The TikTok Legacy is Here to Stay
TikTok may be gone soon from our app stores, but the hype and legacy it has created, is here to stay for long.
TikTok has been one of the favorite apps for creating short lip-synced dance and drama videos. It has over 2 billion downloads on the App Store and 800 million active users worldwide. According to Oberlo statistics, TikTok conquers the teens of the world, with 41% of its users being between the age of 16–24. It not only gave space for people to express themselves and became a source of entertainment, but also led to the growth of numerous social media influencers — and up until now, it enjoyed the hype and popularity it gain over the past few years.
However, 2020 has not been so kind to TikTok (rather to most of us). First, there was a clash between Indian and Chinese troops at the Indian border. This led the Indian government to ban 59 Chinese apps including TikTok. Tiktok had one of the largest downloads from India — a massive 277 million downloads in 2020. The government banned the apps on grounds of leaking information of India and its citizens to the Chinese government. TikTok has issued a clarification, however the ban is surely here to stay.
On the other hand, the growing tensions between the US and China — first due to a trade war, and then the US blaming China for the coronavirus pandemic has led the Trump government closely scrutinize the Chinese app over issues related to cyber risk and data privacy. The Telegraph reported that the US could now ban TikTok “within weeks”.
Two sides of the coin
While many are happy over this decision of a ban both in the US and India due to the anger in their citizens over their national security being risked to China, some are just happy to see this app go away. They highly criticized the app for its “below the par” content, and sometimes even objectionable content which was on the edge of sometimes being sexist and “dangerous” for impressionable teenagers.
However, there is another side to the story — the story of the “TikTok Influencers”. These are the group of people who had a large following on TikTok and would earn heavily by monetizing their videos through product promotions from companies. This group of TikTok supporters are completely devastated by the news of a potential ban, as this would end their primary source of income through promotions. The fact that they relied completely on one single app as their income source, could potentially end their careers and lead to scary results. See one of my articles on “responsible influencing”.
The legacy may not end !
This may be the downfall for TikTok, and ultimately its end — but the legacy and user base it has created is here to stay. Numerous big tech companies like YouTube and Instagram have been working on similar form of short video uploading feed to battle TikTok. Now, with the potential ban that TikTok may face, the companies are curiously waiting to launch their versions for immediate grasp by the lost “TikTokers”.
1. YouTube Shorts
YouTube is working on its own TikTok like app, naming it “Shorts”. Seemingly, like Tiktok, it will allow users to upload short videos, and take advantage of licensed available with YouTube Music. YouTube recently stated the following in their support pages.
“We’re testing out a new way for creators to easily record multiple clips directly in the YouTube mobile app and upload as one video. If you’re in this experiment, you’ll see an option to ‘create a video’ in the mobile upload flow. Tap or hold the record button to record your first clip, then tap again or release the button to stop recording that clip. Repeat these steps until you’re done capturing footage up to a maximum length of 15 seconds.”
It’s still uncertain as to how the UI of this new feature would look like, and how creators would be monetized on this new platform. But considering the reputation associated with YouTube’s monetization scheme, it is for sure it would be somewhat better than TikTok. This won’t be the first time that YouTube would have brought in a popular feature from another platform to their own. YouTube brought the popular feature of “Instagram Stories” to their own platform as “YouTube Stories”, and the only difference being — unlike Instagram, YouTube Stories would stay for 7 days.
2. Instagram Reels
Facebook has been really worried about the presence and growth of TikTok. A study by Morning Consult found that almost 42% of US teenagers 13–16 years old from the US use TikTok. Facebook users among this age group are 1% less. With the growing popularity of TikTok, Facebook had introduced a similar app named “Lasso”, which never really took off.
With the huge deal of acquiring Instagram, Facebook is now betting on their new plan of launching a TikTok like app — “Instagram Reels”. Facebook is putting all its weight on Reels, and firmly believes that the integration of Reels with the already popular app Instagram and its stories, it will become an easy alternative for TikTok and will very quickly grow larger than TikTok. According to Business Insider, in the midst of the tensions going on between the USA and China, and the Trump government keenly eyeing on banning TikTok, Facebook has found the perfect opportunity, and could release Instagram Reels by August, 2020.
3. Homegrown TikTok(s)
With the ban of TikTok in countries like India, homegrown developers are trying to sneak into the market which was conquered primarily by TikTok. Recently, one of the largest entertainment companies in India — Zee Entertainment Services, announced to launch a TikTok like app named “HiPi” through their subsidiary Zee5. The company went on to say —
“Made for a self-dependent India, ZEE5’s innovative and exciting platform called ‘HiPi’ is a place where India can create the most ingenious and exciting content with the help of state-of-the-art features… It is the destination for all things entertainment and a platform for fandoms and storytellers which they can call their own.”
Existing homegrown apps like “Chingari” and “Trell” are witnessing a sudden influx of large number of content creators, who probably signed up after the ban of TikTok. Trell is experiencing 25 times their normal growth and Chingari’s CEO, Sumit Ghosh exclaimed that right after the TikTok ban, they experienced an unimaginable growth of 100,000 downloads per hour.
4. Opportunity for entrepreneurs
This is also the perfect time for startups to come into the market with their own versions of TikTok. Surely, TikTokers are looking for better and reliable alternatives after the ban — one with better monetization schemes, better visibility and more importantly, one which is sustainable.
For example, a Indo-US startup, Rizzle.tv started by Indian students who earned their master’s degree in Texas and Nebraska, adopted the idea of short videos from TikTok, but were concerned that it does not provide an interactive platform between the creators and the audience. The founders therefore decided to create Rizzle.tv, which unlike TikTok ditches lip-synced videos and dance, and focuses on interactive videos and conversations on trending topics. It received a funding of approximate $6 million dollar in 2020, and is looking to strengthen their business plan and monetization schemes.
The conclusion . . .
TikTok’s end may be near, but the hype, legacy and the love for short story-telling videos that it has created, whether you love or hate it — is here to stay for long. Not only is this a propitious opportunity for big social media platforms to step up their game in the short videos’ space, but also a golden chance for entrepreneurs and startups to enter this market with cool ideas which people will love and adopt without giving a second thought.
I hope you liked this article and it provided you an insight of how the end of TikTok may not be the end of its legacy. If you want to discuss anything related to the article, feel free to email me at jishnudeep.kar@gmail.com or DM on Instagram.
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