I tried TikTok in 2020 to understand why young people were so much into it. What is so appealing? I've been using the platform, even publishing some videos and commenting a lot, and I still cannot answer why it is so nice. Let me try to verbalise my feelings.

As others remarked here, TikTok has this aspect of freshness. Companies still have to learn how to monetise on it. People just share their lives quite randomly. They are just people. They are not trying to look their best, they are not "Instagram" kind of influencers. All new platforms are like that. Every revolution lowers the entrance barrier and allows new people to become popular or get their message across.

People really miss the times when YouTube just started. There was nothing there, just boring people doing nothing in front of the camera. No makeup, no script, no light, no production value. It was the time before mobile phones, so these were videos made with webcams. Someone opened a box with a new purchase. There wasn't a concept of unboxing. It became a format and made many people rich. There was no concept of daily routine or makeup, or yoga. There were people living their lives and sharing it online. That was very appealing, but these formats were discovered, and companies saw business opportunity because there were so many people watching YouTube. And then the commercialisation killed this early democratic and "flat" YouTube.

YouTube has become professional - it's no longer "You" TV, it's large studios, production companies, big money is involved. If the quality is not good enough, if you don't have backgrounds, good cameras, microphones etc., you won't make it on YT. The barrier of entry has become increasingly high.

TikTok on the other hand has a very very low barrier of entry and it is sort of expected to be consisting of short single hand-held shots, unpolished etc. This will definitely change, and marketing companies will be willing to pay big bucks to make a video look like an amateur youngster's video but at the same time it will be totally controlled and crafted production. It won't last long.

TT as a YT optimisation for mobile is an understatement. The interface and tools for editing videos on the phone are done exceedingly well. Some things could be improved, but the editor is advanced enough to enable creativity and restrictive enough to have a distinct "rough" TikTok style. And frankly... I like it a lot.

And finally - the social aspect. I have reached out to some Tiktokers and met them in person in real live. Some of them I follow and I really like them as human beings. I can imagine we could be friends if we lived in the same place. There is also a lot of interesting people that maybe are not someone you would like to hang out with, but you can learn from them in a light and interesting way. There is a Vietnamese guy who makes sculptures in clay. There are Chinese potters and carpenters that show really brilliant pieces. There are lawyers, statisticians, biologists. They are all really interesting - to me - and without TikTok I wouldn't be able to know about their existence. There is crap there too, but I can just skip the dancing teens and I soon get to the content I like. It works well for me.

No matter how terrible it may sound, I really feel my life has been enriched.