First social media app that ive started using to try it out and realized immediately that I'm too old for it, I hate it, and I dont understand it.
― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver), Friday, 24 April 2020 04:11 (four years ago) link
that was / is snapchat for me. I can't even figure out how to use the app. every time I open it i just get the camera and the icons make no sense and no i don't want to import my contacts. it was the first app that made me feel completely old.
― akm, Friday, 24 April 2020 05:38 (four years ago) link
ok boomers
― donald failson (sic), Friday, 24 April 2020 05:45 (four years ago) link
this was fun for the first couple of hours, but once you realise 95% of the videos fall into the same specific buckets (weeknd dance routines, shitty pranks on family members, kids’ voices ironically dubbed onto adults, cats/dogs, gym junkies in their pants, 31 year olds insisting they’re not too old for tiktok) it really loses its allure
― karmic blowback for dissing pip and jane baker (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 24 April 2020 05:49 (four years ago) link
3liza's curated TikTok threads are better than actually using TikTok:
tiktok thread directorypart 1: rednecks making huge strides on tiktok - https://t.co/QUkW1hiKYOpart 2: helo - https://t.co/FFiMB6rvu2part 3: arson - https://t.co/8oLufiuEhL— in fair corona where we quarantine (@3liza) February 7, 2020
I'm amazed that there hasn't been a gigantic moral panic about the platform yet.
― ShariVari, Friday, 24 April 2020 07:21 (four years ago) link
There are rumours of censorship of political content on TikTok. I'm not sure how true they are. I wouldn't be surprised at all though, it's a relentlessly 'posi' platform.
This was good though:https://www.tiktok.com/@kyscottt/video/6815758866769349894
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Friday, 24 April 2020 10:10 (four years ago) link
https://www.tiktok.com/@coprobro/video/6650643313068084485?u_code=d512kgcmd6aa8e&language=en×tamp=1553533543&utm_campaign=client_share&app=musically&utm_medium=ios&user_id=6663118810343686150&tt_from=copy&utm_source=copy&source=h5_m
this one is really good
― treeship., Friday, 24 April 2020 13:45 (four years ago) link
there was also a controversy because the company told moderators to suppress posts by obese people, disabled people, and others with "undesirable" traits
https://theintercept.com/2020/03/16/tiktok-app-moderators-users-discrimination/
― edgard varese-type beat (voodoo chili), Friday, 24 April 2020 14:15 (four years ago) link
jeez. that makes sense, honestly. the people i am seeing are mostly young, fit, and even blend in with the celebrities who pop up posting similar content.
― treeship., Friday, 24 April 2020 14:20 (four years ago) link
there is something very untrustworthy about it. specifically, the fact that 1/2 the humor seems to be playing on gender and age stereotypes.
― treeship., Friday, 24 April 2020 14:23 (four years ago) link
The biggest problem with the platform, imo, is there's basically no way of monetising prominence other than taking donations from users. You have a bunch of young people, often under or around the age of 18, with Amazon wishlists, Cash Apps, etc getting $$$ from internet randos of all ages. Inevitably, that leads to some of them selling nudes, etc, It's incredibly dodgy on an app that is largely intended for children.
― ShariVari, Friday, 24 April 2020 14:31 (four years ago) link
yeah, eesh.
― treeship., Friday, 24 April 2020 14:32 (four years ago) link
Totally.
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Friday, 24 April 2020 14:34 (four years ago) link
instagram is like this too, i imagine. it's become so much more about people trying to become personal brands than it is a photo sharing app.
― treeship., Friday, 24 April 2020 14:35 (four years ago) link
I think Tiktok has gone out of their way to heavily censor anything perceived as adult content tbf, much more than Instagram, but it's not a good situation.
