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Every TikTok user I know tells me that the primary reason they use it is the algorithm. Apparently it’s way ahead of YouTube. Anecdotally I am in the same boat

Every TikTok user I know tells me that the primary reason they use it is the algorithm. Apparently it’s way ahead of YouTube. Anecdotally I am in the same boat as you—ended up removing the YouTube suggestion sidebar with an adblocker due to its increasingly poor quality.

_fat_santa 5y ago
One anecdote that I heard about the TikTok algo is that it favors new creators with <5k subscribers and actively pushes that content to new users. This is opposed to how Youtube does it, where more established creators are pushed over news ones. I feel like this is what really helps TikTok always have fresh content. If you want to become a YouTuber, the path to having a good following can be years of grind. With TikTok, there is a good shot your first video might just propel you to stardom. Thus more people are inclined to create content for TikTok. It creates a feedback loop
- finfinfin 5y ago
  This is interesting. I think this approach goes hand in hand with a much lower quality bar on TikTok. We have an expectation that YouTube videos have a certain production quality, so pushing new creators would often result in unmet expectations. On TikTok new creators can record a 15 second dance and be instantly indistinguishable quality-wise from more experienced creators.
- city41 5y ago
  Anecdotally this seems correct to me. A friend of mine has had several viral TikTok videos hit millions of views, and he's only been on TikTok for a little while. He did no outside promotion. I think the only way a new YouTube video would do that is if it was absolutely earth shattering in some regard.
- ItsMonkk 5y ago
  Or, as famously yelled by Ballmer: Developers! Developers! Developers!, where the developers are content creators. You can make really great content on YT and reach an audience. Creators like Tom Scott prove it's possible. But you have to hit a minimum production quality or the algorithm is going to discard you. Mostly this means that you still need a team of people to make it on YT. On TT, it's still totally fine to make bad production quality that has great informational content. So yes, YT has niche content, when considered against TV, but TT has one more factor of magnitude more niche content. For a bit of anecdotes of the people that I am following: About 30% come from YouTube/Other Internet Media and produce TikTok style content, about 20% are TT Stars, and 50% are these small creators that YT wouldn't even consider. This group, checking their followers, averages about 10k. On YT I don't subscribe to a single person below 100k followers. I have Category Theory TT accounts followed, but no Category Theory YT channels subscribed. Do CT have YT accounts? Possibly. But not once has YT shown me that content. This might be a problem with me, but TT resolves it through their natural flow, and as I am significantly more advanced than the average user, a problem with me is a problem for the platform. At this point the path is going to be to start on TT and only move to YT once you have established a following that can make it over the YT recommendation escape velocity. Developers! Developers! Developers!
  - Ekaros 5y ago
    I don't think channel going back 15 years is good example for new creators. I would expect them to keep somewhat relevant as they have been trough enough cycles to keep some audience always.
- mertd 5y ago
  YT content is more longform and making that good and engaging takes tons of practice according to my observation. Look at early content of some big names like MKBHD for example. You can see the potential in them but they are nowhere as good as their new content.

_fat_santa 5y ago

One anecdote that I heard about the TikTok algo is that it favors new creators with <5k subscribers and actively pushes that content to new users. This is opposed to how Youtube does it, where more established creators are pushed over news ones. I feel like this is what really helps TikTok always have fresh content. If you want to become a YouTuber, the path to having a good following can be years of grind. With TikTok, there is a good shot your first video might just propel you to stardom. Thus more people are inclined to create content for TikTok. It creates a feedback loop

finfinfin 5y ago
This is interesting. I think this approach goes hand in hand with a much lower quality bar on TikTok. We have an expectation that YouTube videos have a certain production quality, so pushing new creators would often result in unmet expectations. On TikTok new creators can record a 15 second dance and be instantly indistinguishable quality-wise from more experienced creators.
city41 5y ago
Anecdotally this seems correct to me. A friend of mine has had several viral TikTok videos hit millions of views, and he's only been on TikTok for a little while. He did no outside promotion. I think the only way a new YouTube video would do that is if it was absolutely earth shattering in some regard.
ItsMonkk 5y ago
Or, as famously yelled by Ballmer: Developers! Developers! Developers!, where the developers are content creators. You can make really great content on YT and reach an audience. Creators like Tom Scott prove it's possible. But you have to hit a minimum production quality or the algorithm is going to discard you. Mostly this means that you still need a team of people to make it on YT. On TT, it's still totally fine to make bad production quality that has great informational content. So yes, YT has niche content, when considered against TV, but TT has one more factor of magnitude more niche content. For a bit of anecdotes of the people that I am following: About 30% come from YouTube/Other Internet Media and produce TikTok style content, about 20% are TT Stars, and 50% are these small creators that YT wouldn't even consider. This group, checking their followers, averages about 10k. On YT I don't subscribe to a single person below 100k followers. I have Category Theory TT accounts followed, but no Category Theory YT channels subscribed. Do CT have YT accounts? Possibly. But not once has YT shown me that content. This might be a problem with me, but TT resolves it through their natural flow, and as I am significantly more advanced than the average user, a problem with me is a problem for the platform. At this point the path is going to be to start on TT and only move to YT once you have established a following that can make it over the YT recommendation escape velocity. Developers! Developers! Developers!
- Ekaros 5y ago
  I don't think channel going back 15 years is good example for new creators. I would expect them to keep somewhat relevant as they have been trough enough cycles to keep some audience always.
mertd 5y ago
YT content is more longform and making that good and engaging takes tons of practice according to my observation. Look at early content of some big names like MKBHD for example. You can see the potential in them but they are nowhere as good as their new content.