If the sun is setting on Facebook, then TikTok is dancing in the moonlight. How long can its short-form video hold consumers’ fickle attention?
Just a few years ago, China-based ByteDance’s TikTok was an app for kids, with videos of anthropomorphic pets or freakishly talented children dancing. Now it seems like everyone is using it, no matter their age. Its growth has come at the expense of its competition, such that just about every social-media company is now pouring money into copycat products.
TikTok’s founding genius is that it capitalized on consumers’ short and capricious attention with a seemingly infinite collection of music-backed videos under 60 seconds algorithmically tailored to users’ interests. Those still bored in under a minute can simply swipe until something…
