5 ms·

The other day there was a thread about how many HNers enjoyed using TikTok. They are progressing quickly and many seem unwilling to acknowledge it.

echelon 5y ago
TikTok is far and away superior to US social media. Twitter is full of rage and hate, and I can't stand it. Instagram is posers and people being fake. Facebook is people posting fake news, baby photos, politics, and inspiration quotes for a life most are unwilling or afraid to live. Reddit is going after the lowest common denominator. YouTube is losing its edge and making it harder to succeed as a new creator. TikTok embraces collaborative world building and positivity in a way I've never seen before. It's a total breath of fresh air. It feels good, wholesome, and truly creative.
- lofatdairy 5y ago
  I'm not defending any of these social media corporations, but the worst people are on every platform and tiktok is not exception. Tiktok also can appeal to the lowest common denominator, it also has rage, hate, conspiracy theories. I think where tiktok's advantage is that that vine wasn't ready to leave this world so its creative medium hasn't run its course, and its algorithm actually feels well designed as apposed to instagram and youtube
  - ItsMonkk 5y ago
    It's about the long tail. If I look at the people that I have subscribed to on YouTube, and then take the mean of their count of subscribers, the mean is probably over a million. When I do the same on TikTok it's about 10k. There were probably the same people posting the same content on YouTube, but because there is no discovery, I never found them, and they never found viewers, so they stopped. What you are subjected to on each platform is based on the discovery methods of that platform. There are probably very good reasons that American sites tend to have really bad discovery, it means that Ads are more impactful and it gives the creator of the algorithm all the power. So it's not that bad people don't exist on TikTok, but because their discovery system is so good I end up watching content that I like. Whereas on YouTube, because the discovery system is so poor, I am subjected to watch things that the platform favors. YouTube favors high-energy, face-contorting, lowest common denominator content. Up until now because YouTube has been the only source of internet video, I had to go along with it as it was the best we had. Suddenly I don't.
    - pushrax 5y ago
      I find it very easy to tune my YouTube recommendations. If I open my homepage I see quality content on machining, optical physics, ML, jazz theory, battery tech, chip fab, interior/exterior design, rocket nozzles, etc… and not a single contorted face.
- bassman9000 5y ago
  There's literally thousands of raging and berating tiktoks in the SJW category alone. What are you talking about.
- KittenInABox 5y ago
  > TikTok embraces collaborative world building and positivity in a way I've never seen before. It's a total breath of fresh air. It feels good, wholesome, and truly creative. This used to be what Twitter and Instagram and YouTube were described as in the past. There's still plenty of gaming views and influencer stuff being done on TikTok, it just hasn't become ubiquitous yet. Or maybe the format means we as a population need to re-adjust to see it. I'm mentioning this because I've seen toxic stuff on TikTok already about niche hobby interests. Stuff like getting people cancelled, internet drama, people posting videos of themselves crying over it, etc.
- Natsu 5y ago
  Instagram isn't so bad... if you follow accounts that only post cute animal pictures.
  - jwhitlark 5y ago
    1bike1world ftw. The reason I started looking at Instagram.
- catillac 5y ago
  This comment is a bit rosy on TikTok, and your stereotypes are off a bit. I use all these platforms, and all things you attribute primarily to a single platform above have bled into the other platforms, where format allows. Just look to Instagram stories for a lot of examples of people posting inspirational quotes, or to YouTube for plenty of fake news channels, or to Facebook to see lowest common denominator posting. The locus of each of those things may rest with your stereotyped examples, but reality is much more nuanced. One can find all of these things on TikTok. Right now it’s just new so it feels more optimistic and you want to see it more optimistically.
- pushrax 5y ago
  Different platforms for different things. I never use TikTok, because the video media I consume is almost always long form informative content. YouTube is the only media giant with a large supply of this, and it continues to accrete such creators and content faster than anywhere else.
- wpietri 5y ago
  Maybe you are following the wrong people on Twitter? Switch it to "latest tweets" rather than the default of "top tweets" and then you'll only see the people you follow. I see plenty of creative, funny, and thoughtful content. I've learned a ton. There's some that I like that I'd call "useful outrage"; some of the things going on in world need that. I see very little "rage and hate".
MomoXenosaga 5y ago
So which stage are we in? One- anger or have we progressed to four- depression? Perhaps it doesn't matter it's all fuel to China's nationalism.
- esturk 5y ago
  Anger is actually stage 2. Stage 1 is denial.

