#this isn't tiktok you don't need an algorithm to give you the content you want

[thrown-away-opinions]

Remember a couple years back when everyone was rightfully pissed off that NFT bullshit transactions required an ungodly amount of power? Remember how people were blaming blizzards and tsunamis and hurricanes on crypto transactions?

I don't want you to assume that I'm saying the energy waste that comes from crypto bullshit isn't needlessly excessive. Jackasses are out there inventing new shitcoins every day and further overburdening an already gluttonous system.

Advertising is worse in every single fucking way.

LED Billboards, for example, that they keep building more and more of. There's hundreds of thousands of them in the US alone and each once uses an obscene amount of power just to advertise. Even the ones that don't use massive arrays of LEDs and air conditioning to stop them from overheating are massive metal and concrete foundation structures that need to be physically changed with massive quantities of vinyl or paper. Just for a giant fucking ad on the highway. All that fucking manpower and all those resources and all of the pollution it takes to make one, for a fucking ad telling you to stop at the local strip club or McDonalds.

But I want you to expand your thinking for a moment and consider social media. These sites exist as advertising space. Even if you make an account solely with the intent of interacting with your friends, seeing funny memes, or staying informed about things that interest you, all of those things are enticement to use their platform so they can serve you ads. Constant talk of "engagement" and "retention" are just corpospeak for the amount of time they can keep a user on the platform so they can see the most ads possible.

Consider youtube and tiktok and twitter and other platforms that dangle the promise of payouts if a user gets enough views and followers. It is incentivizing users to come up with methods of raising engagement and retention so people can see more ads. Advertising is manipulating people to make themselves into ideal advertising tools.

It's an extremely cynical and interpretation of things, because the value gain from human communication and interaction and other elements far outweigh the evil of the ads, but even that is heavily influenced by the ads. Like when the platform decides that certain words or topics aren't allowed and you get the babyfication of language. Conversely, trends and algorithms and what is likely to get the most clicks, which influences what kind of videos and art people make to stay on top and retain their income.

The value of learning about the latest drama involving Baby Gronk and Mr. Shit is is nonexistent and it is being done purely because drama and gossip content gets good engagement (lots of ad views) and pays well for the creator and gives them another opportunity to get a sponsored ad read, so now it's not just the platform, but the people on it serving you ads.

And those sponsors are quite often bad for everyone involved. Scams or dropshipped plastic bullshit or slave labor produced overpriced shit that is supposed to fix a problem you don't have. Landfills are getting loaded with water bottles and wireless earbuds and the packaging from shitty meal prep services. Feel bad about it? Talk to an unlicensed therapist from a company that is data mining your mental health profile. Go shopping with this cool app that saves you money by datamining you and affiliate link sniping the creator you thought you were supporting. Use that money you saved on garbage from chinese Amazon.

And when you've finally gotten sick of all of that and realized you're wasting your time, you can take online courses with this subscription service so you can learn to create slick, eyecatching, advertiser friendly content become an advertiser too!

Consider the e-waste the comes from so many people thinking they're going to become twitch streamers or youtubers. Trading out for the latest iphone, buying tons of lights and accessories and recording equipment. The amount of content creator-adjacent bullshit that ends up in the garbage when it breaks or when their "career" doesn't take off and they don't get to be an advertising space on the internet. Consider all the people whose entire PC setup exists almost solely for content creation.

And then there's content mills. A global industry of people desperately churning out incoherent sludge as fast as possible. On top of all of the issues above, the manpower, the hardware, the e-waste, the electricity, and the fucking bandwidth, the promise of advertising, affiliate link, and sponsor money from attempting to exploit algorithms for the sake of serving more ads has taken large numbers of people is underdeveloped and economically weak countries out of the workforce so they can crudely animate videos of Slenderman giving Pomni a root canal, because that does well in the algorithm, somehow.

And if we jump back to the NFT/Crypto problem of wasteful internet usage for every minor action, advertising giving way to sludge content and sponsor-driven content causes our entire global information network to be constantly pushing around incomprehensible amounts of bullshit data to feed this shit that exists solely for the benefit of advertisers, wasting untold amounts of energy so you can get ads and sludge content in your endless scroll feed at all times, on every news site, on every search results page, no matter what you do to stop it, because advertising has so much fucking control over the internet that they are now trying to FORCE PEOPLE TO SEE ADS BY TRYING TO SHUT DOWN ADBLOCKERS.

You do not hate advertising enough.

Also I've said this before but advertising is an industry that should be considered as pointless and harmful as fossil fuels.

[infectiouspiss]

i cant believe i have to say this but i STOP INTERACTING WITH THE ACCOUNT POSTING AI GENERATED MCR IMAGES. REPORT THE POSTS AND BLOCK THEM. EVERY LIKE EVERY REPLY EVERY REBLOG IS GIVING THEM THE ATTENTION THEY WANT.

its not funny its not "omg what is this XD" stop fucking reblogging them stop liking them stop this shit i can see you having entire conversations in the reblogs of this ai generated crap as if its just a silly drawing a human made. stop giving the account attention.

[shurisasthmaticgf]

the curls are curling: lando norris x black social media influencer fem! reader

summary: the secret behind why his curls have been consistently looking perfect is revealed.

authors note: i am still very new to formula one so please don't jump me if there is some slight inaccuracies. i did my best to look things up if i wasn't sure about them. this fic isn't based off of any grand prix in particular either. also, this is a work of fiction meaning it's not REAL so please remember that as well! constructive feedback is heavily encouraged and very appreciated 🫶🏽

heat pooled through the open windows of the house as you ran around to try and get yourself ready for the long day ahead. you woke up an hour ago to give yourself two hours to get ready because today was a race weekend. usually, you only needed about an hour to get you and your boyfriend out the door but today you'd gotten up earlier to film a vlog.

the whole social media influencer thing was still fairly new for you, only having started to consistently vlog and post a few months ago. before you'd started dating lando you were posting here and there about your day to day as a university student and intern for a large company in the city. every so often one of your videos got a couple hundred thousand views but you didn't really mind that your other content only got a few likes...that was just how tiktok's algorithm worked.

once you graduated from university and your internship ended you didn't have much to vlog about until you decided to film a race weekend and post it. what you didn't expect was the video to get millions of views and likes overnight. a massive influx of fans followed but you didn't really pay too much mind to the number, this was just something you liked to do and people also liked to watch. with time you ended up opening a youtube channel where you posted longer vlogs and other videos, and tiktok became a place where you posted 1-3 minute clips of your longer videos. one thing you never really did was center your entire vlog around your boyfriend. sure, lando was the entire reason you ended up at races but you were also your own person...that and lando was oddly camera shy when it came to your vlogs so he often wanted you to edit him out if he happened to end up in the frame.

which is how you ended up in your bedroom with your tripod pointed the camera directly at you. you smiled widely, hoping that it masked the fact that you were nearly half asleep, "good morning everyone! it's race day and i'm gonna be taking you along with me. everyone's been asking for a longer race day vlog so i'm here to give you all what you want. first lets get into the fit- these pajamas were sent to me from Brooks Avenue, if you like them you can use the code Y/N for a little discount on your purchase!" you backed up to show off your pink and green pajamas that would have definitely cost an arm an a leg if they hadn't come in a PR package. the matching pink and green satin bonnet on your head slowly slipped down your forehead leaving you to push it back up with an annoyed huff. you explained to the camera once more, "okay and first i'm gonna brush my teeth then do my skincare routine...he's in the shower right now so the lens might get fogged up, sorry in advance." you knocked on the bathroom door to let your boyfriend know you were coming in before pulling your skincare products out of your travel bag. quickly you brushed your teeth with until you felt like you'd gotten rid of every trace of morning breath.

just as you finished your skincare routine, the shower turned off and you slipped out of the bathroom. while lando finished in the bathroom you sat back down at the vanity and situated the camera back in front of you. slowly you slipped the bonnet from your head and untied the silk scarf under it, letting the large twists in your hair fall against your shoulders. to the camera you explained, "it's gonna be really hot today so i'm just gonna pull the twists back with a ribbon and call it a day i think." you pulled a jar of edge control and a brush from your bag and began styling your baby hairs, effortlessly into swirls and swoops. a laugh fell past your lips as you admitted, "honestly the only reason i still do this is so my forehead looks slightly less...megamind-esque in pictures." when you finished you tied another scarf messily around your hairline and began gathering your twists into a ponytail to secure it with a holder and ribbon.

