Reading up on TikTok
26 deep · digging since nov 19, 25
- World Cup Tourists Are Giving Americans Exactly What We Crave
Foreign World Cup visitors are posting TikTok tours of Walmart, Buc‑ee’s and Bass Pro Shops, delighting audiences with their fascination for quintessential American retail experiences.
- Can Content Creators Get Rich Off A.I. Slop Like Tung Tung Tung Sahur? - The New York Times
AI-generated slop videos on TikTok and Instagram are becoming a profitable business model for creators like Norbert Barszczewski, who earned over $37,000 in a month through Affiliate Network's viral ad campaigns.
- Storming Scientology Buildings: TikTok Trend or Hate Crime?
A TikTok trend of running through Scientology churches has prompted police responses in multiple cities, raising questions about whether it constitutes a hate crime.
- YouTube Plays Matchmaker for Sponsors and Stars
YouTube is launching a formal marketplace to broker sponsorship deals between brands and influencers, countering poaching by Netflix and TikTok.
- Moms, Coaches, Doctors, Entrepreneurs: Who Are America’s Health and Wellness Influencers?
4 in 10 U.S. adults, and half under 50, get health information from influencers; 41% describe themselves as healthcare professionals, while coaches and entrepreneurs are also common.
- TikTok Has Discovered Tae Bo, the Beloved ’90s Workout
A younger generation on TikTok is rediscovering and embracing Tae Bo, the popular 1990s aerobic workout featuring martial arts-inspired moves.
- The Generations Fantasizing About Boring Office Jobs - The New York Times
Younger generations on TikTok romanticize mundane white-collar office routines through 'day in my life' videos, reflecting a deeper cultural longing for stability and meaning.
- Goodbye to Sora
OpenAI shutters its Sora video-generation app due to high compute costs, underwhelming output quality, and a strategic pivot toward coding and business users.
- American TikTok Users Are Fantasizing About ‘Being Chinese’ - The New York Times
American TikTok users adopt the 'Chinamaxxing' trend to cope with anxieties about U.S. decline.
- Runners who churn butter on their runs
An Oregon running couple demonstrates how to churn butter by carrying heavy cream in running vests during a trail run, turning it into butter after about an hour of movement.
- An Amish Avatar and an A.I. Monk Are Pitching Supplements on Social Media - The New York Times
Fake AI-generated influencers, such as an Amish avatar and a monk, are increasingly used to pitch supplements on Instagram and TikTok.
- The peculiar case of Japanese web design (2022)
Japanese web design remains information-dense and maximalist due to technical, linguistic, and cultural factors rather than mere lag behind Western minimalism.
- First, make me care
In writing and content creation, capturing the reader's attention immediately is essential, though some argue this prioritizes hooks over substance.
- Slop is everywhere for those with eyes to see
Social media platforms' algorithmic designs maximize consumption, resulting in an overwhelming prevalence of low-quality AI-generated content, or 'slop'.
- Will I Have to Download a New TikTok App? And Other Big Questions About The Deal. - The New York Times
TikTok's new US corporate structure, resulting from a deal, could bring changes for its 200 million American users.
- How Meta’s Reels Became a $50 Billion Business - WSJ
Meta's Reels has grown from a TikTok imitation with no revenue into a $50 billion annual run-rate business, driven by AI recommendations and increased video engagement.
- How the Salvation Arm’s Angel Tree Became a Holiday TikTok Drama - The New York Times
The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree gift program has sparked TikTok debate over whether posting haul videos for children in need is genuine or gauche.
- A16z-backed Doublespeed hacked, revealing what its AI-generated accounts promote
A hacker breached Doublespeed, an a16z-backed startup, revealing it operates a phone farm of AI-generated accounts to covertly promote products on TikTok without disclosure.
- This is not the future
A blog post argues that many current tech trends (AI surveillance, locked-down phones, enshittification) were not inevitable but resulted from specific choices that can still be rejected or reversed.
- Australia begins enforcing world-first teen social media ban
Australia begins enforcing a social media ban for under-16s, with commenters debating its effectiveness, privacy implications, and potential for circumvention.
- Social-Media Ban Imposes Brave New World on Australian Teens - WSJ
Australia's social-media ban for under-16s divides teens and parents, with some teens like Zoey Bender finding community and career opportunities online.
- Australia’s Social Media Ban for Under-16s Is Coming. The Teenagers Are Skeptical. - The New York Times
Australia's new law banning under-16s from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram faces skepticism from teenagers who doubt its effectiveness.
- Faux Jewels and Slimming Belts: Why Shopping on TikTok Is a Lot Like QVC - The New York Times
TikTok Shop's U.S. growth mirrors QVC's model, using influencer ads that resemble TV infomercials to sell goods.
- How TikTok Helped Meta Land an Antitrust Victory - The New York Times
Meta used TikTok's rapid growth as a competitive threat to successfully argue against antitrust charges, a tactic now common in Silicon Valley.
- How TikTok Helped Meta Land an Antitrust Victory - The New York Times
Meta leveraged TikTok's rapid rise as evidence of dynamic digital competition, helping defeat a U.S. antitrust lawsuit aimed at its market dominance.