bytedance's first hit was an algorithmic news product called toutiao. then in may 2015, toutiao began experimenting with video on its front page. in just over a year, video clicks began exceeding article clicks. bytedance had multiple teams work on different video ideas. the winning concept eventually became tiktok.

How did an app designed by two guys in Shanghai managed to run circles around U.S. video apps from YouTube to Facebook to Instagram to Snapchat, becoming the most fertile source for meme origination, mutation, and dissemination in a culture so different from the one in which it was built?