the bathroom door opened and lando walked back into your room, fully dressed but his button down left wide open exposing his bare torso. in his hands he held a blow dryer and two bottles, one leave in conditioner and a gel you'd bought for him a few weeks ago. you finished tying the bow around your ponytail then took the two bottles from him and plugged the blow dryer into the wall. a hand gently pulled on your hand and you looked up to see sleepy smile grace his lips, "good morning, beautiful." you drew closer to him, wrapping your arms around his neck and letting him pull you in by the waist. his head nuzzled into your shoulder as your hand found the back of his head, stroking his hair softly with your fingers you murmured, "hi baby." you could feel the shy smile he wore against your shoulder until you pulled away from him. you pulled a robe from the back of the door and told him, "put this on." he knew most of the reason was so he didn't stain his shirt with hair products but another part of it had to be the fact that his shirt was wide open.

lando sat in front of the camera and you laughed at how awkward he looked compared to normal. you prompted, "baby, say hi to everyone. they ask for you all the time." he stiffly waved a hand in front of the camera and you sighed, "i don't know why you act so funny around my camera but everyone else it's fine." he mumbled a soft, "because it's you..." but only the mic on the camera caught it. he sat on the bench in front of you and slightly leaned back into your body before letting his eyes flutter shut.

meanwhile you showed the leave in conditioner to the camera, "this is the kinky curly knot today leave in-" despite his eyes being shut lando let out a small laugh and you asked, "what?" he mumbled cheekily, "kinky." you let out a exasperated sigh, "oh god you're like a child...anyways i was saying, i put a little of this in his hair but not too much just a tiny amount to add moisture." squeezing the leave in conditioner into your palm then applying it to his hair you hummed along to a sza song that ran through your head. the gentle work of your fingers running along his scalp nearly lulled lando back to sleep. you worked through his hair with a practiced ease, adding product and coaxing the curls atop his head to take perfect shape. not wanting to disturb his peace, you silently showed the matching brand's curling custard and then applied that lightly to his hair. once you'd finished you turned on the blow dryer, accidentally jump scaring your boyfriend under you. a soft melodic laugh fell past your lips and one hand fell to his shoulder before you leant down and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, "my bad babe." the camera didn't miss the way he leaned into your touch, pushing his cheek closer to you with his shoulders dropping further in relaxation.

not even half an hour later you were done and the light brown curls on his head were perfectly defined. you wiped your hands on the hand towel you'd slung over your shoulder earlier and laughed when you realized your boyfriend literally fell asleep. you gently cupped under his chin and pressed another kiss to his cheek. just above a whisper you mumbled, "all done, bubs. " he opened his eyes and smiled while you mused, “my pretty boy.” his cheeks flushed slightly, “thank you” and you brushed a few curls into place before looking at his reflection, "of course." he stood up and pulled you out of the frame to gave you a quick kiss before going downstairs where you'd meet him when you finished getting dressed.

the white and navy blue floral sundress you wore was both nice and simple enough to wear for today. simple gold jewelry and a pair of white sandals finished off your look and you grabbed the camera to show your reflection in the full length mirror on the wall, "all dressed so i'm gonna go meet lando downstairs and i'll see you all a little bit later!" you stopped recording and went downstairs to find your boyfriend sitting and ready to go, his cheeks burning pink when he laid eyes on you. a subtle fluttering erupted in your stomach at the familiar gaze, the one that made you feel like the only girl in the world.

*extra*

you scrolled through your social media accounts, something you never really did if you didn't have to. the first thing that came to your attention was the flood of pictures and comments that were about your boyfriend's hair. for the past few races you'd been doing his hair and more and more fans were noticing it looked better than normal. honestly, you found it amusing that people were bringing it up and so much at that, so you decided to add to the conversation just a bit:

fans reactions to recent vlog upload:

[magicbeings]

Hi!! I just finished "instance of happenstance" (which i absolutely loved btw!!), ever since the beginning of this year i've wanted to learn more about tarot, and this fic really convinced me to give it a try!

Unfortunately i don't have a tarot manual hand written in french by a beloved late uncle :( sooo do you maybe have any suggestions on any resources for learning more about them?

Hi! Oh, I love when people say that fic inspired them to learn more about Tarot!

I honestly wish I had some resource to recommend that worked kind of like what I created for the fic, with those straightforward lists of what to do and not to do. I'd looooove if there was an app like that, but there isn't, as far as I'm aware of ): Usually, the resources for Tarot are much more subjective than that, but I can certainly give you some tips on what I did when I was learning!

I'm gonna put a read more here because this got unnecessarily long, I just rambled too much, sorry.

I'd you need any more tips, feel free to message me again 💜

- get a Rider Waite deck. The first deck I got was Tarot of Marseilles, which doesn't have drawings on any of the minor arcana, and while that's a great deck, I think it's harder for beginners to learn with it because the drawings are very helpful to help you remember the meanings of the cards. I advise you to start with Rider Waite because it's a classic, and most of the modern decks artists make are based off it, so if you learn with the classic, you'll be able to buy any other beautiful deck you fall in love with and still be able to tell the cards apart, whilst if you begin with a deck that's too niche, you might have trouble switching to a different deck in the future (if that makes sense???)

- start with the 22 major arcana in your readings, and introduce the minor only when you're comfortable enough with those. Trying to learn the meanings of 78 cards at once can be overwhelming and confusing

- seek information on as many places as you can at the beginning. Tarot is incredibly subjective and intuitive, and while there are main meanings set for each of the cards, each author/content creator will add a little personal nuance to their explanations. So always take everything you read/hear with a grain of salt, understand that nothing is set in stone and take to heart what works for you only. I think reading/watching videos from as many different sources as you can really helps with constructing your own personal view of the cards, as opposed to just buying a manual and taking everything it says like it's law.

- a few books I've read: "the way of tarot" by alejandro jodorowsky, "Jung and tarot" by Sallie Nichols, and "the tarot bible" by Sarah Bartlett. Plus, when you buy a deck of cards sometimes it comes with a manual, those are really helpful. some are very simple, but some go more in depth about each card, so that's a great way to learn different interpretations because artists will often times share why they chose to represent the cards in such a way. Also, YouTube channels are GOLD when learning tarot, not only actual videos of people teaching about tarot but those long videos where you have to pick a crystal and get a message, I'd watch tons of those just to see how different creators would interpret each card when I was learning (I don't advise doing this on TikTok tho because it will mess your algorithm and you'll end up with a for you page full of tarot readers telling you your ex is thinking about you hahaha)

[arcane-vagabond]

if you're insulting writers while being anonymous you're a fakes ass, two-faced, cowardly bitch that's too scared of ridicule to say something with your whole chest. if you've got something to say pussy up and say it to their face

if you don't like what someone is saying the unfollow and block buttons are right there?? no one's forcing you to follow liz or any other writer

if you're new to fandoms then learn the culture, the rules, and the etiquette before opening your mouth. i know it's exciting to discover people writing fanfics about your favs and various interests but fandom as a whole is a well-established internet culture, so don't come in here with this colonizer attitude and don't commodify all the writers, artists, and gif makers

if you're new to tumblr then you should also really learn the culture, etiquette, and rules of the site. this platform is not like tiktok and instagram. there's a reason we can't see each others follower counts and why there's no algorithm. we don't want it to be like other social medias. this isn't a place where you're putting on a persona of being the best and most idealized version of yourself. it's a place where you can actually be yourself and express your interests without worrying about what others think.

if you actually wanna learn about tumblr culture and history watch strange aeons on youtube, her channel is dedicated to that kind of stuff

"This platform is not like Tiktok and Instagram."

Say it louder!!!!! This is literally my blog. It is my personal spaceere I post shit that I want to post, I write shit that I want to write, and I read shit that I want to read. I am not forcing you to follow me. I am not forcing you to interact with me. If you don't like my stuff? Unfollow. Block. I won't miss you.