echelon 5y ago

TikTok is far and away superior to US social media. Twitter is full of rage and hate, and I can't stand it. Instagram is posers and people being fake. Facebook is people posting fake news, baby photos, politics, and inspiration quotes for a life most are unwilling or afraid to live. Reddit is going after the lowest common denominator. YouTube is losing its edge and making it harder to succeed as a new creator. TikTok embraces collaborative world building and positivity in a way I've never seen before. It's a total breath of fresh air. It feels good, wholesome, and truly creative.

lofatdairy 5y ago
I'm not defending any of these social media corporations, but the worst people are on every platform and tiktok is not exception. Tiktok also can appeal to the lowest common denominator, it also has rage, hate, conspiracy theories. I think where tiktok's advantage is that that vine wasn't ready to leave this world so its creative medium hasn't run its course, and its algorithm actually feels well designed as apposed to instagram and youtube
- ItsMonkk 5y ago
  It's about the long tail. If I look at the people that I have subscribed to on YouTube, and then take the mean of their count of subscribers, the mean is probably over a million. When I do the same on TikTok it's about 10k. There were probably the same people posting the same content on YouTube, but because there is no discovery, I never found them, and they never found viewers, so they stopped. What you are subjected to on each platform is based on the discovery methods of that platform. There are probably very good reasons that American sites tend to have really bad discovery, it means that Ads are more impactful and it gives the creator of the algorithm all the power. So it's not that bad people don't exist on TikTok, but because their discovery system is so good I end up watching content that I like. Whereas on YouTube, because the discovery system is so poor, I am subjected to watch things that the platform favors. YouTube favors high-energy, face-contorting, lowest common denominator content. Up until now because YouTube has been the only source of internet video, I had to go along with it as it was the best we had. Suddenly I don't.
  - pushrax 5y ago
    I find it very easy to tune my YouTube recommendations. If I open my homepage I see quality content on machining, optical physics, ML, jazz theory, battery tech, chip fab, interior/exterior design, rocket nozzles, etc… and not a single contorted face.
bassman9000 5y ago
There's literally thousands of raging and berating tiktoks in the SJW category alone. What are you talking about.
KittenInABox 5y ago
> TikTok embraces collaborative world building and positivity in a way I've never seen before. It's a total breath of fresh air. It feels good, wholesome, and truly creative. This used to be what Twitter and Instagram and YouTube were described as in the past. There's still plenty of gaming views and influencer stuff being done on TikTok, it just hasn't become ubiquitous yet. Or maybe the format means we as a population need to re-adjust to see it. I'm mentioning this because I've seen toxic stuff on TikTok already about niche hobby interests. Stuff like getting people cancelled, internet drama, people posting videos of themselves crying over it, etc.
Natsu 5y ago
Instagram isn't so bad... if you follow accounts that only post cute animal pictures.
- jwhitlark 5y ago
  1bike1world ftw. The reason I started looking at Instagram.
catillac 5y ago
This comment is a bit rosy on TikTok, and your stereotypes are off a bit. I use all these platforms, and all things you attribute primarily to a single platform above have bled into the other platforms, where format allows. Just look to Instagram stories for a lot of examples of people posting inspirational quotes, or to YouTube for plenty of fake news channels, or to Facebook to see lowest common denominator posting. The locus of each of those things may rest with your stereotyped examples, but reality is much more nuanced. One can find all of these things on TikTok. Right now it’s just new so it feels more optimistic and you want to see it more optimistically.
pushrax 5y ago
Different platforms for different things. I never use TikTok, because the video media I consume is almost always long form informative content. YouTube is the only media giant with a large supply of this, and it continues to accrete such creators and content faster than anywhere else.
wpietri 5y ago
Maybe you are following the wrong people on Twitter? Switch it to "latest tweets" rather than the default of "top tweets" and then you'll only see the people you follow. I see plenty of creative, funny, and thoughtful content. I've learned a ton. There's some that I like that I'd call "useful outrage"; some of the things going on in world need that. I see very little "rage and hate".

MomoXenosaga 5y ago

So which stage are we in? One- anger or have we progressed to four- depression? Perhaps it doesn't matter it's all fuel to China's nationalism.

esturk 5y ago
Anger is actually stage 2. Stage 1 is denial.