YouTube appears to have its sights firmly set on TikTok with a new Shorts feature now in the works. The company has yet to confirm the existence of the feature, but a recent report explains it is coming. While it remains to be seen whether Shorts will actually become a real alternative to TikTok, this is YouTube, and that’s a lot of platform power to fall back on.
TikTok should need no introduction as even those who don’t use the platform are likely to have become aware of it in recent weeks and months. Not only do TikTok videos go viral outside of the app, but the service has repeatedly come under scrutiny recently for the way it moderates content, and its approach to security in general. With so much scrutiny now on TikTok, a competing solution might find there's room to enter the market and be successful in spite of TikTok's dominance.
According to a new report by The Information, YouTube is planning on taking on TikTok with the new Shorts feature. While there’s no suggestion YouTube plans to advertise this as a TikTok competitor, it essentially is with the Shorts features understood to be focused on extremely short, viral-like clips set to a soundtrack - in this case, sourced from YouTube’s own licensed catalog. According to the details, the feature is expected to be announced before the end of this year and will be one that’s accessed from within the main YouTube app.
Could YouTube Dethrone TikTok?
Under normal circumstances it would seem unlikely that any service could dethrone TikTok. After all, it has accumulated users at an impressive rate and seems to especially chime with younger users. Everything about TikTok should be in ascendance. However, the service has come under so much criticism lately that many have questioned its worth and even official government organizations and agencies have started warning of its use. Furthermore, TikTok is understood to want to distance itself from its core user base and focus on attracting older users. This might suggest there could be an opening for YouTube to neatly slide in and take advantage.
Of course, YouTube is also not without its criticisms and that might prove somewhat of a stumbling block for the new Shorts feature. For example, YouTube was recently under investigation for its use of advertising on content targeted toward younger viewers. With this feature specifically targeting younger users (at the creator and viewer levels) it seems highly unlikely that YouTube will be able to monetize it in the same way it might have a year or two ago. Whether that affects how much YouTube is actually interested in developing the feature remains to be seen, but if YouTube can’t make advertising revenue from it, that's a problem. That is, unless YouTube views this strictly as a gateway solution. With TikTok seeing a surge in users, and especially younger viewers, the YouTube platform is likely missing out on all of those users, and that alone might be motivation enough for YouTube to try and bring them back into the fold.
Source: The Information