But if you are going to be a part of tumblr fandom spaces, you need to start learning the culture, etiquette, and rules, just like Kara said. Fandom is about community, not an express ticket to whatever you want. The amount of asks I and other authors get where there is no please or thank you attached to the request. The amount of times where people request smut but no other idea attached to it. I don't mind writing it, but you HAVE to give me something else to work with.

I also guarantee you that I'm not the only content creator on here that feels like this. I'm just someone that likes to voice my opinions for all to see.

[charredcheddar]

I started using tumblr to get away from using tiktok and here are my thoughts so far

Things I like

Less overstimulating content. This is a huge problem with tiktok since there's both audio and visual stimuli. Not even mentioning the duets and overlapping music meant to keep your brain captive. tumblr has mostly text posts which slows down the speed of absorbing content plus all videos begin muted anyway so I have to choose to listen to the auditry stimuli which made me realise that I often don't want/need to. This does mean I'm not able to use tumblr to distract myself as well but long term that is a good thing and I need to stop being dependent on consuming content to feel okay.

More detatched. People don't need to show their face/voice on tumblr, removing that anxiety I feel about putting myself online and also takes away a level of comparing myself to others. I also feel like text can remove a lot of barriers that video content has with language since it's much easier to translate static text than an entire video.

People letting themselves like things. I struggle with feeling bad about liking certain content since its "cringe" or "bad" but people on tumblr seem to be less worried about this and it's reassuring. Or at the very least people who don't like it seem less likely to be in the spaces complaining about how bad it is. Maybe I'm being nieve but it just seems nicer

I can sort of share things with my family. My dad doesn't have social media outside of facebook so when I try and send him a tiktok or a pintrest board, it's likely to not work. However, I can simply screenshot a post and send that to him and he'll be able to see, process and understand it much easier and faster than anything else.

Cons of tumblr

Negativity. It's a social media, I should have expected this but it still has a lot of negativity. I use social media as a coping mechanism to try and make myself feel better but sometimes that ends up making it worse. Granted, this isn't exclusively a tumblr problem but it's still something I've noticed. However I wish tumblr would stop showing me discourse I have no stake in. It just feels bad to see groups of people hating the others existence.

Interaction. I struggle with interacting with people on tumblr more than I did on tiktok. Mainly because comments on tiktok feel smaller and less obvious than reblogs which seem to be the main way of interacting with others. Maybe I'm just not fully understanding the culture of the platform yet but it does give me anxiety.

Algorithm. I feel like my tumblr for you often only has posts relating to one tag at a time and the not interested function doesn't seem to work as well for me as it does on tiktok. It also gives me random posts about things and then gives me more despite not interacting with them? Also I see the same posts show up a lot and it annoys me because I'm refreshing specicially to see new stuff.

Idk this was just my overall thoughts since I've been active here for a few months now.

[willel]

Since I'm sure there will be a lot of new people from Twitter, I want to personally say welcome, but also please don't make the shipping wars any worse. Lol

You can do that by tagging correctly, blocking people you don't like, and muting tags that upset you. Tags are like folders. When people tag correctly, it's like opening a book with only the things you like on an endless school. Very handy.

Are you making a post about your favorite ship? Excellent! Tag it correctly. Do not tag a bunch of irrelevant tags as that's considered spamming. Your tags should look like:

#shipname #charactera #characterb #whatever else you want that is actually related to the post

By the way, this isn't twitter. Tags can have spaces in them. You can write a whole ass paragraph almost. It's enouraged to do so!

Also, this isn't TikTok. "Unalive" and other censored words for the "algorithm" are dumb and pointless. There is no algorithm. Use the right words so that people can filter what they don't want to see.

Are you writing a negative post about a ship you don't like? Well that's a waste of time but you do you, just tag it correctly. Your tag should like like:

#anti-ship #dont mention the ship in any other way! It could pop up in their tags when those shippers are trying to do their own thing

Don't cross post KNOWING your post can upset someone. Don't play coy. Don't play dumb. Don't start drama on purpose. If you're bored and want some action, why not get a real hobby instead of fighting on the internet?

If a tag is meant for a platonic ship, then you should find the proper romantic ship version of that name. If another character or pairing has nothing to do with your post, then keep it in your pants and don't tag them. It's rude and could earn you some blocks.

That is the proper tagging etiquette for tumblr.com. You can mute any tag you want by visiting your settings and adding a tag to filtered tags and/or filtered content.

Anon hate is a thing of the past. Grow up. You can send anonymous or faced questions to almost any blog you want. You can also turn off that feature entirely if you don't like it.

If you don't like someone, you can select the three dots on top of their posts and block them. You can save yourself a headache if you learn to curate your experience~

Here in Tumblr, there is no reliable algorithm. More than likely, Tumblr won't be showing everyone posts that are relevant to them automatically. You'll have to visit the tags yourself to see what you want to see.

If YOU LOVE SOMETHING, REBLOG IT. Likes work like bookmarks here on tumblr.com. Everyone appreciates likes on their posts, but sadly, that's all it is. A post can die in the sea of irrelevance if no one reblogs it.

You know all those cool popular posts you see with thousands of notes? They only got like that because thousands of people reblogged it.

Do your artist friends, writer friends, and normal friends a favor by reblogging their posts and spreading the good word~. If you consistently reblog good posts on a consistent basis, you'll likely find yourself some cool followers as well who have the same interests as you.

By the way, while you can be a little well known here in Tumblr, you'll never have any clout. Give up now before you even begin. Everyone is an equal here. We're all just fans being fans of whatever content we're consuming that day alright? There are famous people on here, but unless they're chill and breezy, people will tend to chase them away anyway.

Do you want separate your personal blog from your fan blog? Well no need to make a new account, you can just add a sideblog and it's practically the same thing. You only have to log in once. I have at least a dozen active side blogs for every new interest I get very invested in. Great for organization and keeping your main blog for your personal rambles and posts.

By the way, there's no need to tell everyone your name, your phone number, your address etc. This site is anonymous. Enjoy the anonymity! Let yourself be a faceless fan among other faceless fans, keep your personal details safe and private.

And finally, don't be a creepy weirdo. That's pretty self explanatory. If your are a creepy weirdo, stop while you're ahead. You know you're gonna get caught and ousted. You aren't slick, you're just a weirdo.

That is all. This is meant for the Stranger Things fandom but it can be applied to any fandom. Hope this helps.

[iwaasfairy]

hi, i just wanna say something to the anon who was complaining about reblogs in that one ask.

if you are so bothered by all the writers, artists and other people who create different forms of art asking for reblogs, maybe you need to understand the basic core of the site/app you are on.

this is tumblr. tumblr works on reblogs. that is how you share things with one another. you reblog someone's work, someone reblogs from you and then someone reblogs from them, that's how things are shared and spread and that's how it reaches to people.

this is fan content, we are a fandom! we are meant to share our creations (if we want to) with other people in the fandom! that is the entire point, to share our love. sharing our love goes both ways! if someone puts out something, show them love! support them! appreciate them! motivate them!

so if someone asks you to reblog so that it reaches other audience, if someone asks you to reblog so that more people can get in and enjoy and appreciate the utter hard work that goes into it (without any monetary benefit), if someone asks you to reblog so that it gets more notes and is visible in the tags and doesn't get buried in a few days; i don't understand what is wrong with it and what is so difficult to understand about it.

again this isn't meant to be condescending or rude, i just wanted to help them understand.

-bunny (i just felt like being on anon for some reason, i am one of your followers)

This is very kind bby, thank you. I honestly am tired of explaining this exact thing after more than 8 years on tumblr but I appreciate the message. Yes, for anyone unaware, tumblr works on reblogs. Reblogs are twitters rts, tiktoks likes, or reddits upvotes, or instagrams likes. It's hard to understand when you're not used to it, because tumblr's algorithm is honestly pretty shit, but if you're fine giving likes on tiktok or upvotes on reddit, then why not reblogs? It's not like we're asking for firstborn's here

[ceausescue]

a lot of arguments against algorithmic feeds are fully general arguments against good products, which is dumb. i promise you tiktok does not beam addiction rays into the brain with the power of the terrifying algorithm. people want to watch videos they like, and the algorithm gives that to them.

there are specific claims you could make that are not like this. many feel that, say, slot machines do not fulfill a deep-seated urge to waste money on nothing. you could pitch tiktok as doing that, and there are definitely people who make the argument that algorithmic feeds cultivate content that people want to scroll through but wouldn't prefer to want to scroll through. i do think this is probably true to some extent, though i have to admit i find it sort of annoying.

in any case the average feed algorithm isn't well adapted to me, which is probably true of a lot of people who complain about them. im here because i want a chronological feed and if it goes i go. but it seems like people with similar preferences are concluding that the algorithms used by other sites are universally hated, successful only due to some dark pact. that's dumb, normies want a feed they don't need to pay attention to. and if tumblr is gonna keep the lights on, it's not immediately stupid to try and cater to them. they'll keep the chronological feed too, it's not like it's hard.

