A massive video library for computer vision and a huge data set on user actions taken for each video.

More bullish take... potentially the next YouTube.

Doesn't look like it's for the data.

For one thing, user gesture data or user action data can be automated with 3D software. Provides a far better set of training data.

Data for targeted advertisements? Microsoft is hardly in that business of selling ads.

I understand Mojang, because Minecraft is a platform that engages kids in meaningful ways. But TikTok is an app to waste time and shit post.

>For one thing, user gesture data or user action data can be automated with 3D software.

Not sure I get what that means.

>I understand Mojang, because Minecraft is a platform that engages kids in meaningful ways. But TikTok is an app to waste time and shit post.

Kids are definitely engaging in meaningful and interesting ways on TikTok. It would be an incredible overgeneralization to say otherwise. Is there a bunch of crap on there too? Sure, but you can write off the internet with the same logic. Crap is also fun, which has some value too.

The content on early YouTube wasn't what we have today either...

> Not sure I get what that means.

Generation of video clips of human gestures, by automating a 3D modeling software, like Blender, will give you not only the video, but also depth and other data related to the video.

If you are looking for sources to train your model to recognize depth / gestures, videos from TikTok are far less useful, than generating your own ones by automating or programming them.

Sorry, I’m talking about the user generated actions on the consumption side. Likes, shares, comments, pauses, loops.

Regardless my point on the data aspect of the acquisition wasn't meant to be the reason for the actual value of TikTok for Microsoft.

It is a chance to acquire the next YouTube. An incredible chance, if you ask me.

TikTok has the feel of something like Vine or Snapchat.

Sure, teens and kids are using it, but it feels like people will grow out of it.

I mean, people grew out of Friendster and MySpace too, until Facebook turned out to be the one they didn't grow out of.

Nobody knows, but it's worth a gamble.

Facebook is getting grown out of. The younger ones hardly see FB as the hip thing.

And, FB has morphed into more than just a way to meet friends. It has become the town square for the village idiot to shout at the top of his lungs as to how UFOs are implanting DNA into the cattle.

I think Facebook has gained an almost utility-like status among the general population. Sure, you might not be on it as much as you used to be a decade ago, but most people still consider having an account on it as useful. Facebook really saved itself by having a thriving Marketplace and various local groups. There's also many entertainment/meme pages, but there's plenty of competition for those.

I myself hardly ever log in to my account and haven't even posted anything on my "wall" (remember when that used to be term?) in nearly a decade, but I still find myself visiting the Marketplace whenever I need to occasionally buy/sell something or find a new apartment.

I used both Snapchat and TikTok extensively, and TikTok is like the farthest thing from Snapchat. It can't be more different.

They gain access to a huge community of mostly young people to promote their gaming products. You pair it with a good chat service, which they already have through Teams or Skype, and then you can take on Twitch or Discord, which are also gaining a lot of traction.

> you can take on Twitch or Discord

Microsoft already tried to take on Twitch, with Mixer, and failed. (Gamers will probably be wary about jumping onto Microsoft's next doomed platform.)

And anecdotally, Discord replaced Skype for a lot of people in the gaming community, and I don't see people leaving it very easily.

I find the closure of Mixer incredibly short sighted IF they end up buying TikTok. They easily could have rebranded/merged Mixer as TiKTok Live and moved their exclusive contracts over to the TikTok brand.

From the outside looking in, it seems like Mixer had other factors that contributed to the decision to close up shop[1].

It seems like Phil Spencer had a meeting with the affected ex-employee but nothing came out of it[2].

Adding on to that, a leaked town hall video really painted a grim image of the company and the management internally.[3]

[1]https://twitter.com/MilanKLee/status/1274830702538821632

[2] https://twitter.com/MilanKLee/status/1286008870935179266

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RZxaSLyjUM

TikTok Live is already a feature.

Having live streaming built into the xbox platform + tiktok as a brand and audience would be a much more power combo than just mixer alone.

Is this the manager seen on the video[3] who was accused of racist behavior? I wonder if they still work at Microsoft, I also wonder who put these people in charge.

I don't believe Mixer was shut down because of bad management though, if the people in charge weren't getting results, then Microsoft would have just replace them.

It was not the same person. The person in the video was Shilpa Yadla according to ArsTechnica[1].

I would tend to agree that management not getting results could be replaced. It could be that bad management was a symptom and not the cause.

[1] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/06/microsoft-is-killing-...

A better foothold among consumers beyond the desktop PC? Microsoft has desired that for years, and this is it's chance to get it. It missed mobile phones and the rise of social media, but has an opportunity here to potentially get involved.

TikTok is massive. The deal would come with a _lot_ of data.

Looks like Trump is ordering them to sell their US operations.