― ShariVari, Friday, 24 April 2020 14:36 (four years ago) link
― akm, Thursday, April 23, 2020 10:38 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink
oh I didn't get snapchat either but sort of categorized it as a messaging app more than a social media platform, I'm not even sure if that's correct mind you
― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver), Friday, 24 April 2020 16:34 (four years ago) link
this one is killing me somehow.https://vm.tiktok.com/ZS9QNE4s/between this and the guy who tries to guess paint colors while he’s watching the constituent paints being mixed there’s this kind of joy in the abject that i feel like tiktok often just nails and i am a huge sucker for it
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Monday, 12 October 2020 22:52 (three years ago) link
this one’s good toohttps://vm.tiktok.com/ZS93wSxX/
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 14 October 2020 23:35 (three years ago) link
https://www.tiktok.com/@rickastleyofficial/video/6890858524092402946
― Four Seasons Total Manscaping (forksclovetofu), Monday, 9 November 2020 17:55 (three years ago) link
i almost clicked on that
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Monday, 9 November 2020 17:59 (three years ago) link
amazinghttps://www.theverge.com/2020/11/10/21559677/tiktok-cfius-court-petition-ban-deadline
― Four Seasons Total Manscaping (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 12 November 2020 23:08 (three years ago) link
I’ve been laughing at this TikTok for 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/ZTN5qBwEGo— T. Kyle 🏳️🌈 (@tkylemac) November 20, 2020
― Four Seasons Total Manscaping (forksclovetofu), Friday, 20 November 2020 20:21 (three years ago) link
(that woman has some severe apnea issues i think)
https://www.tiktok.com/@collroy/video/6887045734991023366
― reggae kraftwerk (||||||||), Monday, 23 November 2020 10:24 (three years ago) link
Somewhat related: It also looks like Epic records is paying tik tokkers to use old songs in hopes that a viral sound will lead to a boost in back catalog streaming. via @colinphl https://t.co/s6HV9hxzc7 pic.twitter.com/6aemUBKIb4— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) December 4, 2020
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 4 December 2020 17:11 (three years ago) link
Coming up with a way to make people lip syncing even worse - bravo!
― onlyfans.com/hunterb (milo z), Friday, 4 December 2020 17:16 (three years ago) link
lol, that is a fucking sin
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Friday, 4 December 2020 21:13 (three years ago) link
can't stop watching this
I think this is the best edited Tik Tok I’ve ever seen. pic.twitter.com/OUCqiBKkSK— Kristi Anderson (@CinderSlays) January 9, 2021
― Roz, Monday, 11 January 2021 05:15 (three years ago) link
wtf that makes mj's black and white seem amateurish
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Monday, 11 January 2021 05:30 (three years ago) link
similar in the comments
This guy too pic.twitter.com/gzgncyu5o6— n0 name (@mrnonamerod) January 10, 2021
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Monday, 11 January 2021 05:32 (three years ago) link
^nice
tiktoks that are almost definitely terrifying to watch while high:
"wow these edibles are shit" pic.twitter.com/JT5Z7PALC7— 𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖆 ✣ 𝖑𝖔𝖗𝖉 ⬜⬜🟥🟥⬜⬜👽 (@VPestilenZ) December 16, 2020
(@connection_intercepted)
― ridingstarbassxd (unregistered), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 02:43 (three years ago) link
awesome
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 02:57 (three years ago) link
amazing
I just watched the sea shanty, done with the four lads originally from a photo. Not only is it some dope work, the shanty is catchy as hell.
― Two Meter Peter (Ste), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 10:17 (three years ago) link
the shanty is horrifically catchy and satisfying to listen to but it's been haunting my dreams
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 10:18 (three years ago) link
oh, can't wait for that tonight then
― Two Meter Peter (Ste), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 10:19 (three years ago) link
gonna post it anyway
Sea shanty tiktok is WILD pic.twitter.com/rjY1iXFQkA— Kristian 🇳🇱 (@vonstrenginho) January 14, 2021
― Two Meter Peter (Ste), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 12:04 (three years ago) link
https://www.tiktok.com/@overloadcomedy/video/6920289799702203650
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Friday, 29 January 2021 01:30 (three years ago) link
A little weirded out by how weirded out the kids are by their non-mirrored faces.
