How the TikTok platform came into being
TikTok is an international version of the Chinese platform Douyin, created by ByteDance. The unique feature of this service is the ability to create and watch short videos.
Douyin appeared in 2016 and immediately gained popularity among Chinese internet users. In just 12 months, 100 million people registered and watched more than 1 billion videos every day.
Following the service’s success in China, ByteDance decided to enter the international market. So, in 2017, TikTok appeared in other countries. In its first year of operation in the US, 130 million users downloaded the application, and worldwide (excluding China), this number reached 2 billion downloads. By 2020, more than 800 million people were watching videos on the platform every day.
TikTok features
The TikTok platform has quickly become popular around the world. Bright, short videos grab users’ attention and recommendation algorithms keep them spending more and more time on the application. The development of TikTok resulted from a new approach to social networking that was not available at the time. For example, machine learning technologies are responsible for delivering personalised recommendations in the feed and reading faces to create filters.
Uniqueness of the service has made it a success:
– a new platform with diverse content that does not need to hold users’ attention for long periods of time;
– the availability of various digital tools opens up huge opportunities for creativity;
– organic and viral reach means that even a newcomer can get millions of views and recommendations.
TikTok is also becoming an excellent tool for brand promotion, mainly due to its wide reach.
Initially, the service was popular with a young audience, but it has also become attractive to adults. However, the majority of the platform’s users are under the age of 24. Women make up 60% of the total audience.
Although TikTok still has fewer users than giants like Facebook and Instagram, it is considered the fastest-growing platform.
Criticism of platform
Despite the platform’s global popularity, TikTok regularly faces criticism from politicians and experts in different countries. First of all, there are questions about the security of the service. Developed by a company based in China, TikTok may be under the control of the country’s authorities. Accordingly, there is a risk of data transfer to the Chinese government, which entails using various information for purposes contrary to the security of other states.
In 2020, Donald Trump advocated banning TikTok in the US, but his proposal was not adopted. During the same period, the Indian government blocked the platform in the country due to privacy concerns. Pakistan also banned the TikTok app in 2021 for obscene content.
