The Rise of TikTok

By now if you haven’t heard of the social media platform TikTok, I’m not sure where you have been. This platform has taken the social media world by storm and I think there are a few reasons for it. Now, I’d like to take you back a bit to 2013, remember vine? This app also became very popular very quickly, unfortunately it was about as equally quick that this app would fall off, but that’s a different topic for a different day. The reason I bring up vine is because of the similarities between the two platforms, both started off with short video times, roughly 6-7 seconds in length. I think that these short video times were a huge reason for the rise of these apps because of our generations decreasing attention span.

The main reason that I believe TikTok has become so popular is because of their algorithm. It has something that has been talked about a lot in regards to the app. Rather than platforms like Instagram and Facebook where your home page is where you will see the content of accounts/people that you follow. TikTok has created the ‘For You Page’. This page will show you videos/content from users that you follow, but will also be filled with content from users that you have not followed. This is why the algorithm of TikTok has been talked about so much. They are able to track how long you watch certain videos, when you share them with friends, when you like certain videos. They then use this information to flood your ‘For You Page’ with similar content to keep you interested.

(Brian Dean, 2022)

Now, while TikTok still remains behind other platforms in overall popularity I think its influence on these platforms can’t go unnoticed. Instagram and Youtube have taken notes from TikTok and the popularity of shorter videos. With instagram creating ‘Instagram Reels’ and Youtube creating ‘Youtube Shorts’. While these may have different names these are essentially the brands own versions of a ‘For You Page’. Allowing users to scroll through 6-7 second videos from users in a very similar framework that has made TikTok such a hit. Will TikTok continue to grow and evolve in the world of social media or will we see TikTok go down the same road as Vine? I am excited to see what this platform has in store.

Twitter: Find out how #TikTok has risen the ranks of the most popular #socialmedia platforms https://bit.ly/3vNlJRv

Facebook: What is it that makes TikTok a social media platform to look out for? Find out on my most recent blog post: https://bit.ly/3vNlJRv