[thisliminalspacedaydreams]

Hey, so sorry to come back to beat a dead horse but. that last comment got to me

If you take care of the smallest detail in your fandom art, that's incredible. It's still free. Should be. Should remain. The comments and kudos and engagement are so, so great, but, and I don't know how to stress this enough,

YOU NEED TO ENJOY WHAT YOU ARE DOING WITHOUT THEM.

You need to be okay engaging in fandom without guaranteed feedback. Is it fair? No. Was fandom created by freaks, for freaks, who wanted to make things for each other anyway? Yes.

I 100% understand the people saying they are writing/creating for the passion and posting for the engagement, but ao3 has already changed so much that this isn't guaranteed anymore.

A lot of newer users think something's going to come out of their work... recognition, validation, opportunities, but anyone who got any level of "fame" are worse for wear: the moment your cringy (I say with love, fandom should be cringe, fandom must remain cringe, praise cringe) fandom work goes boom into the world and outside of the bubble of freaks it was meant for, it becomes content.

That content gets treated with the same terrifying detachment everything else online gets, and it's a nightmare.

I understand the (now deleted) comment comes from a place of frustration, but you're misunderstanding the point.

I am talking about the space, not about devaluing art or labor. I'm saying "this space where things can just exist for free should be protected," not "artists should never be paid."

Not everything online that requires labor should be monetized.

Ao3 (a platform for sharing should happen without forced monetization) is important and rare because it doesn't force anyone into the consumerist mindset. The only goal of ao3 is to share. That's it.

Artists absolutely deserve the choice to ask for compensation. Outside of fandom. Inside fandom? Nope (imo).

Fandom is supposed to be one of the last places where you can give something without it instantly being turned into a product or a target, and even this is dying.

But still, I fight for this stupid, amazing, NECESSARY website. Fans (whether you're makers or readers or lurkers) deserve spaces where they can enjoy and share without being trapped by algorithms and ads and money.

By the way, a lower number of engagement doesn't reflect the quality of the work.​ It depends on the fandom size, the subject matter, how dead your dove is, how alive the fandom is.

If your mindset is, "The truth is: the problem is not who wants to be paid for the work they do, because even the fan's work remains WORK, you worked on that work, you used your time, your skill, you spat blood etc… Nope, YOU are part of the problem, normalizing free work instead of normalizing a salary for artists", then as I so eloquently put it before, it's NOT FOR YOU. Go seek money elsewhere.

GO seek money ELSEWHERE. Go to Tiktok, Youtube, Instagram, Google ads, the REST OF THE FUCKING INTERNET IS THERE FOR YOU TO MAKE MONEY.

Leave my free ao3 and my thousands of hours of free written creation alone.

And god forbid if I ever see you lurking in my comments again saying you have seen "embarrassing works against some noteworthy works" you don't deserve an ao3 account you don't understand what fandom is at all and I'm sorry for you.

Fanfic is a free hobby.

It's one of the last few things we can have as a society that's free. You can engage, for free. People give you things (art, stories, etc), for free.

Don't buy into the consummerism just because it's everywhere else.

You don't have to consume everything you interact with. You don't have to use things, just because they exist.

You're allowed (still, for now), to have things that are enjoyable for free.

Do you realise how insane the world is? We don't have many places where we can just be, for free anymore, but ao3 is. Did you notice we don't have ads in ao3? We don't have pop ups? Where ELSE do we not have that?

Where else can you just go and not have to wait for a commercial to be over or for ads to be on the sidelines?

I don't think the younger people understand, but the whole of internet used to be like this. YouTubers would do Youtube for free, just because. You couldn't monetise your internet presence before.

Ao3 is like a little preserved corner of the internet where the old internet used to be, and it's being attacked by people who do not understand that free things are allowed to exist without judgment.

Please don't ruin this for us.

Some of us need it.

[flagellant]

this might be a multipart ask so I’m gonna come right out the gate with the nickname “Dio anon”

SO. i finally caved and started using tiktok this summer, I followed more than 2 people and I started using it more than once every two weeks. after a few weeks I found a cosplayer who is writing a modern Greek gods series centered around Dionysus and Apollo, and most of their account is that. i liked it a lot and went through all their videos and started following them: they’re very pretty and give me gender envy, I like their Dionysus cosplay, and I’ve always liked Dionysus as a god in general.

and also. I’ve been following you and cryptotheism for longer than I found that cosplayer. I started following some pagan accounts on tiktok too, I’ve always found it interesting. but I am atheist; I don’t begrudge other peoples practices at all, I just can’t get over my skepticism with /me/ doing it. I have said especially when I was younger that if I did believe in any religion, it would be the Norse or Greek pantheon, though this came from me reading Percy Jackson and watching how to train your dragon lol so there isn’t much stock in that

so I like their content, and I follow pagan accounts on here and tiktok, and I especially get into Dionysus. I do research on the god himself, etc., and then I can’t remember specific signs but like. I get multiple tiktok videos that are like “yeah I was skeptical at first but then x and y happened and I figured out (z) was trying to contact me” and they started practicing, which sounds eerily like what’s going on with me, and then the videos like “Z god might be trying to reach you by showing you x and y signs” and I have some that match with the ones shown for Dionysus, and I’ve been considering attempting practice? like I went on Etsy for things for a little altar and everything (didn’t get anything yet though)

so long story short. I cannot tell if this is my hyperfixation with the modern series that cosplayer is writing (fictional, not educational about them) and that’s why I’m so interested in Dionysus specifically, OR if it’s actual occult stuff and I should attempt it. and if I do, how to get over the skepticism and the mindset that everything is scientific and occultism, for me at least, isn’t real. (sorry for the essay 😅 I’ve been thinking about this for months)

While I don't want to discount or dismiss your experiences out of hand, I do want to point something out:

You admit yourself that all of this started happening after you started involving yourself more and more in TikTok's pagan and pagan-adjacent communities. That right there is my biggest red flag.

This isn't to say it's impossible or even perhaps unlikely that you might gain something out of paganism and the occult, but I always want to stand by my own principle of mundane before magic. The likelihood of anything being supernatural is always exponentially smaller than a more logical, skeptical conclusion.

In this case, I'd be more worried about whether or not you're being influenced less by a god and more by the algorithms of engagement and interaction of relevant TikTok circles. You need to make certain that the signs and such you're seeing are actually supernatural or if you're just seeking out justification/endorphins/a way into this community now that you've started broaching its edges and you're curious if you might enjoy being in it.

Again, I don't want this to sound like I'm completely dismissing you out of hand. But before anything else here, I feel I have a responsibility to get you to really think about the origins of all of this so that you don't just get sucked into the algorithms as it were.

[hellomynameisbisexual]

Here's a shortlist of those who realized that I — a cis woman who'd identified as heterosexual for decades of life — was in fact actually bi, long before I realized it myself recently: my sister, all my friends, my boyfriend, and the TikTok algorithm.

On TikTok, the relationship between user and algorithm is uniquely (even sometimes uncannily) intimate. An app which seemingly contains as many multitudes of life experiences and niche communities as there are people in the world, we all start in the lowest common denominator of TikTok. Straight TikTok (as it's popularly dubbed) initially bombards your For You Page with the silly pet videos and viral teen dances that folks who don't use TikTok like to condescendingly reduce it to.

Quickly, though, TikTok begins reading your soul like some sort of divine digital oracle, prying open layers of your being never before known to your own conscious mind. The more you use it, the more tailored its content becomes to your deepest specificities, to the point where you get stuff that's so relatable that it can feel like a personal attack (in the best way) or (more dangerously) even a harmful trigger from lifelong traumas.

