TikTok vs. The World
5 in 5 - Brave & Heart HeartBeat #149 ❤️
This week we’re doing a deep dive on TikTok and the possibility of a ban in the US and across the rest of the western world.
Why? How? What will the effect be on creators? How did the app get so popular in the first place, and most importantly, why are TikTok users now referring to CEO Shou ZI Chew as “zaddy”?
Let’s get into it.
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#1 - TikTok Vs. The US Congress
As you may have heard, TikTok may or may not be a threat to national security across the western world and the rumblings of a potential ban in the US culminated in a congressional hearing with the apps CEO, Shou Zi Chew.
At the hearing, both sides of the US congress seemed to be united against TikTok, with their largest concern being whether the Chinese government has access to data collected in the US – the answer was not entirely clear.
While Chinese engineers do have access to the data collected by TikTok in the US, via their parent company ByteDance, the Chinese foreign ministry claim that they do not ask Chinese companies to provide data or intelligence located in other countries. Congress weren’t entirely convinced.
Another issue raised by congress was the effect of TikTok on children, with Chew admitting that his kids don’t use the app – apparently because the under 13s version isn’t available in Singapore where they live, he insisted that he would let them use the version available for children in the US.
An article published in Vice, who come down clearly on the side of TikTok in this fight, note that banning TikTok in the US would be the biggest possible gift to Facebook, allowing them to completely monopolise the social media scene. Suspicious.
#2 - My Hero
Speaking of Shou Zi Chew’s congressional hearing, an unexpected but actually if you’ve ever spent any amount of time on TikTok totally expected consequence of his appearance up against the US government was the flooding of the app with videos dedicated to Chew.
These videos paint Chew as a hero, an idol, even a sex symbol. Videos show him responding to congress with captions about how he really got them with that one, slow motion footage of him looking averagely attractive, and even little floating heart imagery.
Not only do TikTok users not care one iota about cybersecurity worries, they’ve been showing unwavering support for the apps leadership, with the aptly named “thirst edits” appearing shortly after the hearing ended and going viral pretty soon after.
Captions and comments such as “Zaddy fighting for us” shows that TikTok users place themselves squarely on the side of TikTok, and against the US congress.
One of the funniest things about these edits is the comparison between Chew and Zuckerberg suggesting that the Z-man is quaking in his boots as Chew comes up on top in the hunks in tech competition that we’re apparently having.
What does it say about TikTok users? That they have unwavering support for the app, that the hearts and minds battle between congress and Chew has been squarely won by Chew, and that users couldn’t give a flying heart emoji about what the US congress think about TikTok – they love it.
#3 Give My Data To China? Gladly
If TikTok has been masterminded by the Chinese secret service to spy on the rest of the world, they couldn’t have done it in a better way. People love TikTok and its addictive algorithm so much, that they don’t even care if it IS a spying tool. Users have stated, and we’re only paraphrasing a LITTLE bit here – “I don’t care if I’m giving my data to the Chinese, I have a right to decide to give them access to my data in exchange for TikTok if I want to”.
On the surface, sure, we all give access to our data to parts of the internet in exchange for services, it is, unfortunately, the literal premise of the internet nowadays – if something is free, you’re the product. However, when it comes to “national security”, should people be free to make this exchange?
What does it say about us that users overall couldn’t be less bothered about the fact that by using TikTok they may or may not (allegedly, apparently, potentially) be entering into a contract with China which may weaken the interests of their own countries. Are we literally selling our souls to TikTok?
Now we’re not trying to suggest that we’re at war with China, we aren’t (as far as we know), but imagine for a minute if during WW2 state secrets could be swapped for a two-minute performance of a popular dance, or an impression of your cat when you’ve closed the door on it, or a recommendation for the best lipstick currently on sale on the high street.
Makes you think…
#4 - How Will It Effect Creators?
With the risk of a Tik Tok ban looming over the western world, it’s a nervous time for creators who’ve made their work on the app their career.
BBC spoke to three creators to see what they thought, and while the creators themselves didn’t come across very well, seeming slightly vapid and cementing stereotypes of what it means to be TikTok famous, some of what they had to say was interesting in what it revealed about the platform.
A creator who made their niche in comedy clips described the consequences of what would happen if the platform was banned as being “pretty major” doesn’t know if TikTok is replaceable as the app’s creators “hit the nail on the head” when they made it.
He deems himself lucky as a creator who could work on other platforms such as YouTube, however on such a platform a comedians success would depend on people choosing to subscribe, rather than being discovered on the “For You Page” (or the “FYP”), being sent to friends, and becoming a viral success.
A rapper who broke into the music industry after his popularity on TikTok also thinks that the app helps musicians by giving them a visibility they would have to pay for otherwise with extensive promotional work.
What makes TikTok so powerful for creators is the idea that their algorithm means every video will be shown to at least one person, even if they have no followers – giving every user the chance of global fame. While these creators could move to other platforms, the possibilities given to them by TikTok are difficult to find elsewhere.
#5 - So What Is The Magic Spell?
Algorithm. The word on everybody’s lips, the code everyone wants to crack, the new grail. How does TikTok’s algorithm, described as super sophisticated and mega addictive, actually work?
While TikTok’s success is also due to easy-to-use video creation tools, a library of licensed music that can be used to soundtrack clips (unlike YouTube) and a billion dollar marketing campaign across Facebook and Instagram at the beginning of the app’s journey which bought new users at lightning speed, what has kept them on the app ever since is the famous FYP (“For You Page”) and the algorithm that populates it.
Unlike Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, a new TikTok users feed is already filled with popular videos, giving them a head start on other profiles which take work to create. Similarly, the algorithm doesn’t wait for users to indicate what they like or don’t like, but “pushes the boundaries of your interests” by showing videos it thinks you might like based on what you’ve interacted with.
For example, if you’ve watched videos of formula one, it may show you content related to sports cars on your FYP, and so on and so on until it knows exactly what you like, resulting in the extremely niche curated profiles we see today with user’s feeds tailored to show exactly what they’re interested in.
Recommendations are based on a number of data factors, including user interactions, videos liked and shared, accounts followed, video information such as captions, sounds and hashtags, and even your location, language settings and device type. While this may seem simple enough, how those various inputs are weighted and what precise factors lead to the apparition of a particular video on your feed remain opaque, and apparently even people on the algorithm team don’t exactly have the answer as to how it works.
The magic spell may be just that, magic. Whatever it’s doing, it certainly seems to be working to get users hooked.
Brave & Heart over and out.
Bonus
TikTok’s Best Nepo baby
The funniest thing we’ve seen on TikTok recently is this video of Sofia Coppola’s daughter with lead singer of cool indie band Phoenix filming herself doing a completely manic pasta recipe because she’s grounded, and not even allowed to use TikTok anyway.
She’s the funniest nepo baby on the internet, and as we haven’t seen her on the app since we’re guessing her parents have taken her phone away.
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