Sandbox Demo #3: Tik Tok
User Experience
This week I took a deep dive into the world of Tik Tok. As an elder-millennial I have only dabbled with the platform passively. I was always a bit too hesitant to engage and felt a little out of my element. Traditionally known as a platform for Gen Z to share, create, and engage, the app quickly found niche content for me and held my attention for longer than I would like to admit. My first observation was how the app immediately threw me into content. I did not have to follow anybody or create a profile for the algorithm to select videos based upon a few basic demographic questions it asked during the sign-up process. After some time scrolling and pausing, Tik Tok had me figured out. Dog videos, cat videos, cooking, and Procreate tutorials, I was hooked. When I shook myself out of the trance of endless scrolling, I took a moment to play around with the other features. The home button takes you to videos that Tik Tok selects for users based upon their interaction with app and the content they choose to watch. It became very apparent that the more I used the App, the more curated the content became based on my personal preferences. The discover feature brings users to a page that organizes content based on trending hashtags. Being close to the Superbowl a vast majority of the hashtags related to the Superbowl itself or to advertisements. For instance, the #DoritosFlatLife challenge related to the new Matthew McConaughey ad and garnered 1.9 billion videos as it encouraged users to try a filter that made them appear flat. The last feature I tried out was the content uploading button. This is where the magic happens. I was already familiar with filters from using SnapChat and Instagram, but Tik Tok filters and features seemed endless including a sound option that categorizes the most popular songs and sound bites trending on the app into easily accessible lists. While I ultimately chose not to post the 15 second video I created, I had a blast trying out the different AR features and filters.
Context Matters
Tik Tok and NFL teamed up this past Sunday to create a virtual tailgate experience. This experience included Superbowl themed hashtags and filters such as the Cheetos #itwasntme challenge, #tiktoktailgate, and #turbotaxlivepick6. All of these hashtags encouraged users to create content around curated themes and use specific songs to put their own creative spin on the challenge. The Tik Tok tailgate also included Superbowl recipes from top Tik Tok influencers and culminated with a live concert by Miley Cyrus. The Superbowl partnered with Tik Tok back in 2019 in an attempt to attract more millennials to the platform (Aghadjanian, 2021). Thinking back to the Context Matters presentation and lecture, Tik Tok and the NFL understood their audience, access, agenda, and attractors. The audience of the Tik Tok Tailgate included Gen Z and Millennial sports fans who wanted to engage with a greater community but were restricted because of the pandemic. Tik Tok met this need with a virtual experience that attracted millions of users who had their devices ready to share content at the first big play or funny commercial that aired. Tik Tok knew their audience would be cooking or picking up food prior to the game, so the platform linked trending recipes (one of which I tried out!) and playful hashtag challenges to ramp up their fans before the official party started. The virtual experience began at 2:30 giving fans enough time to get their shopping done, rally their friends, and begin the festivities with ample content to keep them engaged and excited before the big game. Tik Tok attracted new fans to the experience by allowing current Tik Tok users to gift friends and family a pack of M&Ms to also encourage them to attend the Verizon After Party that included another live concert series featuring Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, and Luke Bryan (Aghadjanian, 2021). The concert series brought fans back to Tik Tok after the tailgate and game for more content and entertainment. The choice of artists was a smart way to engage both Gen Z and Millennials as both groups are familiar with and enjoy their music. From dance challenges, recipes, contests, and concerts, Tik Tok provided something for everyone to post about to activate this immersive experience.
Strengths and Weakness:
The rapid success of Tik Tok ultimately comes down to how engaging the platform is to their audience and how easily it is to make and share content. As veteran user of Instagram, I was drawn to the photo-filtering effects and the sense of community established by posting stories and sharing with my small bubble of followers made of up of close friends, family, and fellow artists. I only posted about my art, travel, and the occasional delicious dinner. Tik Tok takes this idea of sharing one step further and encourages users to broaden their definition of friends into audiences surrounded by common hashtags as well as pushing them to create all kinds of content. Users never have to ask themselves what to create or post, instead the app suggests trending hashtags, trending songs, dance challenges, and groups for its users to interact with based on the AI technology that learns about them as they interact with the platform (Herrman, 2019). The opportunity to go viral is never out of reach and keeps users coming back for more.
Strengths:
· Endless streaming of engaging curated content based on individual viewing habits and preferences.
· Content organized based on trending hashtags.
· Challenges, contests, and virtual parties to engage viewers of every fandom.
· Easy to use and navigate.
· Fun and engaging.
Weaknesses:
· As the app learned my individual preferences, some of the content became redundant.
· It’s a very distracting app that could potentially get in the way of completing important tasks and increase overall daily screen time.
· Privacy and security concerns continue to be a worry for users. (Matsakis 2020)
To address some of the weaknesses, Tik Tok might think about installing screen time monitors within the app to help users regulate the time they spend scrolling and to avoid redundancy of content, Tik Tok could periodically survey users for content they want to see or provide a like/dislike button to help the platform improve further.
Conclusion
I had a lot of fun exploring Tik Tok. I played with filters, watched hilarious cat and dog videos, and even tried out a recipe for the Super Bowl (#fetapasta)! Despite enjoying the content in front of me, I ultimately found the app to be targeting my increasingly lowering attention span and felt the content to be so curated that it was hard to turn away and move on to less interesting tasks. I will keep the app on my device for now but will definitely need to set myself strict limitations with my engagement, so I do not lose hours to endless scrolling.
Sources:
Aghadjanian, N. (2021, February 05). TikTok and NFL to Livestream Virtual tailgate party. Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.alistdaily.com/social/social-media-news-020121/
Herrman, J. (2019, March 10). How TikTok is rewriting the world. Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/style/what-is-tik-tok.html
Matsakis, L. (2020, July). Does TikTok really pose a risk to US national security? Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-ban-us-national-security-risk/
