You may have heard of Musical.ly (think of it as a kind of karaoke platform). TikTok is the new name for the expanded version of the app, which enables users to upload, watch and create short videos of between three and 60 seconds. Here’s what you need to know:
From musical.ly to TikTok:
- Until recently, Musical.ly was used by millions of people to express themselves through singing, dancing and comedy.
- On 2 August 2018, Musical.ly merged with TikTok to create a 'bigger and better short-video community'.
- Musical.ly users moved automatically to TikTok.
- TikTok was the world's most downloaded app in the first quarter of 2018, with a million downloads. It has more than 500 million users globally.
What exactly is TikTok?
- TikTok users can make their own short videos on the mobile app, and often like to have music accompany their videos. The users have creative control over the videos.
- Other TikTok users can ‘react’ to videos they see by filming their responses alongside the original video; or ‘duet’ by making a video alongside another video.
Here’s one example of how special effects are used, in the Rain Control Challenge.
How TikTok works:
- People aged 13 and over can download the app which has a 12+ rating in app stores - though, as, with other age-restricted platforms, parents need to ensure their children are the appropriate age to use TikTok.
- After downloading the TikTok app, users can start creating their own videos or watch content created by other users.
- The content runs across all kinds of subject matter - pets, arts, comedy, sports, food, travel, music, and games. Users can ♡ the content they enjoy to see similar videos.
- Users can also participate in hashtag challenges by clicking the ‘Discover’ button, with new challenges added every week. Creating and editing videos is simple, with different effects, filters and stickers to choose from.
- Users can easily share videos on other social media platforms, such as Instagram or Facebook, and users can build up followings and reputations – see, for example, street magician Magic Singh.