4 ms·

I know byte just released, but as someone who has used TikTok for a few months now, the difference is honestly night and day. - byte sticks to the very strict

I know byte just released, but as someone who has used TikTok for a few months now, the difference is honestly night and day. - byte sticks to the very strict 7s limit while TikTok is a bit loser - TikTok's use of music and re-used sounds help bring popular "trends" - As per the above, you can quickly browse other tiktok's made from the same sound / in the given trend - TikTok has other interesting features too such as duos, letting you reply to someone else's video, side-by-side - TikTok's are very easy to share, and most importantly have a Web UI - TikTok doesn't require an account, as soon as you open the app, you're dropped right into a feed of interesting videos, easy to scroll These platforms are all about content, and TikTok having penetrated the US means it'll be very hard for byte to get users, and without users there's no content. I personally don't think Vine really failed per-se. Twitter just didn't think it was a place worth investing, so they stagnated. TikTok as mentioned above has brought many new interesting evolutions to the format. Most importantly, their learning based feed is pretty top notch and learns your taste very quickly.

tangue 7y ago
+1 and generally TikTok UX is underrated. In a way it feels like Facebook of the old days.
- busymom0 7y ago
  Mind expanding on how "it feels like Facebook of the old days"? I don't have TikTok but from what I have seen, their UI is just a swipe one?
  - tangue 7y ago
    If you're young it means connecting with people you care (or are interested in) without a confuse UI or scammy ads. I meant the keyword here is friction
holler 7y ago
Wait a sec, as you already mentioned, Byte just released! Cut them some slack. TikTok wasn't full-featured when it launched like most other apps. Seems pretty good so far.
- sippeangelo 7y ago
  If Byte is really marketed as a TikTok replacement and not just "Vine again", they're missing the entire point of TikTok.
- ehsankia 7y ago
  We on HN can cut them some slack, but unfortunately that's not how users think in the wild, and that was my point. Such social media apps are extremely hard to overtake due to the critical mass effect, and that's the reason why Facebook still stands after all this time. Even sites that are strictly better than Facebook often fail due to not having enough users, let alone those that are worse. Unless there's a very strong incentive for users to use byte over TikTok, there's no way it will survive. The official launch is the one time a bunch of people may give you the benefit of the doubt and try your app, and if you fall so short on the first impression, most people will probably never give it another try. And again, without users, there's no content, and without content, there's no users.
  - holler 7y ago
    I guess my take is that we need people to _try_, otherwise yes FB/IG, TikTok, Twitter etc will be our social overlords into perpetuity...
  - bdcravens 7y ago
    > Unless there's a very strong incentive for users to use byte over TikTok, there's no way it will survive. TikTok's penchant for censoring content may be the opportunity Byte needs.
    - ehsankia 7y ago
      I did think about the China angle, but unfortunately I doubt the majority of people care or even know about that, just like we've experienced with Facebook for the past two years.

tangue 7y ago

+1 and generally TikTok UX is underrated. In a way it feels like Facebook of the old days.

busymom0 7y ago
Mind expanding on how "it feels like Facebook of the old days"? I don't have TikTok but from what I have seen, their UI is just a swipe one?
- tangue 7y ago
  If you're young it means connecting with people you care (or are interested in) without a confuse UI or scammy ads. I meant the keyword here is friction

holler 7y ago

Wait a sec, as you already mentioned, Byte just released! Cut them some slack. TikTok wasn't full-featured when it launched like most other apps. Seems pretty good so far.

sippeangelo 7y ago
If Byte is really marketed as a TikTok replacement and not just "Vine again", they're missing the entire point of TikTok.
ehsankia 7y ago
We on HN can cut them some slack, but unfortunately that's not how users think in the wild, and that was my point. Such social media apps are extremely hard to overtake due to the critical mass effect, and that's the reason why Facebook still stands after all this time. Even sites that are strictly better than Facebook often fail due to not having enough users, let alone those that are worse. Unless there's a very strong incentive for users to use byte over TikTok, there's no way it will survive. The official launch is the one time a bunch of people may give you the benefit of the doubt and try your app, and if you fall so short on the first impression, most people will probably never give it another try. And again, without users, there's no content, and without content, there's no users.
- holler 7y ago
  I guess my take is that we need people to _try_, otherwise yes FB/IG, TikTok, Twitter etc will be our social overlords into perpetuity...
- bdcravens 7y ago
  > Unless there's a very strong incentive for users to use byte over TikTok, there's no way it will survive. TikTok's penchant for censoring content may be the opportunity Byte needs.
  - ehsankia 7y ago
    I did think about the China angle, but unfortunately I doubt the majority of people care or even know about that, just like we've experienced with Facebook for the past two years.