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TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

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Re: TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

#51
post #30
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook was able to leverage their popularity with college students into a larger platform that had mass appeal with all age groups. I don't see why TikTok can't add features and get the same results.

Facebook has network effect, TikTock doesn't really. Facebook is really centered around 'everyone you might know' including friends and family, whereas I doubt parents and grandparents will ever go onto TikTok. Most importantly, TikTok is not basic communications tool, it's a specialized communications tool honed on a timely and probably faddish trend. Facebook may or may may not survive, but TikTok will have to tran…

Will most likely branch out into all the other usual markets, TikTok chat, TikTok meetings, TikTok Ads, TikTok shops, TikTok news, TikTok Pay, etc. Basically another slightly different version of the same stuff we're all used to with these kinds of social platforms. Still.. >100Bn is simultaneously ridiculous, funny and sad imho.

EDIT: valuation makes a bit more sense for the parent company seeing as it has a lot of other brands that are huge in China and India

Re: TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

#52
post #22
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twitter and Snapchat are both “only” worth around $25B each This isn’t just about a money printer.

Tiktok: 800 million monthly active users worldwide. Twitter: 330 million monthly active users worldwide. Snapchat: 360 million monthly active users worldwide. Maybe TikTok should "only" be worth $50B?

So far in this discussion I've figures of 500 million, 800 million and 1.5 billion users for Tiktok. All staggering but rather large degree of variance

Re: TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

#53
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook was able to leverage their popularity with college students into a larger platform that had mass appeal with all age groups. I don't see why TikTok can't add features and get the same results.

Facebook solved the core problem of real identity on the web. Extending outside colleges was a natural progression (first to workplaces, then to high schools, then publicly). TikTok solves the problem of short form video creation / entertainment. Will their userbase be interested in creating the same type of content in 4-5 years? I think they'll struggle the same way Snapchat struggles to convince people over 35 to u…

... yeah and Vine.

Re: TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

#54
TikTok proved to be a perfect secret clubhouse for Gen Z sensibilities of humor, nihilism, and celebration of differences. But as older generations pile on that do not pass the "vibe check", it is already slowly starting to ruin the party. It's still the best party in town, but hopefully ByteDance is humble enough to realize TikTok's success is about a lucky coupling of a format and cultural moment.

Re: TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

#55
post #5

I really can't fathom how this is possible. The largely young demographic (which I'm guessing warrants this valuation) has a track record of jumping from platform to platform, whichever is trendy for a given year. With that in mind, how are investors seriously willing to get behind this company in such a big way?

In my opinion Tiktok is a viable replacement for Instagram, a platform that generates on the order of 10B USD revenue a year. They both have pub/sub models where you can follow topics or celebrities or content creators you care about. Instagram is more photo focused and Tiktok is more video focused. The video first format is arguably higher fidelity/more compelling for content consumers.

Yes, people jump from platform to platform. Instagram will not be king forever, but it will be generating massive amounts of money both on the upswing and the downswing.

Re: TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

#56
post #5

I really can't fathom how this is possible. The largely young demographic (which I'm guessing warrants this valuation) has a track record of jumping from platform to platform, whichever is trendy for a given year. With that in mind, how are investors seriously willing to get behind this company in such a big way?

The tendency of young people to jump from platform to platform is partially an illusion caused by the fact they don’t remain young. You see this especially in dating sites — people used to think OkCupid could never make money because it was dominated by 18-to-25-year-olds. Now it’s mostly people in their 30’s, and the prior king of 30-somethings, Match.com, is for people over 40. The same thing happened with Tinder, PlentyOfFish, etc.

TikTok isn’t a dating site, but it’s certainly “flirty”. It has specific appeal to socially active teenagers and nearly all of the content shows off suitability for dating: looks, dancing, fashion, wit, etc. I could imagine adding paywalls to men contacting desirable women, or of course just padding the feeds of less valuable users with ads.

Re: TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

#57
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook was able to leverage their popularity with college students into a larger platform that had mass appeal with all age groups. I don't see why TikTok can't add features and get the same results.

Facebook solved the core problem of real identity on the web. Extending outside colleges was a natural progression (first to workplaces, then to high schools, then publicly). TikTok solves the problem of short form video creation / entertainment. Will their userbase be interested in creating the same type of content in 4-5 years? I think they'll struggle the same way Snapchat struggles to convince people over 35 to u…

> I think they'll struggle the same way Snapchat struggles to convince people over 35 to use their app.

Have you used TikTok lately? It's overwhelmed with millennial/elder millennial and beyond. I don't see this as a problem for them and in fact I think people are jumping over to it in droves.

Re: TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

#58

What happens if Chinese big tech starts dominating the world? Since the US no longer dominates manufacturing, if the US starts losing in services too, what advantage will the US ever have on China?

Soon Tiktok will be banned in the US by an act proposed by FB lobbyists.

Smart for them to hire an American CEO, though. But I still believe FB has more lobbyists.

Another possible outcome is they will be forced to sell TikTok to some holding companies in the US.

Re: TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

#59
post #54

TikTok proved to be a perfect secret clubhouse for Gen Z sensibilities of humor, nihilism, and celebration of differences. But as older generations pile on that do not pass the "vibe check", it is already slowly starting to ruin the party. It's still the best party in town, but hopefully ByteDance is humble enough to realize TikTok's success is about a lucky coupling of a format and cultural moment.

If what you’re saying is true, then in a sense a lot of these apps are like the Seinfeld of the time. Eventually the season finale happens, and very few end up being a Simpsons (Facebook).

Profit while you can I guess.

Re: TikTok has recently traded at valuations of $105-110B on private markets

#60
post #30
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook was able to leverage their popularity with college students into a larger platform that had mass appeal with all age groups. I don't see why TikTok can't add features and get the same results.

Facebook has network effect, TikTock doesn't really. Facebook is really centered around 'everyone you might know' including friends and family, whereas I doubt parents and grandparents will ever go onto TikTok. Most importantly, TikTok is not basic communications tool, it's a specialized communications tool honed on a timely and probably faddish trend. Facebook may or may may not survive, but TikTok will have to tran…

Instagram doesn't have the same network effect as Facebook. Snapchat does have Quick Add, which shows people you might know; it's also a much more communication-driven platform.

TikTok is probably the modern Instagram replacement, not the modern Facebook replacement.

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