For example: I don't know what dark magic (read: privacy violations) immediately clued TikTok into the fact that I was half-Brazilian, but within days of first using it, Straight TikTok gave way to at first Portuguese-speaking then broader Latin TikTok. Feeling oddly seen (being white-passing and mostly American-raised, my Brazilian identity isn't often validated), I was liberal with the likes, knowing that engagement was the surefire way to go deeper down this identity-affirming corner of the social app.

TikTok made lots of assumptions from there, throwing me right down the boundless, beautiful, and oddest multiplicities of Alt TikTok, a counter to Straight TikTok's milquetoast mainstreamness.

Home to a wide spectrum of marginalized groups, I was giving out likes on my FYP like Oprah, smashing that heart button on every type of video: from TikTokers with disabilities, Black and Indigenous creators, political activists, body-stigma-busting fat women, and every glittering shade of the LGBTQ cornucopia. The faves were genuine, but also a way to support and help offset what I knew about the discriminatory biases in TikTok's algorithm.

My diverse range of likes started to get more specific by the minute, though. I wasn't just on general Black TikTok anymore, but Alt Cottagecore Middle-Class Black Girl TikTok (an actual label one creator gave her page's vibes). Then it was Queer Latina Roller Skating Girl TikTok, Women With Non-Hyperactive ADHD TikTok, and then a double whammy of Women Loving Women (WLW) TikTok alternating between beautiful lesbian couples and baby bisexuals.

Looking back at my history of likes, the transition from queer “ally” to “salivating simp” is almost imperceptible.

There was no one precise "aha" moment. I started getting "put a finger down" challenges that wouldn't reveal what you were putting a finger down for until the end. Then, 9-fingers deep (winkwink), I'd be congratulated for being 100% bisexual. Somewhere along the path of getting served multiple WLW Disney cosplays in a single day and even dom lesbian KinkTok roleplay — or whatever the fuck Bisexual Pirate TikTok is — deductive reasoning kind of spoke for itself.

But I will never forget the one video that was such a heat-seeking missile of a targeted attack that I was moved to finally text it to my group chat of WLW friends with a, "Wait, am I bi?" To which the overwhelming consensus was, "Magic 8 Ball says, 'Highly Likely.'"

Serendipitously posted during Pride Month, the video shows a girl shaking her head at the caption above her head, calling out confused and/or closeted queers who say shit like, "I think everyone is a LITTLE bisexual," to the tune of "Closer" by The Chainsmokers. When the lyrics land on the word "you," she points straight at the screen — at me — her finger and inquisitive look piercing my hopelessly bisexual soul like Cupid's goddamn arrow.

Oh no, the voice inside my head said, I have just been mercilessly perceived.

As someone who had, in fact, done feminist studies at a tiny liberal arts college with a gender gap of about 70 percent women, I'd of course dabbled. I've always been quick to bring up the Kinsey scale, to champion a true spectrum of sexuality, and to even declare (on multiple occasions) that I was, "straight, but would totally fuck that girl!"

Oh no, the voice inside my head returned, I've literally just been using extra words to say I was bi.

After consulting the expertise of my WLW friend group (whose mere existence, in retrospect, also should've clued me in on the flashing neon pink, purple, and blue flag of my raging bisexuality), I ran to my boyfriend to inform him of the "news."

"Yeah, baby, I know. We all know," he said kindly.

"How?!" I demanded.

Well for one, he pointed out, every time we came across a video of a hot girl while scrolling TikTok together, I'd without fail watch the whole way through, often more than once, regardless of content. (Apparently, straight girls do not tend to do this?) For another, I always breathlessly pointed out when we'd pass by a woman I found beautiful, often finding a way to send a compliment her way. ("I'm just a flirt!" I used to rationalize with a hand wave, "Obvs, I'm not actually sexually attracted to them!") Then, I guess, there were the TED Talk-like rants I'd subject him to about the thinly veiled queer relationship in Adventure Time between Princess Bubblegum and Marcelyne the Vampire Queen — which the cowards at Cartoon Network forced creators to keep as subtext!

And, well, when you lay it all out like that...

But my TikTok-fueled bisexual awakening might actually speak less to the omnipotence of the app's algorithm, and more to how heteronormativity is truly one helluva drug.

Sure, TikTok bombarded me with the thirst traps of my exact type of domineering masc lady queers, who reduced me to a puddle of drool I could no longer deny. But I also recalled a pivotal moment in college when I briefly questioned my heterosexuality, only to have a lesbian friend roll her eyes and chastise me for being one of those straight girls who leads Actual Queer Women on. I figured she must know better. So I never pursued any of my lady crushes in college, which meant I never experimented much sexually, which made me conclude that I couldn't call myself bisexual if I'd never had actual sex with a woman. I also didn't really enjoy lesbian porn much, though the fact that I'd often find myself fixating on the woman during heterosexual porn should've clued me into that probably coming more from how mainstream lesbian porn is designed for straight men.

The ubiquity of heterormativity, even when unwittingly perpetrated by members of the queer community, is such an effective self-sustaining cycle. Aside from being met with queer-gating (something I've since learned bi folks often experience), I had a hard time identifying my attraction to women as genuine attraction, simply because it felt different to how I was attracted to men.

Heteronormativity is truly one helluva drug.

So much of women's sexuality — of my sexuality — can feel defined by that carnivorous kind of validation you get from men. I met no societal resistance in fully embodying and exploring my desire for men, either (which, to be clear, was and is insatiable slut levels of wanting that peen.) But in retrospect, I wonder how many men I slept with not because I was truly attracted to them, but because I got off on how much they wanted me.

My attraction to women comes with a different texture of eroticism. With women (and bare with a baby bi, here), the attraction feels more shared, more mutual, more tender rather than possessive. It's no less raw or hot or all-consuming, don't get me wrong. But for me at least, it comes more from a place of equality rather than just power play. I love the way women seem to see right through me, to know me, without us really needing to say a word.

I am still, as it turns out, a sexual submissive through-and-through, regardless of what gender my would-be partner is. But, ignorantly and unknowingly, I'd been limiting my concept of who could embody dominant sexual personas to cis men. But when TikTok sent me down that glorious rabbit hole of masc women (who know exactly what they're doing, btw), I realized my attraction was not to men, but a certain type of masculinity. It didn't matter which body or genitalia that presentation came with.

There is something about TikTok that feels particularly suited to these journeys of sexual self-discovery and, in the case of women loving women, I don't think it's just the prescient algorithm. The short-form video format lends itself to lightning bolt-like jolts of soul-bearing nakedness, with the POV camera angles bucking conventions of the male gaze, which entrenches the language of film and TV in heterosexual male desire.

In fairness to me, I'm far from the only one who missed their inner gay for a long time — only to have her pop out like a queer jack-in-the-box throughout a near year-long quarantine that led many of us to join TikTok. There was the baby bi mom, and scores of others who no longer had to publicly perform their heterosexuality during lockdown — only to realize that, hey, maybe I'm not heterosexual at all?

Flooded with video after video affirming my suspicions, reflecting my exact experiences as they happened to others, the change in my sexual identity was so normalized on TikTok that I didn't even feel like I needed to formally "come out." I thought this safe home I'd found to foster my baby bisexuality online would extend into the real world.

But I was in for a rude awakening.

Testing out my bisexuality on other platforms, casually referring to it on Twitter, posting pictures of myself decked out in a rainbow skate outfit (which I bought before realizing I was queer), I received nothing but unquestioning support and validation. Eventually, I realized I should probably let some members of my family know before they learned through one of these posts, though.

Daunted by the idea of trying to tell my Latina Catholic mother and Swiss Army veteran father (who's had a crass running joke about me being a "lesbian" ever since I first declared myself a feminist at age 12), I chose the sibling closest to me. Seeing as how gender studies was one of her majors in college too, I thought it was a shoo-in. I sent an off-handed, joke-y but serious, "btw I'm bi now!" text, believing that's all that would be needed to receive the same nonchalant acceptance I found online.

It was not.

I didn't receive a response for two days. Hurt and panicked by what was potentially my first mild experience of homophobia, I called them out. They responded by insisting we need to have a phone call for such "serious" conversations. As I calmly tried to express my hurt on said call, I was told my text had been enough to make this sibling worry about my mental wellbeing. They said I should be more understanding of why it'd be hard for them to (and I'm paraphrasing) "think you were one way for twenty-eight years" before having to contend with me deciding I was now "something else."

