It's unclear what will happen to TikTok at 12 a.m. on January 19. According to Reuters, TikTok leadership will comply with the rapidly approaching ban by "shutdown." According to the Biden administration, they will not enforce the law and the app will continue to be available. Regardless, for the most nervous of TikTok's 170 million U.S. users, the effort to find a new home for its content has begun. Luckily for them, nearly every social media platform thinks they have the answer. But will these courtships succeed?
As an app, TikTok thrives on its ease of discovery. On its "for-you" page, powered by a proprietary algorithm owned by parent company ByteDance, Infinite Scroll keeps users interested in the app by constantly showing them new creators and trends that the algorithm predicts will match their interests. Engagement. It also features practical in-app editing software, meaning even the newest editor can learn.
At the beginning of the app's popularity in 2020, this discovery feature made Common Poster a household name and industry must-have. Even for those whose goal isn't to become a celebrity, TikTok's recently added store feature and the thousands of coupons and discounts it offers each week allow small businesses to make real money on the app. Not every platform is video-based — and replacing the TikTok behemoth in the U.S. seems like a tall order. But the platform's approach to attracting new users doesn't appear to be pretending to be a one-to-one alternative to the app, but instead co-opting a successful aspect of TikTok and promising to do better than ByteDance's biggest U.S. property.
When people think of Substack, the publishing platform behind some of the largest and highest-grossing newsletters today, front-loaded short-form video content doesn’t necessarily come to mind. But according to the company, the platform has upgraded its video capabilities, including allowing anyone with at least 10 subscribers (paid or unpaid) to live stream from its page — and the data they've seen suggests that writers who add videos Revenue tripled rapidly.
"With TikTok ban looming, we want to help creators save their audiences and build sustainable livelihoods for subscribers before they lose what they've created," said Substack CEO Chris Best thing." rolling stones. “(Substack) gives video creators, podcasters, and writers the ultimate power: true independence through audience ownership.”
YouTube has been promoting its own short-form video content section, YouTube Shorts, for the past four years, which was first launched in 2020. India banned TikTok shortly before Shorts launched, and many Indian users have found a home there, even before the US. After officially taking action to ban it, hundreds of prominent TikTok creators used it to build massive followings on YouTube. There, they cross-post content as a way to take advantage of the platform’s monetization program. YouTube hasn't made any specific announcements about bringing in new users (and they've declined rolling stonesrequest for comment), but that's likely because they've been capturing some of TikTok's biggest names since 2020.
Snap also has a wealth of content from well-known creators such as Charli D'Amelio, Loren Gray and Alix Earle. These people can monetize their videos and story posts, which for dedicated posters means a weekly windfall. According to a company spokesperson, Snap's content will grow by 50% in 2024, which makes them feel ready to welcome a large number of new users. The company also recently announced a new monetization program in December that pays creators for Spotlight videos longer than one minute.
Most posters believe (perhaps incorrectly) that the site is past its prime, but there is interest. In 2014, the blogging platform Tumblr created an era-defining look, filled with photos of skinned knees, ripped pantyhose, cigarettes, Doctor Who gifs, and reams of moody lyrics typed against a stormy backdrop. . Even after two changes of ownership, Tumblr remains home to niche fandoms and inside jokes that can only be discovered through strict moderation.
Tumblr's scrolling strategy is similar to TikTok, but requires users to follow personal accounts they like in order to populate their feeds. But over the past two years, the site's administrators have introduced a "Community" section as a way for Tumblr posters to interact directly with their fandoms—reminiscent of Tik Tok's aptly named Tok section. The pages feel like a mix of Discord Chat, public Instagram, and Tumblr's searchable post tags, but it's a way to go for creators who might be more used to TikTok's algorithm automatically connecting like-minded posters.
Ari Levine, Head of Partnerships rolling stones The site believes Tumblr should be the choice for many TikTok users because of their long history of fostering cross-genre connections. “At a time when it feels like the internet is collapsing, change is happening, and platforms are on the verge of shutting down, Tumblr has been a social media corner for people around the world for nearly 18 years,” Levine said.
TikTok parent company ByteDance is trying to give TikTok users a reason to stay close. TikTok had integrated its sister app Lemon8 into the platform in the weeks leading up to the ban. Lemon8 combines TikTok's video posting capabilities but places it in a static homepage similar to Pinterest or Instagram. ByteDance allows users to sign up with existing TikTok accounts and notify their followers that they have joined another platform. It is unclear how many TikTok users have joined Lemon8.
While established companies continue to compete for creators' attention, the nature of TikTok's losses has alarmed some users about how easily their livelihoods and platform could be taken away. This is especially important considering that Elon Musk's recent acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) effectively destroyed the product for many American users. Isaac Hayes III, son of Isaac Hayes, is the founder of Fanbase, a crowdfunding social app that aims to empower transparency by prioritizing monetization to compete directly with larger brands.
"We deeply sympathize with the TikTok community in the United States as they invest so much time, energy and passion into growing this platform, only to put everything at risk," Hayes said. rolling stones. “We know how much this means to them and we are committed to being a space where they can continue to thrive and build without fear of losing what they have worked so hard to create.”
As Sunday approaches, there's still a chance the TikTok ban will be put on hold. The Supreme Court on Friday voted to uphold the current ban, leaving the app's only options if the company decides to sell, or a last-ditch effort by the American billionaire; on the same day, Biden appeared to withdraw his approval of the ban he signed into law — —The president will not fine companies that keep TikTok in app stores, unnamed administration officials said. But for the average TikTok user, no matter what happens with TikTok and no matter what platform they choose, what seems to be emerging is the depressing realization that any new profiles and promising earnings are still in the hands of someone else.