INTERNATIONAL: On Monday July 24, TikTok, the widely popular social media platform known for its captivating video content, made a significant announcement. It revealed its plans to introduce text-only posts, marking its entry into the growing trend of offering alternatives to the embattled Twitter.
The new text posts on TikTok will bear a resemblance to similar features already available on Instagram. Just a few weeks ago, Instagram itself launched its own challenge to Twitter, called Threads. Interestingly, Twitter was renamed as "X" by its owner, Elon Musk.
TikTok's advantage in this competitive landscape lies in its massive user base, with approximately 1.4 billion monthly active users, according to the specialist site Business of Apps. Despite facing similar challenges as Twitter, the platform, owned by Meta, decided not to create a separate product for this new text-only feature. Instead, TikTok chose to integrate it directly into its existing app.
It's important to note that TikTok's text-only posts will still maintain a visual element, differentiating them from traditional Twitter or Threads posts. Users will have the option to add a colorful background, include music, and insert stickers to enhance their text-based content.
In a statement, the Chinese-owned company expressed its belief that the introduction of this new format will push the "boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok." By tapping into the "creativity" often observed in comments and captions, TikTok aims to empower its users with more expressive and engaging ways to share their thoughts.
While TikTok enters the realm of text-only posts, other platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Substack Notes have emerged as potential contenders to Twitter's throne. However, despite Twitter's troubles, none of these challengers have managed to overthrow its dominant position.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Meta, revealed last week that Twitter's advertising revenue has plummeted by approximately half, leaving a window of opportunity for other platforms to seize a share of the market. As the tech giants vie for supremacy in the ever-evolving social media landscape, TikTok's foray into text-only posts represents a bold move that could further intensify the competition.