But I wasn't "something else," I tried to explain, voice shaking. I hadn't knowingly been deceiving or hiding this part of me. I'd simply discovered a more appropriate label. But it was like we were speaking different languages. Other family members were more accepting, thankfully. There are many ways I'm exceptionally lucky, my IRL environment as supportive as Baby Bi TikTok. Namely, I'm in a loving relationship with a man who never once mistook any of it as a threat, instead giving me all the space in the world to understand this new facet of my sexuality.

I don't have it all figured out yet. But at least when someone asks if I listen to Girl in Red on social media, I know to answer with a resounding, "Yes," even though I've never listened to a single one of her songs. And for now, that's enough.

[flowerr44444]

"there is nothing about *looking* at sex that is any morally different to engaging in sex"

but which sex are you looking at? street public sex? oh jolly that's rape in almost all cases! you need to act!

pornography? but that's rape too! you can't tell for shit if the other party agreed to release this video! they only need one verified person! even then you can't tell if they aren't held hostage through circumstance!

you can't even tell if they are 13 or 25! female height and body growth stops at 12!

"adding a camera does not affect morality either"

surely it does! how do you think blackmail is created? or all those fresh fresh unverified pornsites? the video's are all sold to them! or uploaded without the other parties knowladge! an avarge nudes exchange on any app is performed by a worker with one ai generated cropped picture who gathers yours into one database which he later sells to the highest bidder

"it will not rot your brain or make you an addict"

how do you think the cycle of violence operates? people get a hit from feeling bad because they felt bad their entire life, if they can orgasm to it? they will. reddit in the old ages had freaks all over the place who would write to brag how they did it to a corpse being diddled. or someone cutting their peen to shreds. or pouring pesticides on a vag.

"force you to change your views on sex"

can a 12 yo differ between a video that is rape and one that isn't? can that kid say, after, oh i knew what i was watching?

can a person, who was never taught sex education or even how to recognise violence abuse or humiliation be able to even have views on sex?

now this is about 80% of all children and young adults or teenagers, most parents do not give a shit nor feel like wasting time to explain those differances, most schools too

not about stds, not about what's supposed to happen, not about talking about things, none of this

and 1/10 of all minors experianced sexual abuse where i come from, crazy huh? that's a few football fields filled with them to the brim!

"bonds with people"

can you tell me ten main differences between actual portrayal of women or gay men in normal franchises and porn? if you are female i will make it easier to you, how is the omega in aboverse erotic manga portrayed by the narrative in contrast to a teenage girl in porn or a teen girl in let's say amphibia cartoon.

now apply with your meager knowladge on propaganda and indoctrination

i will start. how douyin nad tiktok algorithms worked on me is - tiktok was deprresing, i was served hypersexual teenagers in not just skimpy clothes but plain lingerie, cartoons, cosplay and messaging of alcoholism being amazing. i had to work for half an hour to get algorithm to show me mostly educational and healthy messages. douyin in contrast from the start started showing me health, bussiness, fashion, spa and feminist content.

say i am just another person, no finished highschool, depressed or not, say shit life, maybe happy and healthy still or a semblance of it, im from western alliance and i just decided to try tiktok. i previously had no contact with socmed nor was i interested in articles about it nor my school felt it important as a social issue. what happens next? say this i is easily impressionable because as most of young people im lonely, emotionally neglected and uneducated on using a phone more as a tool then a comforting device where it all goes how i want it to go with algorithm, my news and accessed websites in one sides propagandas bubble

now. tiktok was just an example. say i would start with pornhub. everyones joking about it on r/dankmemes or other funny.org, i don't know the jokes are propaganda too of this or that thing. i sit in theory only on pornhub. go to school. go back home. the cycle continous. go to work, got home. go on a date, go home. pornhub the one thing seemingly normal even though there are critics of it. go to univeristy, go home. i don't use facebook, insta nothing. just this site.

This is the life of many.

they will hear this or that. yet they will never analise their own habits, speech patterns or thoughts on this or that nor why they have them. they know nothing else outside of misery and abuse. they also won't separate with it.

And That's Why We Have Jails

"sex is okay to look at"

a paraphilia is a fetish. this one classified as voyeurism if you are not involved in the act as one of two people in it. it's actually one of common characteristics where the person who has it will be involved in SA either as the prepatrator or the victim, which may change depending if they get caught first or report first. mostly because if there is one paraphilia then there will be another one or some sort of personality behind it that thinks violence/humiliation (both are abuse) during intercourse is normal

👏

so remember to ask whoever you want to date first what they consider normal during sexual act - this is one of many questions you ought to interrogate about first on tinder! it might tell you a l o t about how aggressive is our subject and their stalkerish tendencies - perhaps even if they will try to make you agree, in any form of persuasion, to a stranger in your bedroom

Let's try again since radfems are stupid.

There is nothing about *looking* at sex that is any morally different to engaging in sex. Adding a camera does not affect morality either. It will not rot your brain or make you an addict or force you to change your views on sex or mess with your brain chemicals and bonds with people or any other bullshit that people come out with. Sex is ok to look at.

[lifeistrangeut]

Chapter 13: Mobile Interactivity

After reading chapter 13, I chose the idea-generating exercise about considering forms of mobile storytelling. My thoughts jumped to news apps, social media apps, emails, blogs, etc. There is mobile storytelling everywhere if you look hard enough. Ebooks (kindle etc.), interactive adventures (Pokemon GO!), social media stories (personal antidotes about personal experiences, etc.), serialized content for established entities, and stand-alone apps.

The form (singular, because there is only one...) I enjoy most is interactive adventures. I really enjoy games and interactive adventures because it gives me something to do, and helps me feel like I am contributing in a large way (while having fun). I feel like I'm completing something, crossing off tasks in a way, which gives me satisfaction. I also enjoy this mobile storytelling method because you aren't getting the basic stories about boss babes making millions by starting their own business (usually an MLM). I usually come across something more creative and original.

E-Books are fine too, but I usually like the feeling of having a physical book in hand. I feel like I already consume way too many...screens...if you want to call it that. I don't need another one convincing me that I am doing something I love when I am actually just looking at another measly screen (my opinion). Social media stories are okay as well, I really enjoy the stories that are motivational and personal antidotes from accounts not knowing they went viral. They just simply posted something they liked, and others liked it too. Those stories are innocent to me and give me tiny hopes that the world isn't doomed.

Serialized content for established entities...eh. I think that is just a way to get the user to spend more time on your app. (which works btw) Facebook Watch, Snapchat stories, IGTV, and Instagram reels have taken social media by storm. But they aren't even a grain of salt compared to the next one. Last but not least...the big kahuna...TIKTOK!!!!!!!! The ultimate storytelling app whose algorithm is better than well, literally anything. I get seriously lost in that app. Sometimes I can manage it...it's bad and often makes my life unmanageable. Let's be real. Sometimes I don't even open it because I know I will be captivated by the number of people who experience life the same way I do. Or I get lost completely in someone else's life, and at that point, I'm screwed. (because naturally, I need to know everything about them, their friend group, their dog, etc.)

This is important because just like people (me) can get addicted to storytelling on TikTok, or interactive games, there are other addictions that aren't as harmless. I've seen people who are complete menaces on social media, spewing their hatred left and right. People whose lives are only worth living to see the 10:00 news every night. It is somewhat exhausting, and sad. Our generation is becoming more mobile media focused which is good for many reasons, and bad for others. I think with anything, as long as you can manage it in some way, it might be okay. But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Something that was innocent at first (my scrolling on TikTok) can later cause consequences (me running off 2 hours of sleep). Obviously, worse consequences can occur, that is just my most frequent one.

I enjoy mobile storytelling, a little too much. But I also understand my boundaries and take care of my mental health. In these new generations, I feel like it would be much harder for me to determine those. Hopefully, my generation (and others) can push mental health support, you are worth more than your likes or a digital footprint, and know when it's time to put the phone down and enjoy the moment. <3

[mrahmancr7]

What age is TikTok

Professionals on TikTok get on and Smash it now.

