a powerful tool and can be very useful. The only thing about the app that bothers me that it is Chinese owned which again makes me think about the Privacy issues that can occur, as we know how china is so good in handling Privacy of data.
Tik Tok is her to stay, you may hate it or love it, Its an App that no one takes it seriously, but it brings in more cash and attention than your average start ups out there . So, watch out for it.
NOTE : I DON'T HAVE A TIK TOK ACCOUNT. SO DON'T TRY TO FIND ME THERE.
Cheers !