TikTokTrends Week: 2
Week of July 27
Ok, let’s calm down for a second. It has been a rough week for TikTok, there literally might not be another week of TikTokTrends.
Let’s dive into what happened this week:
#ByeTikTok
The ByeTikTok trend might not have made it on the trending list, with 64 million views, most of which are not that recent, not being on the top of the list is expected. However, there is a larger TikTokBan topic that I talked about last week, that should be included in this trend since they are tied together, and a lot has happened during the past week in the TikTokBan world.
What is the Context?
The video posted by Reef Shaw is showing what Trump and Steven Mnuchin had said the previous day about TikTok, where Trump announced that he is officially looking into TikTok, and Mnuchin added that TikTok is under CFIUS review. Reef Shaw went on to post two other videos, with his social media handles and thanking all of his TikTok following, basically expecting the TikTok ban to take place.
The ByeTikTok trend, started when TikTok was being banned in India. People were posting their last TikTok’s, bidding farewell to their followers, and sharing their other social media profiles. After last week, many U.S. based TikTokers began to post their alternative social media handles in an effort to keep their following, in case TikTok does get banned in the U.S. The videos are mostly accompanied with captions of their social media handles, and an explanation as to why they are posting the video.
So, what exactly is going on with the TikTok ban?
Well, Trump spoke to reporters on Friday, July 31, saying that he is looking into banning TikTok - *as soon as Saturday* - which obviously hasn’t happened, but still a huge thing to say. Many on the platform have argued the legality of a ban, and what the ban actually means. Jeff Couret, a ‘TikTok Consultant’ says in this video that he sees the ban being used as leverage for the U.S. to force the Chinese owners of the platform to sell at a cheaper price. Another content creator, Sarah, shared a video explaining why she thinks Trump is issuing a ban, pointing out the Tulsa rally where Trump and his team were tricked into thinking there would be over 1 million attendants, due to the TikTok community reserving free tickets for the Tulsa rally, that started to circulate TikTok before hitting Twitter and other platforms and later getting a lot of support from the K-Pop community. The Macarena dance was seen on TikTok as people showed their reserved tickets for the Trump Tulsa Rally.
Is Microsoft buying TikTok?
There really is no answer to that, yet. Today, Sunday, August 2, 2020, Microsoft updated the public in a rare blog post giving insights into some of the conversations going on. In the blog post, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that he has talked to Trump about the issue, and will “move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks […]” It is not a definitive answer, on whether or not Microsoft will purchase TikTok. Reuters recently reported that TikTok is being valued by its parent company ByteDance at about $50 billion dollars. In comparison, Facebook is valued at $725 billion while Snapchat was valued at $31 billion back in 2017, at its height.
We don’t know yet what the future holds for TikTok, but for now, what we do know is, as my Professor, and somewhat of a mentor, Jeff Jarvis said in his TikTok (yes a TikTok) “He is trying to cut off a tool of public speech. He is violating the first amendment, so Donald Trump get off our TikTok-Yard!”
#SchoolOpening
The country is divided on whether opening schools is a good idea or not. Dr. Fauci said, siding with Trump, saying “We should try, as the default, to get the kids to stay in school.” Wanting to leave the decision to the local governments to decide what is best for the children. Trump has recently pressured schools into re-opening threatening to cut funds.
What is the Context?
The video is of Tiffany Jenkins commentating on how she feels about the back to school ad created by the school district of Manatee County, Florida. The official ad can be found here. The video shows the district’s plan to re-open its schools. Showing children wearing masks while sitting in their desks and walking in the hallway while staying awkwardly apart from each other. The video also shows children eating their pre-packaged lunch while sitting again, quite awkwardly, apart from each other. The video was widely mocked as a post-apocalyptic video.
TikTok creators have posted numerous videos in support and in opposition to opening schools. Angela Clouse, and an Assistant Principal, posted a video that has gone viral, showing how school administrators are feeling during these times.
This hashtag has gotten 1.1 billion views in 4 days, with hundreds of people getting in line to get grilled by Gordon Ramsey himself. More than anything it was an amazing way for Gordon to engage with his followers!
What is the Context?
It all started 4 days ago, when Gordon Ramsey posted the video above, asking people to use #RamseyReacts to show off their culinary skills. In the post, Ramsey promises to Duet (reacting to the video while on camera) the videos that people share showing their cooking skills. The video has been watched over 17 million times. And people are ecstatic about it! The comment section of the video shows Ramsey fans eagerly waiting for Ramsey to react to people’s dishes.
2 days after posting the video, the first reaction video dropped, and it was a treat to watch!
Although this isn’t a commercial, Gordon Ramsey is some sort of a brand himself. TikTok is slowly being used as a platform for brands to reach new followers. Brands like NBA, Chipotle, Mercedes-Benz, and Calvin Klein are getting tons of engagement here. This is also the case on Twitter, where occasionally we get funny tweets from brands like Wendy’s or Denny’s Diner.
That is all we have for this week! A lot has happened, and much more will happen in the upcoming weeks. Looking forward to seeing what will happen to TikTok in the U.S. and what Trump will do about it.
Let me know if you would like to see something different, or if I missed anything this week on TikTok! And don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already, and please share if you enjoyed my newsletter!
I’ll be back next week with the TikTokTrends of the week!