The world is changing. People have shorter attention spans. People want information quick. Short form video content (under 30 seconds) is getting more attention than the other sort of content on social media.

Are you continue to underestimating TikTok? Are you uninterested in Instagram’s snail-like growth? TikTok could seriously help grow your brand, much faster than the other platform. But why?

Here are 10 reasons why professionals and corporations should smash it on TikTok immediately in 2021:

1. Any Niche, Any Professional on TikTok

Yes, TikTok started getting famous due to dancing, but if you are doing not want to ascertain dancing, then TikTok will now show it to you. what's so successful about TikTok is that the algorithm. It gradually understands what you wish by watching what you've got watched and interacted with. If you looked for plumbing then watched a couple of plumbing videos, then the algorithm will recognize that and feed you more relevant content almost like that. you'll find many professional on the platform. I even have connected with doctors, lawyers, engineers and professional athletes to call just a couple of . If you're wondering what quite content you'll create for yourself or your business, you simply need to look for something similar by other professionals on TikTok, in your niche, to urge ideas. A baker can show baking bread, a chiropractor can show necks being clicked. The ideas are endless.

If you're lucky to figure for you own company then the chances are endless. Companies do encourage social media for promotion. Sam Fares (@thepatentattorney), who may be a Lawyer, says people at his work are surprisingly supportive. TikTok are often an honest marketing tool and even large companies are beginning to add a social media policies to make sure boundaries aren't crossed.

2. it isn't only for Kids

According to Comscore statistics, US TikTok users by age is: 33% children and 67% adults. This statistic was taken at the top of 2020, so it's fairly old now therefore the platform has matured even more now.

Even, Gordan Ramsey (@gordonramsayofficial) is using TikTok himself now and most of the large YouTubers like Mr. Beast (@mrbeast) are there already. Instagram Reels remains far behind TikTok - the videos on Reels are like what was being shown on TikTok two years ago, with mostly music only. you'll copy the platform but you'll not copy the audience. i buy many comments and messages by adults everyday on the platform and on the road . a number of these are passed on from their siblings too. Bare in mind, if you influence the younger generation, this also rubs off on the oldsters . So TikTok could even be an honest investment strategy if you are doing target Generation Z. But eventually 67% of TikTok users are adults.

3. TikTok Helps Growth on other platforms like IG and Youtube

TikTok provides links on your profile for both Instagram and Youtube. there's also a choice to add link to your website otherwise you can even put LinkedIn there if you wish . These links are quite other platforms need to offer. Instagram only allows you to insert one link on your platform, so does Twitter, and Clubhouse that only as two. These links gives an honest opportunity to spread your followers elsewhere. Social Media Strategist, Caleb Chin (@socialfeed) thinks that one among the quickest thanks to grow a following on Instagram in 2021 is to create a TikTok following. i might need to agree.

"The quickest thanks to grow on Instagram is to create a following on TikTok."

Successful TikTok accounts also can build an outsized number of subscribers on Youtube without even published one video on YouTube. Take writer and storyteller, Greg Hinthorn (@hinthorn) for instance . He reached bent his TikTok audience and told them he will published his first Youtube video when he reached 4000 subscribers on there. Now he has reached 4000 subscribers on Youtube from TikTok. he's now publishing videos on both platforms.

4. Most Downloaded App on the App Store

According to Appfigures data, TikTok is that the most downloaded app. 90% of all TikTok users access the app on a day to day . 

Furthermore, consistent with App Annie, TikTok's screen time at the start of 2021 overtook Facebook for the primary time. the typical screen time for a mean TikTok user is over 20 hours per month.

5. Engagement Can Attract Leads

Client opportunities, contacts, influence and leads - the engagement within the comments section on TikTok is insane. I even have never seen anything love it . there's also a messaging service on TikTok. this will be turned in settings, so anyone can send you a message. you'll also directly reply to an issue via a video which which is shared on your feed, which may helps engagement.

American Architect Tom Reynolds AIA (@tiktokarchitect) has been active on the platform for a year now confirms.

"I'm actually getting more work coming from TikTok now, than anywhere else."

6. TikTok is Authentic

TikTok is transparent and authentic. there's not many commercials or people trying to sell. you are doing not get many of us selling their eBook or spending the primary 5 mins asking you to subscribe because those sort of videos don't had best . TikTok is blunt, straight to the purpose and these are the videos that had best on TikTok. People try to offer something quickly. If you give value meaning something, then an audience will come. Vulnerability is additionally a key factor that folks like. the right filtered and edited photograph on Instagram isn't authentic, neither may be a highly produced YouTube video. People can relate to TikTok because its real - the videos that tend to try to to well aren't the over productive type. it's like what Youtube was 20 years ago. Transparency, vulnerability and authenticity goes an extended way on social media in 2021 and TikTok fits.

7. Learn on TikTok

TikTok has heavily invested $50 million into an ingenious learning fund on short form educational content, which might be the longer term for social media and online education. If you begin learning the way to give information or teach with videos now, this might bring many opportunities for your business or personal brand within the near future. it's not about selling something - its about giving value.

"We've partnered with over 800 public figures, media publishers, educational institutions, and real-world professional ... to supply us creative learning." -TikTok

8. Its Quick and straightforward 

If you're a business and employing a videographer to try to to you videos - take care . tons of media companies don't have much experience with short form video, or TikTok. it's a reasonably new thing. they're likely wont to top quality produced videos. Have they published many short videos? Have they built an audience before? These are the questions you ought to be asking them. Quantity is more important for brief form video content. The TikTok app has almost everything in it to make videos quickly, even green screen. you are doing not need to spend one to 2 hours during a room like Club House or spend every week editing an extended form video. Many creators are beginning to up the sport with mirrorless cameras rather than their phone, for higher quality, but this has not oversaturated the platform yet.

9. 100% Creativity

This makes it fantastic if you're within the creative industry. Creating videos displays your creativity. YouTube and TikTok are the highest creative media platforms.

On one hand, you've got you Instagram and LinkedIn where there's tons of individuals sharing other people's content? for instance , a number of the highest architecture accounts on Instagram are accounts reposting other peoples content. it is the same with LinkedIn. People even download other peoples videos on other platforms and repost them on LinkedIn. These videos don't have much creativity.

On the opposite hand, uploads on TikTok have very high creativity. one among my favorite and straightforward videos was made by Architect, Dory Azar (@dory.azar.architect) who actually drew a door swing under a door to elucidate how door swings are drawn. When lecture Dory on Clubhouse, he explained that folks like simple explanations - they appear to figure best.

10. More Organic Reach Than the other Platform

If you begin a replacement account on today with no followers, post something, that post has potential to succeed in more people than the other platform. there's only LinkedIn immediately that comes close. But, new businesses still slug away at Instagram and Facebook in 2021. These platforms tend to be more powerful for people that have already built an audience, have account authority, or want to pay via promotion. this is often partly the rationale why TikTok is so popular. Everyone features a chance for videos to try to to well and reach an audience. Social media apps like Instagram and Facebook are old matured platforms now. These reasons help make TikTok the platform of choice.

If you would like to create a brand, you ought to obviously start by getting to the platforms with the foremost reach. albeit you're still convinced the audience is just too young on TikTok, it could still be an honest marketing investment for you within the short to future .

It might be time to prevent shaking your head. Its a no brainer. TikTok and short form video content is here to remain .

RIBA Chartered Architect, Russell M. Henderson (@ArchitectRussell) is predicated in Tanzania, East Africa . He also 'edu-tains' his passion for Architecture Travel & Film with video content on YouTube , TikTok & Instagram.

Acquisition customer top 5 to use Tiktok 

Tiktok is presently gaining popularity with over 300 million active users worldwide. Most business owners feel Tiktok isn't ideal for business because it's crammed with entertainment and sometimes ridiculous videos.

But, that was what many said about Instagram and Snapchat. Today, these two platforms are getting used by top brands to get many thousands for his or her business monthly. 

There are numerous reasons why small business must use Tiktok to urge new customers. But during this post, we only covered top 5 reasons.

1. it's Easy to create Communities

With Tiktok for business, building communities is extremely easy. Tiktok may be a video content platform, and with video, grabbing people’s attention is extremely easy as modern-day users are more likely to consume video content than written content.

