Where Did TikTok Come From?

The second is more media than social. It’s driven by AI-powered and network-driven platforms that allow people to discover creativity, learning, and connection online. TikTok is an early iteration, untethered from a social graph and letting strangers connect across the globe.

Whilst contemplating this situation, my colleague Tom pointed out what I feel is the crux of the issue. TikTok has become the platform for algorithmic recommendation. The general sentiment among anyone I know is that TikTok, more than YouTube, and certainly more than Instagram et al, is phenomenally good at recommending things to you.

The crucial di... See more

the most important new social networks of the last few years have been notable for not really being social networks at all.

I’m referring to the TikTok-ization of user-generated content: the reason why TikTok was such a blindspot for Facebook is that, unlike Snapchat, it doesn’t depend on network effects, but rather abundance.

Creating a UX where users had to decide on virtually nothing—and the app just learned from their behavior—was TikTok's monster idea in an otherwise crowded boneyard. Everything else about its product and network grew from the powerful way that it connected consumers to creators without explicit follow actions.