TikTok Newsletter 66
Show me the banana (na-na-na-na-na)
Happy New Year,
this is Understanding TikTok – your 🚨 weekly TikTok update. My name is Marcus. TikTok dethrones Google as most-visited website according to cloud services company Cloudflare. Meanwhile we still do not understand our TikTok selves (Vogue) and the algorithm does not help to do so either (Wired). It takes ages (8-10 hours) to produce great content (Abbie Richards). And there is a TikTok craze in the Kingdom of Bhutan. Who would have thought?!
Today we talk about:
🪑 Trends. And trends. And trends.
🎓 Papers on Participation, Persuasion and Political Posts
💣 Mister, Misses and Miss Miserable
🧑🤝🧑 User 6754189318472
🪑 Trends. And trends. And trends.
In 2021 the race to identify the next fad became a bloodsport: Trendwatching, and, to a slightly lesser extent, trend naming, have become such popular hobbies on social media that even professional trend forecasters are beginning to tire of it, writes Rebecca Jennings.
And oh boy. On we go. People peeling raw eggs has become a viral trend on TikTok. What does material girl mean. Is there a twee revival? There’s a lot you might not know about the “Helicopter, Helicopter” TikTok trend. It must be nice. I mean what is the “it must be nice” sound on TikTok? AI painter trend? Okay, this article is three weeks old but have you seen Billie Eilish using the drawing filter. It has Nico and all.
Did you miss TikTok Rat King? I did not read this piece on Herpes TikTok influencers. But i am planning to read this article about the Guerilla Gardeners on TikTok. Just in: Viral trend of homemade ducks sweeping TikTok. Well. Nevermind. Everything is everything. And THIS is not a TikTok Trend.
🎓 Papers on Participation, Persuasion and Political Posts
While i read a cool thesis on Political Disinformation, Propaganda, and Persuasion in Memes in order to extract some learnings concerning TikTok, some interesting new papers were published. Teachers of TikTok anyone? Here are glimpses and gestures in the performance of professional identity by Catherine Hartung et al. This one sounds interesting too: Blurring Boundaries Between Journalists and Tiktokers: Journalistic Role Performance on TikTok (PDF).
Trevor Boffone and Sarah Jerasa “just published 2 articles on #BookTok, TikTok Literacies & how TikTok is influencing youth reading practices/experiences (not to mention pop culture at large in the US).” (Source: Twitter). And here is one called Will You Dance To The Challenge? Predicting User Participation of TikTok Challenges. Up for a quirky reference? I’d rather dance with you.
Okay, back to some mis/disinfo, shall we. Interesting read: Why fact-checking political posts on TikTok is an uphill task. Quote: A study finds that difficulty in verifying audiovisual content and identifying foreign languages make it hard to track false information on the platform.
🧑🤝🧑User 6754189318472 and other
Okay, here are some random news about people who may or may not be on TikTok. Elle Fanning confirms fan speculation she's had a secret TikTok account. Voilà. Jennifer Lawrence admits she's on TikTok - but won't be making content. Shruggie. Jennifer, here are 6 ways to get TikTok famous in 2022. Quote: If you've ever wanted to get TikTok famous but aren't too sure how, we've got some ideas to get you started.
By the way what is german clan boss TikTok doing? Here is Arafat Abou-Chaker’s TikTok account. You have no idea? Here is more on the Abou-Chaker-Clan. Sorry for the rough transition. Let’s talk about Francis Bourgeois for a second. Or shall i say Luke Nicolson. Nah. Let’s stick to Francis. This guy brought joy to the world. Not sure if you want or need to read about the “unmasking” of train guy. He will be literally everywhere soon i guess – signing a global management deal. People.
💣 Mister, Misses and Miss Miserable
I do remember sitting in a citizen office waiting area being forced to binge watch Mr. Bean on a public screen like forever. Who ever woke up one day and thought that this is a great idea. It is not. And now imagine waiting in a hospital being forced to watch a best of TikTok compilation on a huge horizontal flat screen somewhere near you. TikTok has partnered with Atmosphere, a company that curates streams for TVs in public spaces (The Verge).
I’d rather watch Hype House here. The Netflix series shows the depressing side of TikTok fame, writes The Guardian. Daily Beast: Netflix’s ‘Hype House’ Is Filled With TikTok Stars Who Seem Absolutely Miserable. Seems like a way better fit for any kind of public video entertainment to me.
🤺 What else?
Of course Alice Ophelia saw it first. Caroline Polachek is 𝓪𝓫𝓼𝓸𝓵𝓾𝓽𝓮𝓵𝔂 having her TikTok moment. Well, that was 10 days ago. But it is still wholesome to scroll through her sounds section. She curated some videos over on Insta. Here is the A. G. Cook Remix of So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings. And here is the pure version.
Ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah
Speak soon. Ciao.