TikTok Newsletter 40
TikTok Newsletter 40
German Hype House, Vladimir Putin and UAE
Hello,
this is Understanding TikTok your weekly TikTok snack 🍇. My name is Marcus.
The paper that Chris Köver and me wrote for Rosa Luxemburg Foundation is turning its very last proof-reading lap. We have an official title now: Schluss mit lustig? TikTok als Plattform für politische Kommunikation. I keep you posted on that one.
Today we talk about:
🍔 At last – Germany´s First Hype House
🪆 Vladimir Putin – TikTok and Dissents
🏖️ United Arab Emirates – The Sheikh, Domestic Workers & Tourism
🍔 At last – Germany´s first Hype House
Let´s start before the beginning. A Hype House is a collaborative content house, allowing different influencers and content creators to make videos together easily. Check 🏡 Newsletter 15 to learn more. Maybe you have heard about ‘The Hype House’ Is Getting The Netflix Treatment (Forbes, April 22). Well, this is not going to well. Fans are not happy about Netflix's Hype House release and here's why (Cosmopolitan, April 28).
Whatever. There are TikTok Houses all over. Check this list. Have you read about all 36 of them? Good. Then you have seen that there is not a single one from Germany on the list. That is why i was happy to see that german teen magazine Bravo is covering the news, that three german TikTok influencers are finally moving in together: TikTok-Stars ziehen in einer WG zusammen! Technically that makes it Germany´s Hype House No. 1. Hoorah.
That is them: twenty4tim (3.1M Followers, 266.4M Likes), julesboringlife (4.6M Followers 702.4M Likes) und emirbyr(3.6M Followers 285.1M Likes). If you happen to be in Cologne, Germany – keep your eyes open. Until now Jule is the one who is part of the Top 5 Tik Tok Ranking by Views (see influData). But maybe that will change quickly. Tim already links to a business email and is represented by Labs Management.
🪆 Putin cracks down dissents – TikTok is helping
No, Russian president Vladimir Putin is not on TikTok. Despite the fact that
both the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Emergency Situations Ministry joined the popular video-sharing app TikTok recently. Read more on 🇷🇺 Russian TikTok in Newsletter 33.
But he is there nonetheless. Okay, i admit that these deep fakes by account @1facerussia are not very good compared to @deeptomcruise on a technical level, but they are entertaining and pretty successful (5,7M Followers 45,6M Likes).
The real Vladimir Putin is meanwhile busy cracking down on dissents. And obviously he has found TikTok as an ally, reports Madis Kabash for Bloomberg. Maybe this Daily Beast headline was a bit too rash: Russia’s TikTok Generation Is Putin’s Achilles’ Heel.
🏖️ United Arab Emirates – The Sheikh, Domestic Workers & Tourism
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an elective monarchy formed from a federation of seven emirates, consisting of Abu Dhabi (which serves as the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. Did you know all seven? Wow.
I came across the headline Abu Dhabi partners with Tik Tok to charm visitors. TikTok for tourism sounds obvious. TikTok in Tourism Marketing Has a Great Potential. And Switzerland is doing it too. Here is a 20 minutes video with Hannah Bennett, brand partnerships lead for travel for Tiktok on next-generation travel marketing.
Nevertheless it made me think about a) this recent NYT article: Domestic Workers in Gulf Countries Vent Woes on TikTok (mentioning examples from Saudi Arabia not UAE) and b) the news from last December that Sheikh Mohammed joins TikTok (the same Sheikh that abducted his daughter).
Concerning TikTok influence in the UAE Noor Naem (@noorstars) is the number one, according to data from the Influencer Marketing Hub. She is an Iraqi YouTuber living in the USA. She was the first Influencer in the Arab world to reach 5 million subscribers on YouTube (17.9 now).
What else?
📈 51% of Gen Z (under 24) get their news on TikTok, reports the Washington Post. And TikTok is now the No. 2 platform for influencer marketing, writes Insider.
Here are 15 TikTok products that went viral in April. Yes, that is a foot peeling mask next to the coffee alarm clock. And Here's how to edit iPhone photos using TikTok's favorite formula. 📸
Hungry now? 10 Vegan Food Trends Taking Over TikTok, From Dairy-Free Cheese to Plant-Based Chicken 🐓
Speak soon
Marcus