― pplains, Thursday, 11 February 2021 03:43 (three years ago) link
https://www.tiktok.com/@maelynesque/video/6910768593911221509?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
― pplains, Thursday, 11 February 2021 03:45 (three years ago) link
?eah, ?eah, ?eah, I left that extra part in post haste.
No one is doing TikTok like him pic.twitter.com/TpjcGovjKX— Kalhan (@KalhanR) March 18, 2021
― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu), Friday, 19 March 2021 18:55 (three years ago) link
i like the sea shanty video.
however.
the platform is mostly dystopian, as are the instagram "reels." most videos are autobiographical and self-commodifying -- people commenting on their personal life, their relationships, etc, but in a way that burnishes a curated image. so far so predictable. sometimes they are selling a product or have a cashapp in their bio or whatever.
what's weird is the way the users do so, usually recreating some kind of popular meme. they turn themselves not just into a commodity, but into a very dumb meme. and they draw their pets and family members into it. like they're all cartoon people, living out a slapstick existence. the most terrifying of these videos involve that robot-voice narration.
― treeship., Sunday, 23 May 2021 21:35 (two years ago) link
it's like, if adorno wrote a dystopian novel, this would be what people were doing all day in his version of 2021.
― treeship., Sunday, 23 May 2021 21:38 (two years ago) link
i've got a video for you treeship
https://www.tiktok.com/@geezyunit/video/6947387987659443461
― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 23 May 2021 21:40 (two years ago) link
ok, that's pretty good.
― treeship., Sunday, 23 May 2021 21:48 (two years ago) link
my usually social media-illiterate became obsessed with tiktok over the past year and now i can't send videos of my cats to the family gc for fear that she'll turn them into videos with stuff dubbed over them. she's getting to a point where she sees everything as fodder and she's addicted to getting views. she and my dad keep guilting me and my brother for not liking her videos and we keep having to explain that you need to have an account to do that
― ✖, Monday, 24 May 2021 04:24 (two years ago) link
social media-illiterate MOM**** became etc
am also about 90% certain that she's going to end up in a cult as she's already shown an inclination towards some of the culty new age grifters - she was already prone to that stuff before stepping into a social media platform that shoves it in her face
― ✖, Monday, 24 May 2021 04:30 (two years ago) link
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdqJj29q/
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 13 July 2021 22:10 (two years ago) link
I’m not interested in your hot takes about Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/djBOCs1pR2— Patrick J Loller (@PatrickLoller) August 16, 2021
this cadence is like having a needle shoved into your eardrum repeatedly
― Joe Bombin (milo z), Tuesday, 17 August 2021 01:00 (two years ago) link
whats going on over there
What in the fuck is this shit pic.twitter.com/YTABQF81mP— Rascal ✝️ (@PeakRascal) July 27, 2023
― lag∞n, Monday, 31 July 2023 18:35 (eight months ago) link
There is no single app I’d like to crash and burn horribly more than tiktok.
― a love song for connor wong (gyac), Monday, 31 July 2023 18:59 (eight months ago) link
jfc when i look at tiktok it's all classic video games, vintage audio gear and some DIY home improvement stuff mixed in.