So, small business owners can cash in of this to make numerous videos of about 15 – 60 seconds to grab the eye of their audience and build their following. 

Some people are just on the platform to consume content and to not create. So, with this in mind, your job is to offer them something to consume and obtain their interest.

2. Over 500 Active Users Globally

The number of active users on Tiktok is insane. With over 500 million active users globally, this is often not a chance small businesses should ignore. 

Although the most important demographic of Tiktok users are between the age of 16 – 24. But that doesn’t mean people of older age aren't there.

Much like other previous “hot” social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, Generation Z was the primary to leap on them. So is that the same for Tiktok.

However, if you log into the platform now, you'll find freelancers, dentists, teachers, fashion designers, and even grandparents actively using the platform. 

3. it's Easy to Grab Users Attention 

Tiktok may be a video-sharing platform and videos are the sole quite content that grabs your attention without you approving it. It starts playing immediately you set your eyes thereon . 

Small businesses can cash in of this to share educational, entertaining, and promotional videos moderately. Users are on the platform to be entertained so small businesses must find out how to balance their content because it only takes a scroll to chop your video out. 

4. Top Brands Are Claiming their Spots

Go check in on Tiktok now and search if you won’t find top brands like Walmart, Family Feud, HP, and other top brands. numerous brands are now taking advantage of the trend to make awareness and obtain more customers for his or her business. 

5. A Platform to Sell with Fun

As a sensible marketer, you ought to be ready to promote your brand to your audience with less invasive techniques. Millennials are already conscious of most marketing tactics and thus they're going to ignore your videos if you are trying to travel the standard ways. 

Using stories in your content to pass your brand message will produce a win for you. you'll gain tons of attention by launching a hashtag challenge. A hashtag challenge is where you tell users to make a specific quite video and incorporate your branded hashtag thereto .

You can work with a Tiktok influencer to actually make this type of challenge go viral. 

What you need to know about TikTok 

TikTok is one of those social networks that grew in popularity VERY quickly, but if you are over the age of 30, you still might have NO IDEA what the platform is all about.

Let’s start with the basics:

Who uses it?

TikTok is primarily used by the under 30’s. 60% of US TikTok users are aged between 16-24, according to a November 2019 release from Reuters.

What is it?

TikTok is basically a re-branding of Musical.ly (don’t worry if you haven’t heard of that either). Basically, it is a social platform where creators can post 15ish second videos (up to 60 seconds) that are shared to their followers, with hopes of landing on the apps “For You Page” (FYP).

What is being posted?

This is a tough one. In the early days, TikTok was full of lip-syncing, and dancing. Today, the scope of content varies, and the algorithm that the platform uses is VERY advanced. Based on the types of videos you watch, and seem to enjoy – the algorithm will shoot out all sorts of videos that it thinks you may enjoy.

For this reason, you may see completely different content than someone else on the app. There are now “Sides” of TikTok as the youth are calling it. This basically means the type of content you are being shown. Political TikTok, Dancing TikTok, Alt TikTok, Straight TikTok, Food TikTok or many others!

Disclaimer: I am definitely on the Puppy and FoodTok side!

Can you make money?

Depending on your location, there is now a creator fund on TikTok for some users. This means that you can earn money per-view on your videos. Unless you have a very large following (we are talking in the millions) TikTok might not be a stable source of income, however, the exposure it brings can open LOTS of doors. Many famous TikTok-ers are now treated like typical celebrities, so sponsors and endorsements are a large portion of their income.

Is it for business?

It’s a powerful tool for the right companies, with the right demographics. We have seen a bump of tiktok of companies using influencers to share their products, creating original ads, or creating accounts and posting unique content. If your target demographic is under 30, this could be a perfect platform to explore!

Even politicians are getting in on the action!

TikTok is a very trendy app, with tons of young minds. Some political figures are using this platform to reach out to young voters and soon-to-be voters. This is an incredibly smart move in my opinion!

One Canadian example that comes to mind is Jagmeet Singh - check out his profile here!

Should you get TikTok?

This is a personal choice. If you are a fan of Instagram and social media in general, and you can use a smart phone with 60% confidence… why not give it a shot?

There have been privacy issues globally, and instances of banning in the US – so do your research and be mindful of what you are sharing, commenting, and engaging with on the App.

Overall, it is a fun platform with absolutely no pressure to ever post anything yourself. You can watch videos for hours, or if you are feeling up to the challenge – try posting a video for yourself!

Conclusion 

If your business targets millennials, Tiktok is the perfect platform to get new customers for your business. Small businesses willing to create entertaining and humorous videos can take advantage of this platform to create visibility for their brands and get new customers.

[wicker-and-scrap]

The more grim corollary to this is that it's impossible to maintain any mental hygiene there. The algorithm will not let you separate between what will hold your attention if shown to you and what you think you should be seeing.

Like, it's pretty well known that certain people are susceptible to conspiracy theories. I don't mean "assholes" or "morons", I mean myself. I'm fascinated with obscure dark corners of history, and secret underlying logic that makes things fit together, and with gaming out the ways events could be manipulated from the shadows.

So I have to limit my exposure. Either I handle it with gloves on, reading about conspiracy theories by way of an interpreter who isn't drawn in and comments on them mainly as social phenomena, or if I do get exposed, I talk about it with friends who are not susceptible in the same way.

TikTok absolutely does not want you to limit your exposure. It will happily fill all your waking hours with Atlantean Nazis Did 9/11 garbage, and you can't tell it to stop.

Now, this is kind of like a recovering alcoholic complaining that every time they go to the bar there's booze there. What do you expect, it's TikTok! We're the trans lesbian catgirl website, they're the conspiracy website. But it does seem like an increasing amount of public life is happening in bars, and in one particular bar where the waiter will occasionally refill your water glass with vodka.

I'll contrast it with Reddit, which has algorithmic recommendations, and there's an imperfect "I don't like this kind of post" button, but there's also a "Mute this community" button, which will prevent it from recommending anything from a certain sub, ever. I've muted lots of subs that Reddit thought I would be interested in and I thought would be bad for my mental stability.

This works because Reddit has subs. It has an internal geography that strictly partitions content (into different moderation regimes--that's why the partitioning needs to be strict) and that gives users the ability to say "no, do not show me anything from r/childfree". It's a constraint outside the scope of the algorithmic feed, not "weight it lower" but "exclude from the result set".

TikTok doesn't have that geography. It wants to be a vast featureless ocean of content that you can drift in, or drown in.

But also, much of the enshittification of Google Search (and content search systems in general) involves the loss of these kinds of user-applied hard constraints. The minus operator hasn't worked in years. More recently, the quote operator and verbatim search have stopped being consistently enforced and it's now common to get results that don't have any of my search terms. Their habit of saying "there aren't a lot of results for that word so we're going to ignore it / pretend you meant a different word" makes it incredibly frustrating to find anything actually obscure.

Furthermore, it is my belief that infinite scroll must be destroyed.

One of the many downsides of algorithmic feeds is that sometimes you absolutely cannot convince it you yourself are not interested in a topic or a creator just because you are interested in adjacent stuff. TikTok thinks I want an endless stream of videos about BioWare games because I guess I fit that demographic in other ways, but—while I like RPG games fine—I don’t actually care enough to watch TikToks about them. I’m mostly on TikTok for cute cat videos. Likewise, when I have browsed Twitter’s algorithmic feed before, it has insisted on giving me at least 50% tweets about film and movies, and I could not care less. Again, I like movies fine; I just don’t need my social media consumed by Movie Content.

I do think an optional algorithmic feed can have nonzero utility as like an interesting-poster-discovery-mechanism. TikTok’s can work for that, sometimes. But you gotta be sensitive to a user’s stated preferences. I think it’s a bit like the theoretical Median Voter, or trying to size a fighter cockpit to the Average Pilot—there are certainly statistical correlations in interests such that a person with interest in Nerdy Shit A is more likely to have an interest in Nerdy Shit B. But any individual user will tend to be quite eclectic in their tastes, and if your algorithm can only offer the most statistically generic soup of legible-to-marketing-teams correlations almost nobody will find that actually appealing.

Nevermind the possible problem of the incentive to show people content about Thing You Can Buy or TV Show You Can Watch, for the sake of advertisers.