The launch of TikTok in 2016 turned the world upside down. The new social network quickly gained a lot of users and completely captured their attention thanks to the clips that appear on the screen immediately after launching the application. However, TikTok has competitors who are not going to unconditionally acknowledge its leadership.
TikTok positions itself as "a resource for short clips shot on a smartphone." Mark Zuckerberg believes that TikTok resembles the “Recommendations” section on Instagram. But it is not so.
Statistics show a huge increase in the popularity of TikTok in the United States over the past few years. Even the ban on the use of the application in several countries and conflicts related to data protection did not prevent TikTok from becoming a real nightmare for Facebook and Instagram.
The new California office of the company is located in the same building where WhatsApp previously worked - a messenger owned by Facebook. In addition, TikTok has hired more than twenty former employees of Facebook, Apple and Google.
It is unlikely that the United States will allow its largest companies to give way to a successful competitor from China. Several applications are already being developed there, which could become a serious threat to TikTok. Here is what is known about them.
Facebook Launches Lasso
Facebook and Instagram are considered TikTok's main competitors, and they are already developing and testing a new application.
Facebook launched Lasso in 2018. In addition to him, TikTok can compete with such projects of the company as Instagram or Reels. It seems that Facebook does not care too much about which of the company's applications the users will choose, and tries to attract people to all projects. The tech giant has a huge user database, which is in demand among advertisers and allows the company to maintain its status as the most popular social network.
The launch of Lasso in 2018 was very quiet - the official official statements were not even published on Facebook. Facebook project manager Andy Huang and project manager Lasso Bowen Pan announced the release of the new application a couple of posts on Twitter. Unsurprisingly, Lasso is not yet very popular. It is not known whether the application can succeed, but do not forget that Facebook is a powerful company with enough resources to create serious problems for TikTok.
Instagram tests Reels
In early 2019, Instagram began secretly testing in Brazil a new feature called Reels. It is available to users with both Android and iOS and is very similar to TikTok.
Instagram is a visual platform that has a huge user base. If developers can reproduce the functionality of the original application, Reels could become a real threat to TikTok.
In Brazil, this is one of the functions in history - along with a “boomerang” and a “super zoom”. The platform recommends that users add videos to stories and send to friends to get more likes and increase engagement.
YouTube develops Shorts
Until recently, YouTube was the main platform for video sharing - competitors that could lure its users simply did not exist. At the same time, to create a good video on YouTube, you need to have video skills, and editing functions to lay people may seem too complicated.
With the advent of TikTok, the situation has changed - short, low-quality user videos have gained immense popularity. To compete in this niche, YouTube created an extension of its main application called Shorts. Its concept almost completely repeats the functionality of TikTok: it is a tape of short videos aimed at those users who do not want to watch long clips. The company officially announced plans to launch a new feature at the end of 2020.
Byte is becoming more popular
New entertainment for TikTok lovers. Byte is called the successor to Vine - a social network that belonged to Twitter and was closed in early 2017.
Byte was launched in January 2020, and in a short time the application managed to attract many users. It is too early to say that Byte can surpass the success of TikTok, but the service is rapidly gaining popularity among teenagers in the United States.
The new application is another TikTok clone with slightly modified functionality. Users shoot or download six-second videos about everything that attracts their attention, and share them with the whole world.
Unlike other social networks, Byte does not show the number of subscribers in user profiles. This is partly done to reduce their anxiety. In addition, this way the platform may hide that so far it does not have a huge user base. In the future, Byte plans to develop a special program that will allow influencers to earn money on creating content.
Google answer
This technology giant is also not going to stay away and plans to create its own version of TikTok. The Wall Street Journal reports that in October 2019, Google was about to acquire a video-related startup called Firework. This is a service for sharing 30-second videos, the functionality of which resembles TikTok.
Since 2019, there have been no official statements from Google about this transaction. Perhaps the company does not want to disclose information about the purchase of the company and the possible development of the application.
How does all this affect TikTok?
Competition in the IT world has always been fierce. Each successful project is followed by attempts to repeat and surpass its success.
Statistics show that the original TikTok application is still much more popular than its American counterparts. However, Youtube, Facebook and Instagram will do everything possible so as not to give the palm to the competitor. The United States has always been a country of startups and new technologies, so this time too, they will do everything possible to maintain their leadership position.
In addition, do not forget that TikTok was created in a communist country with strict state regulation. U.S. lawmakers have already expressed concern, saying that this Chinese social network may censor policy-related content and transfer user personal data to third parties. It is not known who will win this time, but the race promises to be quite intense.
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