TikTok texts

It’s clear that everyone seems to be out for a piece of Elon Musk’s audience. We are seeing the homogenising of all the social platforms as they all seek to take the best bits of each other to become the number one in their space. Algorithmically speaking, it is a well-known fact that text-only performs worse than any other content format on all of the platforms. On a video-first platform like TikTok where users’ attention span is so low already, I can’t see how this is going to fly.

TikTok should be kept exclusively for video content to avoid it getting messy. Trying to be everything to everyone is a really bad idea.
What makes it different to Instagram, FacebookTwitter etc is that it’s solely video content. As soon as they add more features it just becomes like every other social media platform. People like to use TikTok to escape the world during downtime and videos make it a lot easier to digest. This all adds to why TikTok has much more viral content. The big question is whether text will be able to seamlessly integrate into TikTok's model. The popularity of "photo mode" posts since their launch in 2022 seems to suggest that there's a change in the way people are consuming content on the platform, with a lot of these photo mode posts being text-based viral content. As platforms like Instagram try to become more like TikTok, it's strange to see TikTok implement features we usually associate with Twitter and Instagram.

This new feature could prove to be a masterstroke by TikTok, diversifying its content offerings and potentially capturing the attention of a previously untapped audience. By accommodating users who prefer text-based interactions over video content, the platform may see increased engagement and attract a broader user base. Text-only posts on TikTok could be a great way to introduce younger audiences to a different form of social interaction. While video content has been the platform's forte, incorporating text-based communication may draw in users who have not used platforms like Twitter before, further solidifying TikTok's position as a leading social media platform. This could be the final nail in the coffin for Elon Musk and X. Depending on how users respond to this feature, it could pull more and more users from X on top of the impact of losing users to Threads. The vultures are circling Elon. Let's see what else he can come up with.

It appears TikTok is now looking to become like all the other social media channels. When it launched, it differentiation from the competition was exactly what made it so popular. With platforms all seeming to be converging in the same direction, are we going to see some of them decline in popularity? Yes, almost certainly. Innovation is needed to stay ahead in the social game, not copying what others are doing. The irony is this really isn't a new feature anyway, as you've always been able to add text on TikTok.