The social media landscape is always changing and we never know what is going to be the next best thing. Bigger social media websites like Facebook or Twitter have found ways to always stay relevant in a landscape that is always changing, but there’s a budding social media platform that is looking to bloom into a full contender to the giants soon, and that is TikTok.
What is TikTok?
Facebook or Twitter is not really the best place or even has the best capabilities to post shorter comedic videos or to show off musical talent. Even just trying to share a video on Facebook is a pain because it takes time for the video to process and Facebook has such stringent rules that it might get flagged for spam. On top of that, the younger crowd doesn’t even like using Facebook much anymore now that it’s really only known as a place where their parents are trying to stay relevant. On top of that, Facebook doesn’t have the greatest options for sharing videos either. It’s a pain trying to share a video from a Facebook user to a non-Facebook user. It’s just not very user-friendly when it comes to videos. Twitter is no different. Just trying to share a video from Twitter onto another website is a pain because it just shows up as one long link and just looks ugly. It makes people not want to click the link because it isn’t just an easily embedded video that someone can just hit the play button on and enjoy a short quick video.
TikTok allows users to record and post short videos where they can do everything from show off their amazing vocals to posting videos of them doing something hilarious to make the world laugh. TikTok might not be putting out the kind of numbers that Facebook and Twitter are yet, but they have the advantage of being a platform that younger users are using. Right now, most of the users are in China because that’s where it started.
Why Is TikTok Growing So Fast?
TikTok originally started as a platform called Musical.ly and, just like TikTok did, blew up almost overnight. There was a point back in 2015 when Musical.ly was at number one. It was a place where talented hopefuls had a place where they could be discovered and be the next musical sensation. However, a year later Bytedance, a Chinese tech company created an app similar to Musical.ly known as Douyin. Soon thereafter, they purchased Musical.ly and turned it into the TikTok we know today back in 2017. They created TikTok with the intention is having a place where users can put all kinds of videos that people could like, comment on, amass followers, and most of all, share. Tik Tok is a place where people can be as creative as they want to be without all the stringent rules of Facebook or risk getting banned for tame content as Twitter would.
Many thought that Tik Tok wasn’t going to make it. Some thought it was too bizarre or cringy. Some even thought the platform would encourage people to do stupid things just to try to go viral. However, you can’t exactly upload long video content on the platform. You can only create a video of up to 15 seconds long. However, you can put these videos together in separate videos, but only up to second pieces. TikTok isn’t just about recording videos, but you can edit videos, put filters on them to show effects, or even lip-sync along to a song.
All these features have helped TikTok propel its way to the top of the charts with billions of downloads worldwide. Most of the downloads are from the younger generation. However, it’s being shared across hundreds of countries. People who are afraid of not getting any exposure on TikTok should be assured that videos on the platform can get billions of average views in a single month. That’s enough viewers to get eyes on your platform in hopes of getting you where you want and need to go, but what is Tik Tok worth?
What Is Tik Tok’s Worth And Who Owns It?
Zhang Yiming, a software engineer and founder of TikTok’s parent company, has openly talked about the app being worth billions of dollars. He is the owner of Bytedance, the Chinese tech company behind TikTok. The company itself looks to be valued over 70 billion dollars. That’s a lot of money.
That’s not surprising for a platform that has grown so fast in popularity. Unlike Facebook or Twitter, TikTok is quickly growing because it is finding new ways to stay relevant by giving users newer ways to interact with each other and share videos.
