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TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

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Re: TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

#131

Post by daptaq »

wongarsu wrote: post #58
daptaq wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll just relink to my last comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28024747 : > My impression is that TikTok is the most shameless exploiter of curating content to maximize attention. You resign all the control and hope to petition "the algorithm" to change what you get to see -- like some kind of a god that ultimatly controls you, no matter what you sacrifice. They are in a position to spread propaganda and p…

Newspapers can spread propaganda or keep information from spreading, or you from being heard. Yes, everyone using TikTok as their only source of news and entertainment is incredibly bad. But that can be said (and has been said) about almost any source of news or entertainment. We should rather teach us and our children healthy engagement with media, how to avoid addiction and how to make sure we engage with different…

Yes, but newspapers are not in a position to generate an image of your psychology, that could be used to manipulate you. Imagine any belief you currently hold dearly, be it social, personal or political, that you could be manipulated into betraying. Something like this is either the basis or the prototype for a unforeseen danger to society -- and that is without taking into consideration how horrible the culture on the platform can be.

Re: TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

#132

Post by bakuninsbart »

cirgue wrote: post #105

This means one eighth of humanity uses tik tok once a month. Only about 3.8 billion people worldwide have a smartphone. We’re saying that about one in 4 smartphone users registers a hit on tik tok every month. That seems really high.

Considering that it is banned in India and not operating in China, these numbers do seem too high. There's probably a pretty large amount of people with multiple accounts, be it for companies/organizations or pushing their own profile further with vote- and view-manipulation.

That said, TikTok is everywhere in developing nations, and the younger generation in western countries is also fully hooked. Social media platforms are such an interesting business and social phenomenon, I half expected the sector to reach maturity with the options available once Instagram really took off... Now the new kid on the bloc is starting to overtake all the behemoths.

Re: TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

#133

Post by bakuninsbart »

Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #16

Am I the only one who sees it as a problem that US and European companies can't really work on China market, but they leave their markets wide open for Chinese companies? Like, no company is allowed in US/Europe if it does not recognize Taiwan as an independent state? Isn't it how conforming to local rules and regulations should work? UPD: clarification due to people mentioning Mercedes, etc: my comment was mostly di…

I think you oversimplify the situation, it is actually important to look at things on a case-by-case basis, reciprocity is very complicated. Facebook was banned in China following the Urumqi Riots in 2009, which led to 200 deaths and many more injured. The protests that turned violent were largely organized via Facebook, and the company denied giving out details about the organizers. Not cooperating with law enforcement got them banned.

Similarly, Google did not want to enforce Chinese censorship in their search engine, so their services were slowly banned, too.

Both companies do follow censorship laws in other countries, like Germany, albeit much more reasonable ones. These are laws that chinese companies must follow, too, but western companies couldn't justify it to their employees, investors and governments, so they pulled out. TikTok would probably be fine with handing over protester data to the FBI if asked.

A larger point to press the Chinese on when it comes to economic access are forced joint ventures, which have for example been largely abolished for the EU and are generally receding in importance.

Another issue is IP theft, and a court system that (according to some) favors Chinese companies over foreign ones. However, instead of trying to change how China treats our companies, the new way seems to be to just trying to reduce access of chinese companies. The bans of Huawei for example are actually discriminatory, and the idea that TikTok must be sold to be allowed to continue to operate was pretty outrageous. Biden seems to continue with Trumps policies in that regard, but with a much softer touch.

Re: TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

#134

Post by oyebenny »

jdlyga wrote: post #14

TikTok has definitely become the platform for short form video content. It used to be YouTube, but it's since matured into a place to watch more well produced videos in the 20 minute range. If you haven't given TikTok a chance, try it out.

Ya, no. Chinese-shillin

Re: TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

#135

Post by somedude895 »

oyebenny wrote: post #134
jdlyga wrote: post #14

TikTok has definitely become the platform for short form video content. It used to be YouTube, but it's since matured into a place to watch more well produced videos in the 20 minute range. If you haven't given TikTok a chance, try it out.

Ya, no. Chinese-shillin

Ok I don‘t want to make any unfounded accusations, but every post on Tiktok, there‘s the same kind of comment: „Try Tiktok. The recommendation engine is insane, you have to try it to believe it.“

I’ve tried to see what all the fuss is about multiple times and from what I’ve seen it just seems so out of character for the HN crowd to like that platform.

Re: TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

#136

Post by hiidrew »

f0e4c2f7 wrote: post #89
periphrasis wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would I want to watch short form video content? Genuinely curious here.

It's a similar dynamic to why tweets can be better than long form blog posts. The time limit forces content creators to actually get the content out. On YouTube (which I still love) it's endless intros, ads, disgressions, and sidetracks. YouTube videos often have the similar quality, it's just 40 seconds of content spread out over 12 minutes. TikTok and twitter incentive for denser content.

I believe I read somewhere that the YouTube recommendation algorithm favors videos in the range of 12-20 minutes. True or not, I wonder if the rumor is a reason why many YouTube creators fall within that time window.

Re: TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

#137

Post by jazzyjackson »

hiidrew wrote: post #136
f0e4c2f7 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a similar dynamic to why tweets can be better than long form blog posts. The time limit forces content creators to actually get the content out. On YouTube (which I still love) it's endless intros, ads, disgressions, and sidetracks. YouTube videos often have the similar quality, it's just 40 seconds of content spread out over 12 minutes. TikTok and twitter incentive for denser content.

I believe I read somewhere that the YouTube recommendation algorithm favors videos in the range of 12-20 minutes. True or not, I wonder if the rumor is a reason why many YouTube creators fall within that time window.

Don’t know about the algo (who does?) but the ability to place mid-roll ads was minimum 10min, now lowered to 8min.

Re: TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

#138

Post by [deleted] »

flycaliguy wrote: post #112
missedthecue wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would even a total and complete data breach reveal about your average user though? That Jane Doe from Billings, Montana loves (has a high interaction rate with) short cat videos, squat exercise tutorials, and relationship-oriented TikToks? None of these 1B users upload their credit card info or social security numbers to the platform.

I don’t know how detailed their analytics are, but using TikTok does somewhat resemble some sort of psychological experiment with fast flying stimuli. It figured me out pretty quick.

[deleted]

Re: TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

#139

Post by treesknees »

burrows wrote: post #110
dzhiurgis wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably same as fb and insta. Just use it via browser. (It wasn’t trusting my incognito mode when using playwright, but saving session while in iPhone mode worked)

Seems duplicitous to suggest that a web browser provides something like an anonymizing client.

A web browser prevents access to permissions like contacts, photos, location. I use Facebook and Instagram very rarely but always do so in a web browser for this very reason. It's not that it's "anonymous" since obviously I'm logged in with my own profile, but it helps to compartmentalize their access both in terms of overall permissions, and the timing of that access. Facebook can't push out an update that sends my location somewhere 24/7 if I don't have a Facebook tab open in my browser.

Re: TikTok has reached 1B MAUs

#140

Post by treesknees »

dzhiurgis wrote: post #82
loloquwowndueo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wasn’t the tiktok app lambasted for being terribly intrusive and data-collecty?

Probably same as fb and insta. Just use it via browser. (It wasn’t trusting my incognito mode when using playwright, but saving session while in iPhone mode worked)

Tiktok doesn't work as well in the browser. I do this from time to time when someone sends me a link, but they seem to show popups after a period of time telling you to get the app. It makes it pretty hard to use casually or to search for specific content.
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