Shubham Sawarkar
TikTok has ventured into the realm of text-based content, allowing its creators to craft posts solely composed of text. The announcement was made via a press release on Monday, marking another significant step in the evolution of the short-form video app.
Much like Instagram Reels, TikTok now offers a platform for users to upload text posts with a simple background. As viewers swipe through content, they can stumble upon these thought-provoking or witty text-based gems, giving creators an additional means to express themselves beyond video.
This is not TikTok’s first foray into non-video features. Last year, the platform introduced “Photo Mode,” enabling users to share multiple photos in a slideshow format with captions of up to 2,200 characters. The new text posting feature bears some resemblance to Photo Mode, with the absence of visual elements being the primary distinction.
Creating a text post on TikTok is a straightforward process. After logging into the app, users can navigate to the Camera page, where they will find three options: photo, video, and text. By selecting “Text,” they can proceed to type out the words they wish to share. The Post page offers customization options, such as adding sound, tagging a location, enabling comments, allowing Duets, incorporating stickers, choosing background colors, and more.
Interestingly, TikTok’s decision to incorporate text posts comes hot on the heels of Meta’s Threads, a Twitter competitor that ventured into text-based sharing earlier this month. Threads aim to present a more lighthearted and jovial alternative to Twitter, and its initial success was evident with a staggering 100 million signups in its first week. Nevertheless, the momentum has somewhat subsided, likely due to the absence of certain features found on Twitter.
Speaking of Twitter, the platform underwent significant changes after being acquired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk late last year. Some of these changes led to elevated extremism on the platform and the unbanning of suspended accounts. Additionally, Twitter controversially removed blue verification checkmarks from journalists, celebrities, and publications, unless they opted for the premium Twitter Blue service for $8 per month. The implementation of this paid verification system sparked consumer confusion, impacting the stock market in the process.