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Monday, 31 July 2023 20:33 (eight months ago) link
three quarters of my instagram ads look like that AI scam shit
― papal hotwife (milo z), Monday, 31 July 2023 21:18 (eight months ago) link
anyone got a playlist of semi obscure old songs whose play count has skyrocketed due to tiktok? (thinking boa’s “duvet”, pavement’s “harness your hopes”, duster, lwb etc)
― LaMDA barry-stanners (||||||||), Sunday, 1 October 2023 06:39 (six months ago) link
there’s this Songs that became famous because of a system glitch
― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 1 October 2023 07:52 (six months ago) link
Over the past 24 hours, thousands of TikToks (at least) have been posted where people share how they just read Bin Laden’s infamous "Letter to America," in which he explained why he attacked the United States.The TikToks are from people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and… pic.twitter.com/EwjiGtFEE3— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 16, 2023
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 16 November 2023 23:01 (five months ago) link
this is what weve been working for all these years
― lag∞n, Thursday, 16 November 2023 23:04 (five months ago) link
was going to get personal about my experience with 9/11.
decided not to.
but in any case
fuck these people.
― treeship., Thursday, 16 November 2023 23:48 (five months ago) link
https://nitter.net/broderick/status/1725210803698085946#m
― deep wubs and tribral rhythms (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 17 November 2023 02:30 (five months ago) link
Social media
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 17 November 2023 08:13 (five months ago) link
One thing about this letter is that most of it is about how the jews control American finance and the country is corrupt due to secularism, with Bin Laden citing gay rights as an example of why Americans should be killed. All expected from Bin Laden, but I am not sure why American Tik Tokers liked it. Only a small portion of the letter is about the humanitarian conditions of the palestinians.
― treeship., Friday, 17 November 2023 12:25 (five months ago) link
This leads me to believe that people cannot read.
Some tik tokers said the letter “changed their entire way of looking at the world.” So are they jihadis now?
― treeship., Friday, 17 November 2023 12:26 (five months ago) link
is this like tide pods
― The narrative of arthur gordon pimp of nantucket (Bananaman Begins), Friday, 17 November 2023 12:55 (five months ago) link
Nothing will happen.
Interesting why The Guardian felt the need to delete it and why tiktok are allegedly banning videos. What are they afraid will happen?
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 17 November 2023 13:03 (five months ago) link
tiktok teens should continue discovering and falling for various terrible historical political figures culminating in the platform shutting down because all its users have become stalinists
― lag∞n, Friday, 17 November 2023 13:14 (five months ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/N1LzcVI.jpg
― c u (crüt), Friday, 17 November 2023 13:56 (five months ago) link
Ryan Broderick's full newsletter post about this is worth reading:https://www.garbageday.email/p/tiktok-teens-arent-stanning-osama
― jaymc, Friday, 17 November 2023 15:36 (five months ago) link
Yashar made this seem like a much more prominent thing than it was; that apparently wasn't even trending on tik tok until his dumb post.
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Friday, 17 November 2023 16:06 (five months ago) link
Interesting
― treeship., Friday, 17 November 2023 16:27 (five months ago) link
― jaymc, Friday, 17 November 2023 bookmarkflaglink
Good newsletter. The videos were pretty awful, but in the end what was interesting is the reaction, which is to ban and close down these things and make them into a moral panic.
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 17 November 2023 16:50 (five months ago) link
What was surprising to me is that they never seemed to have encountered any non-al qaeda critiques of american foreign policy. They all had reactions like, “the scales have fallen from my eyes, the us was bad and bin laden good” without considering a third option.
― treeship., Friday, 17 November 2023 16:53 (five months ago) link
In any case, it was more niche than I thought when i read the yashar ali tweet and reacted emotionally
What was surprising to me is that they never seemed to have encountered any non-al qaeda critiques of american foreign policy.
