Published on April 28th, 2020 | by Sunit Nandi

Everything You Need to Know About TikTok App

In 2018, TikTok, a Chinese owned video-sharing app, opened its platform to the worldwide market.

A lot has happened since then – it’s party after party, non-stop. Even the Washington Post, among other reputable online platforms, enlisted the services of a TikTok expert – videos go viral here. It’s no brainer, where there are people there is a market. TikTok has opened a new advertising floodgate for brands.

Teens figured it out and are obsessed with it. Millennial and Gen X are still trying to figure it out – or think they have. Governments, on the other hand, fear its implications on morality and consequently banning and fining the company in some territories.

What’s all the fuss and concern about TikTok rise? Well, read on to find out everything you need to know about the TikTok App.

How TikTok Works

The platform allows you to record short videos, typically 30-60-second-long, and post the same to your channel. Content creators can take advantage of the massive music library to embellish their educational or entertaining content with cool soundtracks.

In China, TikTok is called Douyin. ByteDance, a Chinese tech giant and TikTok parent company acquired musical.ly, an app similar to TikTok in 2016. They merged musical.ly with Douyin in 2017 and then rebranded to TikTok.

Music is where the platform edges out the competition. The platform has gained international traction and reportedly edged out Facebook and Instagram in terms of app store downloads since 2018 according to Betway’s research.

Others may refer to the platform as a byte size form of YouTube. What makes TikTok unique is the exposer to content from people you wouldn’t ordinarily follow. This is attributed to the TikTok algorithm, which within ten minutes, can expose you to ten different videos by people with divergent political views and cultural norms.

How Content Creators Make Money on TikTok

Unlike YouTube and Facebook, the monetization of content is still relatively underdeveloped. While Facebook and YouTube pay content producers to have rolling adds on their videos, TikTok doesn’t have this option in place.

TikTok is ripe for marketing, users are much engaged, and content creators have garnered a vast following. TokUpgrade works brilliantly to get followers.

In the absence of ad revenue-split revenue between TikTok and content creators, instead, the company allows users tip content creators with real word cash. Users add money to a virtual wallet, which is converted to TikTok virtual cash called diamonds transferred down to content Creators.

And of course, there is also influencer marketing for brand mention or feature in videos. Creators with a considerable following are the lucky few to get solicited by brands to get featured in challenges that are common with the platform.

Why Authorities Are Concerned with TikTok

The controversy and concerns with TikTok that makes legislatures uncomfortable is the China factor. The communist country is known to have a great firewall that blocks and censors western media as well as its citizens. For instance, TikTok censored and banned a U.S teenager for making a video about the Hongkong Uighur stalemate – a sensitive topic for China.

However, after the protest, the company unbanned the teen. It is not an isolated case, and there are concerns about engineered discrimination. TikTok is unique, it is the only Chinese app with colossal success outside the Chinese market raising eyebrows with legislature terming it a threat to national security.

Wrap Up

Concerns are still rife as to whether TikTok is a security threat or it will fade away in popularity with time. However, one thing for sure is that its model of video sharing will continue to attract more users. Legislatures remain skeptical and will be keeping a dog’s watch.

Tags: everything, need to know, tiktok

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.