TikTok Boom

TikTok has taken over the world in just a few short years. What does its success mean for the future of technology? Journalist and author Chris Stokel-Walker tells the inside story of the Chinese app, with unprecedented access to key company figures.

"A careful, detailed teardown of the people, culture and technology behind the world''s most dynamic social network, TikTok. It is rare for a business analysis to read like a thriller - this one does." - Azeem Azhar, Founder, Exponential View TikTok is the fastest growing app in the world, and the first to challenge Silicon Valley''s dominance of social media. Donald Trump claimed it was a threat to US security and tried to outlaw it. India has banned TikTok. Do the concerns about TikTok''s Chinese ownership justify TikTok''s treatment in the West? How has it taken over the world in just a few years, and what does its success mean for the future of technology? In TikTok Boom, j ournalist and author of YouTubers, Chris Stokel-Walker has interviewed hundreds of people connected to the short-form video app. He also goes behind the scenes at its ambitious Chinese owner, ByteDance, which is on its way to becoming Beijing''s Google. TikTok Boom presents a nuanced, informed and incisive read on the characters and strategies behind the world''s new tech order. Praise for TikTok Boom : "TikTok is perhaps the fastest growing and most addictive social media tool yet created. This book is vital to understanding how it works and the impact it''s having.” - Damian Collins, former chairman of the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee In TikTok Boom, Stokel-Walker matches the unparalleled breadth and scale of growth of the Chinese platform with remarkable depth and spectacular wisdom. Blending journalistic narrative with state-of-the-art academic research, no other author comes close to weaving this epic tale of the rise of China’s first global platform threatening Silicon’s Valley hegemony while operating as inflection point around the rise of one globe two Internet systems. This is a must read for students, scholars, and policy makers. - David Craig, Clinical Professor, USC Annenberg "It''s clear that Stokel-Walker''s strength is that he''s not just TikTok-literate, he''s TikTok-fluent. He knows the product, the people, and the entire ecosystem inside and out, and it is this familiarity that makes his telling so compelling, because he knows how to make you feel like you, too, are an insider in this strange new world." - Rui Ma, founder, Tech Buzz China " This book charts the story of an app on the rise that''s changing the world of tech, charting the future of culture, and creating a new world of work: the creator economy. Deeply researched and engaging, it breaks down some of the biggest questions for the future of work and culture." - Li Jin, Atelier Ventures ...

Autorentext
Chris Stokel-Walker is a British journalist whose work regularly appears in WIRED, The Economist and Newsweek.

Inhalt
Introduction. Explanation of TikTok's power to create social media stars and the rise of Chinese tech challenging the dominance of Silicon Valley. Mentions Yazmin How, Andy Warhol, super-viral videos, Curtis Roach, artificial intelligence,GAFA, Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Donald Trump

1. Haywire Servers. The success of TikTok forerunner Musical.ly, lip-synching app, founded by Alex Zhu. Mentions TikTok active users, YouTube growth, Periscope livestreaming, Vine app, Yiming Zhang, Instagram, Facebook

2. The Convention Centre, 2019. TikTok's stellar growth becomes apparent at VidCon in 2019. Mentions VidCon London,Hank Green,John Green author,YouTubers, Zoe Glatt, TikTok, TikTokkers, TikTokers, Lil Nas X Old Town Road, Will Smith, Vicky Banham, Hannah Snow, Laura Edwards

3. The First Global Chinese Platform. TikTok becomes China's first social media Goliath, ending decades when Chinese firms primarily made products for Western consumers. Silicon Valley, Facebook, Twitter, Chinese tech, Made in China, Created in China, Cambridge Analytica scandal, Chinese apps

4. China Versus the World. The Chinese Communist Party and control of TikTok. Mentions China National Propaganda and Ideology Work Conference, Xi Jinping, China Communist Party, Wang Yongzhang, Great Firewall of China, Weibo, LinkedIn

5. Creator Focus: Luca Gallone. Feature on a TikTok creator who performs magic tricks, having been on TV show Britain's Got Talent. Mentions @lucagallone, private magic show, TikTok magician, LGBTQ TikTok, cooking TikTok, witchtok, magic TikTok, TikTok versus YouTube

6. The Super App Store. Introducing ByteDance, the Chinese tech company behind TikTok. Mentions TikTok founding, ByteDance, Chinese tech company, Yiming Zhang, Alex Zhu, SoftBank, Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, Nankai, Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Toutiao, Fanfou, 99Fang, Neihan Duanzi

7. The Importance of Memes. How viral images and messages have helped spread social media apps, particularly TikTok. Mentions video sharing platform, Vine video app, Shawn Mendes, Jake Paul, Lele Pons, YouTubers, decline traditional media, Gregor Reynolds, Put Your Finger on the Screen, Disney

8. We Want Our Money. Vine short-form video app loses the support of its creators after failing to pay them enough money - a lesson TikTok learns. Vine’s head of creator development, TikTok, Karyn Spencer, Twitter acquisition Vine, King Bach, Andrew Bachelor, Yiming Zhang, ByteDance apps

9. Acquiring Fame. ByteDance buys innovators such as Jukedeck as it builds its tech platforms. Mentions John Bolton, AI companies, computer-generated music composer, Flipagram, Yiming Zhang, Apple acqui-hire, Google, Facebook, Toutiao

10. Alex Zhu. Zhu's development of the app that blasted TikTok to success: Musical.ly. Yiming Zhang, Toutiao, Lip Sync Battle, Instagram Facebook Messenger, participatory design, WeChat

11. An Easy Birth. ByteDance capitalises on the success of Toutiao and launches a short-form video app, Douyin. Kelly Zhang, Alex Zhu, Musical.ly, Kuaishou, algorithmic power, Sun Tzu Art of War, ByteDance, AI Lab

12. Launch of TikTok. ByteDance launches Douyin's cousin in Western markets. Thailand, TikTok Taiwan, TikTok Indonesia, Vietnam, Google Play Store, Android phone app, Zoe Glatt, livestreaming, zheng nengliang, meibai

13. Paying for Popularity. ByteDance realises how to launch TikTok into new markets by advertising and signing up Instagram influencers. TikTok India, digital advertising, television advertising, Yiming Zhang, clicks per mille, Instagram stars, Geetha Sridhar, Hydroman, TikTok logo watermark

14. Takeover of Musical.Ly. ByteDance buys Musical.ly to expand TikTok in western markets. Mentions Alex Zhu, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, TikTok’s vibrating musical note, Douyin, ByteDance global video domination

15. Creator Focus: Anna. Feature on TikTok creator Anna Bogomolova. Mentions TikToker, TikTokker, @Anna, Thomas ‘Tomska’ Ridgewell, YouTuber, Muffin Time video, PewDiePie, YouTube, Instagram, Japan kawaii culture, VidCon London 2019, lip-syncing videos

16. The Secrets of Success. An in-depth analysis of how TikTok users interface with the app. Mentions Eternal Sword, Krystle Byrne, Sarvenaz Myslicki, TikTok algorithm, Charli D’Amelio, Mariah Amato, becoming TikTok star

17. How We Use TikTok. Capturing the full picture on an individual's use of TikTok, showing the addictiveness of its algorithm. Mentions Canada, Eternal Sword M, Krystle Byrne, Zahraa Berro, Charli D'Amelio, Muslim TikTok, Hollie Geraghty

18. Controlling the Ecosystem. How TikTok's owners ByteDance, reward creators on the platform, while retaining control of the app, through …