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TikTok Remix Culture

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Re: TikTok Remix Culture

#141
Any time I have tried to watch videos on it I feel like I am getting a headache and having a few IQ points shaved off.

Mostly it makes me sympathize with people back in the day when cocaine was consider a tonic and medicine.

"This stuff is so entertaining and I can't believe I just want more and more. You just have to try this cocaine stuff, you will love it".

Re: TikTok Remix Culture

#142

I think part of TikTok's success is the fact that they have a public/guest browser platform[0] that doesn't restrict you from seeing content without an account. It means people who wouldn't usually have the mobile app can still be a part of the action, and that may eventually drive them to sign up. It's actually almost unbelievable that you can browse endlessly and never once be prompted to sign up unless you try to…

Oh it will happen once organic growth slows down and the various teams have KPIs and OKRs to follow. Every company bgoes through these phases.

They're still benefiting from their "underdog" status, that won't last

Re: TikTok Remix Culture

#143
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tiktok is full of girls dancing with very little or very tight clothes on for likes and attention. It's really seedy. There's subreddits dedicated to posting about these accounts. On top of that it is designed to be addicting for the sake of addiction. It doesnt matter what the video is about once it will keep the user on the app. The algorithm will work out the perfect way for each person to be sucked in. We all kno…

TikTok is very good at recommending new content based on what you engage with (watch, like, comment, etc), if your feed is full of girls dancing, it's because you spend time actually watching it instead of just moving to the next video. My feed is full of people (for some reason mostly eastern european or from central asia) working at their construction jobs.

It doesn't necessarily mean it's directly based on one's own engagement. I don't use tiktok, but on Instagram i mostly follow sports stuff related to what I enjoy (skiing, cycling, running). What content will instagram show me? The most viral content in those categories. What's the most viral content in those categories? A girl skiing in her bikini, a female cyclist with unzipped top, a runner in mini shorts stretching.

But maybe tiktok is better in this regard, heard much praise about their algorithm.

Re: TikTok Remix Culture

#144

I think part of TikTok's success is the fact that they have a public/guest browser platform[0] that doesn't restrict you from seeing content without an account. It means people who wouldn't usually have the mobile app can still be a part of the action, and that may eventually drive them to sign up. It's actually almost unbelievable that you can browse endlessly and never once be prompted to sign up unless you try to…

The difference seems to be if your company is in growth mode vs squeeze mode. Not to say that you're doing poorly if you're squeezing, you're just trying to extract every ounce of value from users regardless of the long term effects.

Growth mode vs. death mode?

Re: TikTok Remix Culture

#145

I think part of TikTok's success is the fact that they have a public/guest browser platform[0] that doesn't restrict you from seeing content without an account. It means people who wouldn't usually have the mobile app can still be a part of the action, and that may eventually drive them to sign up. It's actually almost unbelievable that you can browse endlessly and never once be prompted to sign up unless you try to…

Oh it will happen once organic growth slows down and the various teams have KPIs and OKRs to follow. Every company bgoes through these phases. They're still benefiting from their "underdog" status, that won't last

That’s the problem with something people build a community around being controlled by a company. That’s why open standards are better than a company. Also small things are often better than big. For example there are some great forums running in PHPBB or similar and lovingly maintained by owners. No bullshit like you get on modern apps making it hard to do what you want because like you say KPIs etc lead to dark patterns.

Re: TikTok Remix Culture

#146

Basically every comment here says positive things about tiktok. Is this a bot invasion on HN or is it really that good? The few times I tried it it gave me loads of crappy content. No thank you, I'm not in for another doom scrolling addiction. The world has already enough addictive dopamine-f**ing time-sucker almost contentless social medias. I don't have the energies to fight against or maniacally curate my feed for…

There sure has been a change in attitude towards tiktok here on hn. Just go back a year or so when Trump tried to ban it (or force a cheap sale to oracle) and tiktok was accused of being an extension of ccp - read the comments from back then.

Facebook, google etc are also an extension of American 3 letter agencies, so I get why people don't really care. Almost better to ship my data to ccp that cannot really use it for anything, than give big US even more on me.

Re: TikTok Remix Culture

#147
post #140
post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also really like today's YouTube and I even pay for it. For me the trick is that I now use it almost exclusively to watch original content made for YouTube. And there's a ton of that stuff, from DIY garage geekouts to language instruction to cooking shows. And eating shows! One of the biggest YouTubers I follow basically just goes around eating stuff.[0] I think YouTube is slowly becoming a major platform for origi…

How do you find this stuff? YouTube is so full of absolute garbage that's it's a struggle to find something worth watching. I watch painting videos on YouTube but spend way too much time digging.

Some things I find by searching for very specific things, like say YouTubers in Thailand or (lately) modular synthesis which led me to Andrew Huang[0]. Other stuff I get pointed to by friends, eg Mark Rober for his anti theft videos which are hilarious. And some things are YouTube suggestions, the algorithm seems pretty conservative but it has turned up a few good things.

There is great stuff out there, I find the amount of garbage I actually see and have to skip over is pretty small these days.

[0]: https://youtube.com/c/andrewhuang

Re: TikTok Remix Culture

#148

I think part of TikTok's success is the fact that they have a public/guest browser platform[0] that doesn't restrict you from seeing content without an account. It means people who wouldn't usually have the mobile app can still be a part of the action, and that may eventually drive them to sign up. It's actually almost unbelievable that you can browse endlessly and never once be prompted to sign up unless you try to…

Oh it will happen once organic growth slows down and the various teams have KPIs and OKRs to follow. Every company bgoes through these phases. They're still benefiting from their "underdog" status, that won't last

[deleted]

Re: TikTok Remix Culture

#149

I think part of TikTok's success is the fact that they have a public/guest browser platform[0] that doesn't restrict you from seeing content without an account. It means people who wouldn't usually have the mobile app can still be a part of the action, and that may eventually drive them to sign up. It's actually almost unbelievable that you can browse endlessly and never once be prompted to sign up unless you try to…

I clicked and immediately got a modal saying that TikTok is better in the app and I had to click X to go to the page.

Re: TikTok Remix Culture

#150

I think part of TikTok's success is the fact that they have a public/guest browser platform[0] that doesn't restrict you from seeing content without an account. It means people who wouldn't usually have the mobile app can still be a part of the action, and that may eventually drive them to sign up. It's actually almost unbelievable that you can browse endlessly and never once be prompted to sign up unless you try to…

I disagree, it’s fairly restrictive outside of showing you one video if you’re in the browser. You can see the video you were linked to but not comments, other videos that use the same sound, other videos by the same creator etc. It’s a pretty common pattern these days; you can also see IG progressively locking down web features tighter and tighter for example.

Are we even talking about the same site? I opened tiktok.com in a private browser window and was greeted by an infinite scrolling list of videos. I scrolled past maybe a hundred and was never prompted to sign up. Clicking on a creator's name takes me to their profile with all their videos. Clicking on the music link immediately above each video takes me to a www.tiktok.com/music/ page with tons of videos using the same music. Only comments are behind a login wall.

These might change in the future, but your claims just aren't true at the moment. I'm not sure if there are regional variations. (douyin.com certainly behaves differently, but that's an entirely different product.)

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