TikTok, the short video platform, was an instant hit in India shortly after its launch in September 2016. For ByteDance, India was one of the largest markets outside of China and in 2019 the 15-second video platform was the most downloaded app in India on the Android platform.
One of the secret sauces of TikTok’s success was its support for 15 regional languages, which made it accessible to more people in the country. But, TikTok was banned in India on June 29, 2020 for national security reasons. A year has passed since the ban, and the now-forgotten and vilified app was once the sole source of income for many.
What TikTok offered was a platform for people who otherwise would never have escaped the elitist glory. Despite many shortcomings, TikTok was free from the prejudices that prevail on other platforms. Since the ban, there has been an onslaught of new short video platforms. Facebook’s own Instagram jumped into the fray with Reels as soon as TikTok was eliminated from India.
While TikTok may be a thing of the past, the Indian TikTokers, made famous overnight by the app, are still nursing their old wounds. India Today Tech had the opportunity to interact with some popular content creators who have finally accepted the TikTok ban and agreed on an alternative.
What was TikTok for content creators?
For Geet, a specially skilled content creator on TikTok, the ban was like a fire that turned her months of hard work to ashes. She lost her family with 8 million followers in no time. It had taken her a little over a year to gain such a huge fan base. Unfortunately she wasn’t the only one, and the ban had left her and her kind in the lurch. For people who quit their jobs to pursue full-time careers at TikTok, the effects of the ban have been much more severe.
“I had a lot of plans that came to an immediate halt with the TikTok ban. Rebuilding what I had on TikTok on other platforms was a challenge. But slowly and steadily I try to get there. TikTok was a unique platform in my opinion with an amazing user base that was both very diverse and very well accepted, “she added.
“As the motivator and educator of the app, I’ve found that audiences are very hungry for self-improvement. And I rarely got hatred of Tiktok. On other platforms, I had to adapt my content to the needs of different audiences who seem to be more interested in entertainment than motivation or education, and I also had to deal with significantly more unsubstantiated hateful comments. I didn’t monetize my content on TikTok as a personal choice. But I have several friends who support their families with their Tiktok video production revenues, and for them the ban was also financially devastating, ”Geet said.
Unlike others, Geet didn’t switch to any of the TikTok alternatives as she hoped TikTok would come back. Then she turned to Instagram Reels, which over time have become the most popular alternative to TikTok, but their reach on Reels was nothing compared to what she’d achieved on TikTok. She could reach hundreds of thousands of followers with the same message, but unfortunately that doesn’t happen on Instagram Reels. Geet is now back on track, however, and has shifted her focus to long and short content. She hopes to become an actress in a wheelchair one day.
TikTok has been a full-time engagement for some
Shivani Kapila, a Surat-based content creator, quit her job as an HR professional to run TikTok full-time. Even when the news of the TikTok ban spread across the Internet, she was utterly incredulous. “It was really shocking to see the app go offline overnight. In a panic, I kept searching and updated my account. I could see all the hard work that earned me 10 million followers disappear out of sight like it had never been there. Shivani said TikTok was the only social media platform she was active on. It took them a little over five months to fix the damage caused by the TikTok ban in India and get onto other platforms.
“TikTok had a different atmosphere as it was one of the first short video platforms to build such a strong community for stackable content. However, I think comparing other apps to TikTok is a little premature, ”she said.
Shivani is now on Instagram and YouTube, more determined than ever to pursue her career as a full-time content creator. She wants to pave the way for people who want to pursue their passion but are caught in a race.
Immediately after the TikTok ban in India, Speculation about the app’s return to Indian app stores has been rife. The rumors eased the TikTokers’ fear for a short while, but the return wasn’t certain at the time. At the same time, apps like Gaana, Roposo were developing alternatives to TikTok and reaching out to TikTok’s popular content creators to join their apps.
How Reels turned out to be the best alternative for some TikTokers
Abhishek Garg from Harayana was one such creator who was approached by several short video platforms after the TikTok ban in India. He tried his luck on Roposos and Gaana’s short video platform Hotshots, but eventually settled on Instagram Reels.
It was a bit difficult for me to make peace with the fact that I had to let go of a follower base of 1.5 million people who were used to seeing and interacting with my content, but I think People who hung on my content started to find me on other platforms. So eventually I started getting in touch with all of these followers and started creating content on multiple platforms. So I was able to reach the follower base that I had on TikTok, ”said Garg.
Garg, who already had a follower base on Instagram before Reels launched, said he’s pleased with the attention he’s getting on Reels. He is now wholeheartedly focused on making short videos for Instagram Reels and making long pieces of content for YouTube too. He’s also active on YouTube Shorts, but it will be some time before shorts take off in India, he says.
The fate of TikTok in India is still as blurry as it was when the app was banned for national security reasons. A report from The Print suggests that some TikTok representatives reached out to the IT department and made sure that the A Bytedance-owned company would adhere to the new broker guidelines. However, we still have to wait and see how this plays out for an app that became famous in no time and has been forgotten by many.
एक टिप्पणी भेजें