TikTok Diffusion Theory

       The Diffusion Theory has been shown over and over again with different technologies but the best way to truly understand would be with social media. It is most clear with the app TikTok which in recent years has taken over. This new social media outlet caught on fast due to how similar it was to a previous app once known as Vine. During this time people where all over the internet beginning for Vine to come back which was an app that allowed you to post 7 second video clips. These clips usually contained funny skits that would make people laugh. 

    The pioneers of this were those who saw that there was a high demand to bring Vine back. Although Vine was gone and had been switched to an app called Musical.ly which allowed users to make lip-sync videos it was not the same. The group of people it attracted was also completely different. The pioneers realized the demand for fine to come back while others didn't want Musical.ly to get shut down so they created TikTok. TikTok was a perfect combination of both which is why it caught on so fast. 

    The early adapter were mainly Musical.ly users because at first TikTok was should as Musical.ly just rebranded, a different name but not much had changed. As more people started catching on and realizing how similar it was to Vine the old find users started jumping on the bandwagon too. During this early majority period many people were saying they had joined the app as a joke something to make fun of it wasn't serious. Quickly as more people joined and accounts started blowing up that began to change. 

    After people began to realize they can become famous, gain following, and even make careers out of doing this the late majority began to join. Plenty of users have succeeded with this goals that where once unimaginable. Just by posting a simple video you could gain thousands of follows to even millions.  Something else special about TikTok was how ones following on TikTok would lead to other social platforms like Instagram so many people quickly became influencers. 

    Those who joined after are the laggards who I believe we mostly companies and brands who felt like it is important to stay in the know. TikTok is a great place to get your brand or yourself out there. It could be used for both business and social purposes. Personally, I love TikTok but with any social media there are some downsides. Depending on what side of TikTok you are on there could be lost of negative energy and cancel culture that is insane. What is supposed to be a fun app can sometimes be ruined by the negative impacts of social media. It also can be very addicting especially during the peak of Covid when everything was locked down. I would spend my whole day getting stuck on the app. Knowing how to keep a good balance with social media is always important and TikTok does a great job of showing you the Diffusion Theory.