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TikTok Boom

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TikTok Boom

Canbury Press,

15 min read
8 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

TikTok isn’t just a popular app; it’s a business phenomenon that’s out-innovating Silicon Valley.

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Editorial Rating

8

getAbstract Rating

  • Overview
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Once seen as little more than a place for vapid teens to waste time, TikTok has grown into a multifaceted business phenomenon — and a sign of China’s global ambitions. In this intriguing read, journalist Chris Stokel-Walker offers a sweeping overview of TikTok’s evolution into one of the most powerful virtual spaces for influencer marketing, political commentary, and other forms of expression. He also explores the arguments labeling the app as a national security risk, noting that while there’s little evidence that TikTok feeds information to the Chinese Communist Party, there are costs and complications when a platform reared in an authoritarian state goes global.

Summary

TikTok is reshaping both the nature of fame and of China’s role in the global economy.

In 1968, pop artist Andy Warhol famously predicted that, someday, everyone would enjoy 15 minutes of fame. At the time, Warhol’s statement seemed fantastical. It sounds equally outlandish today, but for vastly different reasons: Thanks to the global rise of the Chinese-owned short-form video platform, TikTok, and its copycats, a user can enjoy mere seconds of global renown — then disappear just as quickly — or parlay a string of popular videos into a fortune-generating career. Part of TikTok’s appeal lies in its unpredictability. A user with just 50 followers could hit the algorithmic jackpot and suddenly become a celebrity.

But TikTok’s impact goes beyond just revamping the usual paths to fame. Its success in the West marks a strategic shift for China. The hardware manufacturing giant has now set its sights on becoming a world-leader in software, artificial intelligence, and next-generation technology development. Since its inception, TikTok has been downloaded 2.6 billion times worldwide. While YouTube and Facebook needed more than a decade each to eclipse 2 billion monthly...

About the Author

Chris Stokel-Walker is a British journalist whose work regularly appears in Wired, The Economist, and Fast Company. He is known for breaking news about YouTube and TikTok and often reports on the sites for television, radio, and podcasts.

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