TikTok Algorithm

 I spend a lot of time on TikTok. Sometimes I think too much, but it is just too addicting. I would say TikTok is an app that I think I first really realized an obvious algorithm. I would watch one video or look up one and next thing you know it is all over the for you page. It would be creepy to me at times because I would talk about it or look at just one video and then I cannot get away from it. Chapter 11 in the book is all about marketing using TikTok. And with TikTok on the brink of getting banned in the United States, I think it is a perfect time to talk about it.

    The book talks about in 2020 how TikTok revealed how their algorithm works and it is a lot simpler than one would think. It comes down to three separate things. The first is the biggest and most obvious, it involves user interaction. Videos that user likes, shares, comments, and related accounts they follow have the largest impact on the algorithm. They also mention the longer a video is watched the more likely it will get pushed to others through their for you page. And that does not seem like any surprise when you think about it. The more you interact with content the more likely related content you will see. The second one is the video information. If a user looks up a certain hashtag the videos that use the same hashtag or a similar one will come up more often. Once again that seems pretty obvious, but it is the last one that I find the most interesting. The last big one they touched on is the device and account settings. They said that language preference, country setting, and device type also play an impact on the algorithm. To me that is interesting because I will see TikTok's that are not in English and I am not sure why. I think that the device type is weird because I do not see why that would make any difference, but then again, I did not create the algorithm so what do I know?

    I think most people are aware of the TikTok algorithm because I feel like it is always talked about. But I think most people do not know how it is set up. I think a lot of social media platforms should use this same algorithm since it has proven how effective it can be through TikTok. With all of this being said, I kind of want it to get banned because of the addiction it has created in my life.