'The World's Largest SNS' TikTok, The Secret Behind 2.2 Billion Downloads in 4 Years [Hidden Industry Story]

Developed by Chinese Startup 'ByteDance'
600 Million Global Users and 2.2 Billion Total Downloads in 4 Years
AI-Recommended Content and Easy Editing Tools Differentiate from Traditional SNS

Video sharing social network service (SNS) platform 'TikTok' logo. / Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The video-sharing social networking service (SNS) platform 'TikTok' continues to experience explosive growth every year. In the first quarter of this year (January to March), approximately 313 million people downloaded the TikTok application (app), surpassing YouTube, Facebook, and others to become the most downloaded platform worldwide. How was TikTok able to surpass its competitors and rise to become the world's largest SNS?

◆Surpassing 600 million global users in just 4 years since establishment... The birth of the new term 'TikToker'

TikTok is a video-sharing app developed and serviced by the Chinese startup 'ByteDance.' In China, it is serviced under the name 'Douyin.'

Douyin launched its first service in China in September 2016 and achieved the number one spot in the Chinese app store market within just two years, in 2018. In the same year, it acquired and merged with the U.S. video-sharing platform 'Musical.ly' to expand globally.

TikTok has experienced explosive growth worldwide over the past two years. According to data released by TikTok, the global number of TikTok users grew from approximately 55 million in January 2018 to 271 million in December of the same year, and reached 689 million last month. To date, TikTok has been downloaded 2.2 billion times across 150 countries worldwide.

With such a massive user base, TikTok exerts enormous influence in promotions for movies, music albums, and more. The promotional video for singer Zico's song 'Any Song,' released in January, sparked a TikTok syndrome throughout the first half of this year, accumulating 100 million views and surpassing 50,000 imitation videos.

A new term, 'TikToker,' has emerged to describe people who specialize in producing content optimized for TikTok. These TikTokers command millions of followers and are active in various fields such as dance, singing, and beauty. Famous domestic TikTokers include 'Dujamae,' who gathered over 5 million followers through duet videos, and 'Noimik,' who achieved 1 million followers by producing dance content.

Singer Zico's new song "Any Song" gained great popularity through a TikTok advertisement. The photo shows the "Any Song" dance challenge. / Photo by KOZ Entertainment

◆Growth secret highlighting differentiation from existing SNS... NYT: "Broke the friend-centered framework"

TikTok is a platform for sharing short videos ranging from 15 seconds to under one minute. TikTok users can watch others' videos, leave comments, or follow the video creators.

The biggest difference from existing SNS like Twitter and Facebook is that TikTok does not have a so-called 'timeline.' Twitter and Facebook only display posts from users themselves and those they follow or are friends with. If a user does not follow anyone, the timeline remains empty.

However, TikTok fills the screen with AI-recommended video content immediately upon launch. TikTok's AI analyzes user preferences mainly based on videos they comment on or share and quickly presents recommended content. In other words, users can use the platform without the hurdle of having to establish friend relationships with others.

Another distinctive feature is the simple content creation method. After filming a video with a smartphone, users can edit the video using editing tools supported by TikTok software. TikTok provides various editing tools such as filters, special effects, stickers, and video speed control, and also offers licensed popular music tracks. This enables anyone to create content without video editing knowledge or capital.

Regarding this, John Herrman, a tech reporter for the U.S. media 'The New York Times' (NYT), wrote in an article titled 'How TikTok is Changing the World' in March, "TikTok broke the existing SNS framework centered on networks of friends," and evaluated it as "a new SNS grammar that focuses more on user preference-based content exposure and voluntary consumption spread."

He added, "Getting more users to participate on the platform is a problem all SNS, especially Twitter, have tried to solve," and explained, "TikTok pioneered the use of AI technology and provided an answer to this challenge."

Donald Trump, President of the United States, stated at a press briefing held at the White House in Washington on the 4th (local time) regarding the push to sell the U.S. operations of the Chinese mobile video-sharing app TikTok, "A large portion of the TikTok transaction amount should go to the Treasury Department." / Photo by Yonhap News

◆Facing withdrawal pressure due to international conflicts

Despite its continuous global expansion, TikTok has recently faced crises such as pressure to withdraw from the U.S. and India. This appears to be due to concerns over national security risks because TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, is a Chinese company involved in conflicts with these countries.

Earlier, in June, the Indian military clashed with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley region of Ladakh in northern India along the India-China border, resulting in dozens of casualties. Subsequently, the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, from the Indian market, citing the need to protect India's sovereignty, defense, security, and public order. At that time, TikTok had about 120 million users in India.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the 6th banning transactions between ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, and U.S. companies. He also ordered ByteDance to sell all assets related to TikTok's U.S. operations within 90 days.

President Trump cited concerns over personal information leakage and national security threats from Chinese apps as the basis for the executive order. He explained, "If apps developed and owned by Chinese companies spread within the U.S., they could threaten U.S. national security, diplomacy, and economy," and added, "It was necessary to take action especially against the threatening TikTok."

TikTok's U.S. entity plans to file a lawsuit against the president's executive order. According to a report by the U.S. media 'The Wall Street Journal' on the 22nd, TikTok stated in a press release that "President Trump's executive order is an unfair legal procedure," and claimed, "We have tried to coordinate differences with the U.S. administration for nearly a year, but the U.S. is ignoring due process."