Toker

TikTok is rolling out longer videos — but the real story is its Chinese sister Douyin

Friday, July 2, 2021 by Snacks

"Say So," the full version... Well, almost. TikTok is rolling out three-minute videos for everyone, a boost from the current one-minute limit. That means you could learn the full lyrics of viral songs, instead of half a chorus. It also means that the nature of TikTok — and its bite-sized content — could change.

  • 24.5 hours: How long the average US TikToker spends on the app each month — over 30 years, that would amount to nearly a full year of life scrolling the Tok (#womp).
  • 20 hours: How long US users spends on YouTube each month. YT has biased its algorithm toward viewer retention. Read: longer vids.
  • If longer videos lead to higher usage, TikTok could tweak its addicting algorithm to promote long clips.

While vids get longer... the wallet is getting fatter. TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance saw sales more than double last year to $34B, according to WSJ — nearly 14X Snap's annual revenue.

  • Even wilder stat: Last year, ByteDance reportedly had 1.9B monthly users across its platforms, which include TikTok and Douyin, the Chinese TikTok.
  • Douyin = the original, non-international version of TikTok used by Chinese nationals. Same branding, same parent, separate content — censored by the Chinese gov't.
THE TAKEAWAY

ByteDance has the "two worlds" advantage... That could be its biggest competitive edge. Nearly one in four people on Earth use a ByteDance app — that puts it on par with Facebook and YouTube, and far past Snap and Twitter. Meanwhile: Facebook, YouTube, Snap, and Twitter are all banned in China. Because these platforms aren't censored by China, they're closed off from the world's most populous country, limiting their growth. With TikTok and Douyin, ByteDance has the best of both worlds.

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