COMMUNITY – TikTok

Tiktok is a video sharing social media platform that was founded by a Chinese company called ByteDance. Released in 2017 outside of China for iOS and Android, it was finally available globally once merged with another service called Musical.ly on August 2, 2018. Popular for its short videos ranging from 15 seconds to 3 minutes, it was made even more popular when the world was in lockdown at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was something light hearted, fun and entertaining in a world cut off from socialization. The videos range from dancing, singing, cooking, and entertainment to various tutorials and educative material. The company very creatively generates income through in-app purchases where you can purchase their ‘coin’ and then leave virtual ‘gifts’ to people when you enjoy the content they are producing. They also generate income by creating branded effects and filters, as well as branded hashtags. Another way of income is the advertisements that come after you watch a few videos or scroll through the feed.