Competitors rush to fill possible TikTok void
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Social media platforms are scrambling to introduce new features and ad campaigns that could lure users and creators concerned about TikTok's uncertain future.
Why it matters: TikTok introduced a slew of new features over the past few years that made short-form video easier to consume and produce. Tech firms have tried to mimic some, but sprinted to integrate more as the TikTok ban went into effect.
Zoom in: X on Sunday finally introduced its long-awaited video tab in the U.S., which provides users with quicker access to a short-form vertical video feed.
- X has hosted video for years, but Elon Musk vowed to supercharge the platform's ambitions. Musk on Sunday teased that X was eyeing bringing back Vine, the 6-second video feature it shuttered eight years ago.
- Bluesky, an X competitor, said it was launching a custom feed for vertical videos on Sunday. The company also said developers are building TikTok alternatives on the same decentralized protocol behind Bluesky.
- Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri on Sunday debuted "Edits," a clone of CapCut, TikTok's ByteDance sister app that lets users edit videos. That same day, Instagram reorganized its app to look more like TikTok, with rectangular posts in users' profile, instead of its iconic square frames.
- Substack last week launched a new live video feature and introduced a new $25,000 "TikTok Liberation Prize" to reward creators and "inspire them to bring their followers to Substack," per co-founder Chris Best.
- Snapchat launched a new ad campaign last week to remind creators of new features and video creation tools. Snapchat, like Instagram, is also letting creators post longer videos. (TikTok expanded video limits to 10 minutes in 2022.)
- LinkedIn has been elevating TikTok-like short-form videos in its feed for the past few months. Influencers told Business Insider they've seen a recent uptick in engagement on short-form videos.
State of play: TikTok restored its service Sunday after President-elect Trump said he would sign an executive order to delay enforcing the law that bans the app unless sold to a U.S. owner.
- The company thanked Trump for providing "the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans."
- It remains unclear, however, whether Trump has the full legal authority to delay the law.
The bottom line: It's become common practice for social media companies to copy or iterate on new features from rival apps, but for most creators and users, TikTok copycats still aren't as good.
Go deeper: Meta, Google stand to win ad share from TikTok ban
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to add Bluesky.
