← Back to context

Comment by andrepd

1 year ago

>TikTok isn't really fundamentally different from the stuff we consider web2, is it?

Yes, it is. It's only superficially similar (technically "user-generated" content). It's a qualitative difference. The fundamental difference is human-curated vs algorithmic. You go on youtube or instagram or tiktok and all you see is what the algorithm pushes: usually the shittiest most junk content imaginable. It's a qualitative difference from having your blogs and following links and etc.

The other main difference is of course that it's now all commercial. Everything everywhere, be it a google search for "best blender" to a youtube frontpage, is trying to sell you stuff or to make you click on ads. It contaminates everything.

But what about this is TikTok specific? Google and Facebook have done the exact same thing for ages.