― treeship., Friday, November 17, 2023 11:53 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
a while a go a bunch of tiktokers were convinced that giants are real lol
― lag∞n, Friday, 17 November 2023 18:40 (five months ago) link
the human tendency toward groupthink is as old as our identity as a social animal. the only new factor here is the speed with which social media can form a cloud of agreement around a dust particle of thought
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Friday, 17 November 2023 18:48 (five months ago) link
these people seem notably dumb and credulous though
― treeship., Friday, 17 November 2023 18:49 (five months ago) link
the bin laden loving giants truthers
― treeship., Friday, 17 November 2023 18:50 (five months ago) link
tiktok is not a how do you say high information environment
― lag∞n, Friday, 17 November 2023 18:52 (five months ago) link
says the guy who just got whipped into a moral panic by a tweet!xpost
― Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Friday, 17 November 2023 18:52 (five months ago) link
these people seem notably dumb and credulous
allow me to introduce you to a little club called Q-Anon
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Friday, 17 November 2023 18:54 (five months ago) link
tracer that is disingenuous
― imago, Friday, 17 November 2023 18:56 (five months ago) link
yashar ali's tweet wasn't wrong. the thing was trending. the substack post just tried to contextualize it a little. perhaps it was confined to certain niche parts of tik tok, even though he also admits the videos got millions of views.
― treeship., Friday, 17 November 2023 18:59 (five months ago) link
lol not apologising you left yourself wide open for that one treesh
― Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Friday, 17 November 2023 19:00 (five months ago) link
feel like this whole thing could be some sort of op to discredit criticism of israel, its prob not, but its all pretty weird
― lag∞n, Friday, 17 November 2023 19:03 (five months ago) link
The zings of your so-called western cultures are as weak and corrupt as your empty morality.--- Osama bin Laden ---
--- Osama bin Laden ---
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Friday, 17 November 2023 19:04 (five months ago) link
The thing that was off about the videos as compiled were the weird emotional reaction followed by asking for engagement. It's a kind of grift that just stops me in my tracks. A laugh at something dark.
Good to see the substack filling in the detail.
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 17 November 2023 20:01 (five months ago) link
https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2023/11/17/osama-bin-laden-just-a-misunderstood-cuddly-teddy-bear-tiktokers-learn/
― Saxophone Of Futility (Michael B), Friday, 17 November 2023 20:57 (five months ago) link
He should have quoted Hannah Smith but hey the message is what counts pic.twitter.com/h5z0UAN8G0— lara 🇵🇸 (@laralevana) November 20, 2023
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 21 November 2023 08:45 (five months ago) link
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sludge-videos-are-taking-over-tiktok-and-peoples-mind/
Love to see how bog standard video art content is being written about when it's tiktok content.
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 20 January 2024 19:31 (three months ago) link
lol
What is happening to the brain as it tries to process all the information in a sludge video?
Brain activity in response to sludge content hasn’t been studied directly, but experts say such content likely has similar effects on the brain as multitasking.
― lag∞n, Saturday, 20 January 2024 19:59 (three months ago) link
Guess this means those tv channels (like cp24) with a traffic cam, weather updates, stock ticker, news ticker, newsreel and sports results are proto-sludge...
― m0stly clean (Slowsquatch), Sunday, 21 January 2024 00:52 (three months ago) link
I thought this was going to be about those videos where a guy picks up a hammer and it digitally sludges into a popsicle.
― pplains, Sunday, 21 January 2024 03:37 (three months ago) link
what is the legal basis for congress banning tiktok? i mean i don't dispute that is foreign-owned and bad for americans, but so is fox news, which i'm pretty sure they could not get away with banning
― mookieproof, Monday, 11 March 2024 22:28 (one month ago) link
Very funny.
https://youmayalsolike.beehiiv.com/p/donghua-jinglong-glycine
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 6 April 2024 11:40 (two weeks ago) link
as i am not signed up (timethief concerns) my intermittent guide to super-weird tiktok is twitter-user @nudeobama aka "pikachu headpat girl": she has set her alg to an insane pitch of excellence (esp. if you appreciate hyperrealistic latex skinsuit guys)*
*(i beg you never appreciate this)
― mark s, Saturday, 6 April 2024 12:03 (two weeks ago) link
I love Tiktok but you have to curate your algo.
― Ima Gardener (in orbit), Saturday, 6 April 2024 22:09 (two weeks ago) link
thanks for that link!
― budo jeru, Saturday, 6 April 2024 22:19 (two weeks ago) link