> How do you think it's possible for an app appearing seemingly out of the blue to move so fast in such a crowded and mature market like social media?

Has anyone in this thread actually spent time watching Tim Tok videos and using the app?

It’s completely addictive, the content and dynamics of the app are great. It’s a really solid product and it’s not confusing why all the kids like it.

I mean I am totally open to the idea that there’s lots more going on and it’s a nuanced situation. But let’s start with the basic facts, it’s not confusing why it’s a giant hit.

TikTok is the first app where AI is the product. https://a16z.com/2018/12/03/when-ai-is-the-product-the-rise-...

What's the Chinese Govt response to social media engament optimizing/addictive apps been?

Do they recognize the dangers? Is there a digital well being movement happening?

And it fills a niche that previously had other offerings in it, but that have since disappeared.

> Has anyone in this thread actually spent time watching Tim Tok videos and using the app?

I just looked at what's trending [1]. It's like Facebook on steroids, teenagers posting 10 second videos of me me me. The only thing you learn watching TikTok videos is how to get people's attention with 10 second videos.

[1] https://www.tiktok.com/trending

> How do you think it's possible for an app appearing seemingly out of the blue to move so fast in such a crowded and mature market like social media?

I'm not sure if you're on Snapchat or Instagram, but they aggressively advertise (I see dozens of TikTok ads a day). Basically, they're burning money.

It's definitely not sustainable.

I am thinking rather in the context of google plus for example: they had the money to promote it and the channels to do it and still they had to close it.

Throwing money at a problem doesn't always solve it. Not wanting to sound conspirational, but there's got to be more than huge piles of money behind tiktok.

The average time spent in front of artwork at a museum is 8 seconds.

Maybe this is the attention span of people in leisure?

It's not that surprising to me. China was a perfect launch market - huge internet population, nationalistic preference for Chinese products (including software), Great Firewall on YouTube and Facebook, etc.

Meanwhile, for their international launch they've been able to burn a stupid amount of investor cash where most US VCs wouldn't touch streaming video in a big way with a ten foot pole because the economics have been so bad historically.

Just curious, do you consider the US to have a nationalistic preference for US products?

Depends heavily on the market segment and type of product we're talking about. A lot of Americans really love their Japanese cars and electronics, for example, or even swear by European firearms (and luxury goods, of course). On the other hand, there's definitely a preference for "Made in the USA" products in things like tools and trucks.

On the software side it's kind of hard to say for certain because so much of the software world started in the US before being replicated elsewhere so is it nationalistic preference or just first-mover preference? I'm not sure. But I am pretty sure it's not even close to the same level as in China.

I have no reason for this other than the way you phrased it inspiring it but I wonder if there's a class divide on this...

Depends who you talk to, but generally no.

It is generally pretty easy to figure out if you are talking to someone from the US because they so readily and zealously advertise US-based products (Netflix, Amazon/AWS, Apple, etc).

But not because they're US products (not consciously at least).

For an outside observer it is not clear that this is the case.

I find that hard to believe. US consumers overwhelmingly favour Apple compared to the rest of the world.

LG, Lenovo, Samsung, Spotify, Sony, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, H&M, L’Oreal, Zara, Gucci, Nescafé, Nestle, IKEA are also big brands here. Then there’s all the crap we buy from China. All the clothes we’re getting from places like Honduras, Burma, India, Vietnam.

Much of the rest of the world also favors US software from Microsoft and Google.

Apple is just one company. Some American switching from a Mac is just as likely to buy a Microsoft or Dell product, or even a Lenovo, running American software. Or if they switch from an iPhone to a Samsung, Sony, LG, or OnePlus phone, it is likely running American software.

Do we have a nationalistic preference for buying our own products? I think the answer is some of us and sometimes. If it were pervasive or strongly held, companies like Toyota or Honda or Sony would never have made inroads here in the first place. I think on average, when we buy an American product, it’s because we like the American product more on its own merits. That’s why Japanese car companies can so thoroughly dominate the market for sedans while Ford and GM can so thoroughly dominate the market for trucks.

The majority of the world is more price sensitive. North Americans are willing and able to pay premium prices.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/283334/average-smartphon...

I don't find it remotely hard to believe, and I don't think this is a good example. US consumers have more disposable income and are more aggressively advertised to than the rest of the world. Apple historically has done an amazing job of advertising their products as the top of the line, premium option. It's certainly the most expensive (usually). If Apple was based in Korea along with Samsung, I doubt they'd suffer much if any loss to their market share in America.

Are you American? I suspect either you're not, or we live in very different parts of the country. I do believe that most Americans would say that they prefer American made over otherwise, but I don't believe more than a small subset actually stick to that when making purchasing decisions unless American made vs Non-American made is the only difference between two choices, which is rare.

Edit: It's late and I'm tired so perhaps I'm missing something, but looking at this [1], I'm not really seeing any data to back up the statement that America "overwhelmingly favour[s] Apple compared to the rest of the world." UK, Canada, Norway, Ireland, Denmark are all at similar levels of iOS adoption compared to the US, and Japan is far higher. At a glance, I'd guess that iOS adoption is pretty correlated with a country's economy. The least popular places for iOS are Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Ukraine, South Africa.

[1] https://deviceatlas.com/blog/android-v-ios-market-share

You’re not wrong exactly but it’s not to the same extent. Especially for software. The example is TikTok’s success. And a European or north or south American app wouldn’t get the same scrutiny we’re seeing here.

> US consumers overwhelmingly favour Apple compared to the rest of the world

Similar story with Xbox vs the far more globally popular PlayStation video game consoles.

There is a difference between a strong preference for US products and a nationalistic preference for US products. A strong preference for US products may come from US companies just understanding the market better. But I don't think that outside of some consumers with their cars and motorcycles, there is a strong desire to "Buy American" and support a product specifically because it is American.

...what? Almost all luxury goods that are prized are foreign-touched in some way. Cars, jewelry, exotics...

> How do you think it's possible for an app appearing seemingly out of the blue to move so fast in such a crowded and mature market like social media?

Occam's razor: It provided what people wanted.

it took up the vacuum left by vine and inherited the musical.ly users

Why Twitter killed vine will forever be a frustrating mystery to me

Because the people at the head of Twitter have no idea what to do with a social network or why it work (or doesn't)? It's not like their handling of Twitter itself is much better...

I agree with the other responses to your post. As a younger millenial that is on other social media apps, I saw tiktok as soon as it launched and have seen the aggressive marketing. Contrary to your point, I'm a little surprised it took so long for the MSM and old people to figure out what was going on. There's real money in being young and in-touch.