TikTok Launch Live Shopping in America

Social media giant TikTok continues to push itself forward as a leader in the industry with new features and tech each year. Now, its next move looks to be tapping into the growing market of live shopping. Prior ecommerce integration from the app has allowed businesses to create transactions with customers easier, however, this effort is taking things a step further.

 

The news of this next step in live shopping exploration comes as Facebook has announced its immediate shutdown of its platform. Previous efforts to introduce live shopping to TikTok have taken place in Asia and the UK with mixed results. As the brand now looks toward the US, the Financial Times reports that TikTok is in talks to outsource the platform’s integration with California-based TalkShopLive. Utilizing livestreams, fans are able to tune in to a live broadcast of products from brands and independent shops with real time shopping options. A deal has yet to be finalized with TalkShopLive, however, by outsourcing the technology’s development, the new feature may be available soon in the US. In other live shopping news, Hypebeast is making its debut on POPSHOP LIVE this week, featuring media personality and fashion influencer Bling as the host.

Reddit Introduces Short-Form Video Feed on iOS

Reddit is the latest social platform to incorporate a short-form video feed on its iOS app. In its latest update, the Reddit app has incorporated a button to the right of the search bar which streams videos in a fashion similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels. Subreddits tags are shown at the top, and users have the power to upvote, downvote, comment, share and gift a range of medals and animated awards.

The user interface itself isn’t exactly new as Reddit has been experimenting with this format for a while, but the new button and algorithm allow users to easily discover new subreddits and videos without having to scroll through the discussion forum. Reddit acquired TikTok’s competitor, Dubsmash, back in December and has confirmed plans to incorporate its technology to develop new features down the line. In an interview with TechCrunch, a spokesman at Reddit revealed their thought process behind the new update: “Reddit’s mission is to bring community and belonging to everyone in the world, and subsequently, Reddit’s video team’s mission is to bring community through video, Over the course of the last year, our goal was to build a unified video player, and re-envision the player interface to match what users (new and old) expect when it comes to an in-app video player especially commenting, viewing, engaging and discovering new content and communities through video.” In other tech-related news, Razer has released its second-generation Hammerhead True Wireless earbuds.

Tiktok Is Testing A Snapchat-style Stories Feature

On a long enough timeline, every social media app trends to adding stories, and now it’s apparently TikTok’s turn: the popular video app is experimenting with a new stories feature. The feature was highlighted by Matt Navarra on Twitter, and a TikTok spokesperson confirmed the test in an email to The Verge. The new feature, simply called “TikTok Stories,” appears to work similarly to other stories functions on apps like Instagram or Snapchat. Stories live in a newly added slide-over sidebar, where you’ll be able to see stories posted by accounts that you follow on TikTok for 24 hours before they’re automatically deleted.

Other users will be able to react and comment on your story, too. And just like on Instagram and other platforms, you’ll also be able to tap on a user’s profile picture to load a story. TikTok describes the feature in the app as “a new way to interact with your fans.” Users can create a new story by tapping a “create” button that’s been added to the sidebar, and they can add the usual captions, music, and text. True to TikTok’s video-first nature, it seems stories have to be videos, not still images. “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience,” a TikTok spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Verge. “Currently we’re experimenting with ways to give creators additional formats to bring their creative ideas to life for the TikTok community.” The company didn’t provide any details on how extensively it’s testing TikTok Stories, nor when (or even if) it’ll see a wider release. However, a quick search on Twitter reveals a number of TikTok users who have already gotten access to the feature. The fact that TikTok would experiment with stories isn’t surprising. Stories have been one of the only true constants in social media, with platforms from Instagram to Facebook to Linkedin to Pinterest to Netflix to YouTube to the Xbox app replicating Snapchat’s original feature from 2013. When they work, stories are a great way to get users to interact with each other on an app, offer a new place for ads, and generally keep the feedback loop of a social media app in motion. Stories aren’t always successful, however: just ask Twitter, which was forced to shutter its own stories clone the creatively named Fleets earlier this week, just eight months after it launched them, due to a general apathy toward the feature.

TikTok US Deal: As Deadline Looms, Scramble Ensues on Structure

 Amid a looming deadline set by President Donald Trump, negotiators scrambled to find a new ownership structure for the popular video app TikTok that would pass muster in both the United States and China.

A deal appeared to be taking shape this week that would allow Silicon Valley-based Oracle to be the US technology partner for TikTok to allay Washington's concerns that the platform could be used for Chinese espionage.

But details of the deal remained unclear. Some reports said Oracle would be a minority stakeholder in TikTok, with the Chinese parent firm ByteDance keeping a majority.

A US government national security panel was reviewing the Oracle bid while Republican lawmakers warned against accepting a deal that keeps the Chinese firm in control.

"We'll make a decision soon," Trump said Thursday, a day after saying he was undecided and still considering the national security implications of any new structure for the wildly popular app, which has an estimated 100 million users in the United States and as many as one billion worldwide.

Some analysts said it appeared difficult to craft a deal that allays concerns in both countries on security and the algorithms and other key technologies used by TikTok.

"It seems like a zero-sum game where either China or the United States gets the intellectual property and security benefits, and there's no way for both parties to share that," said Betsy Cooper, director of the Aspen Institute's Tech Policy Hub and a former Homeland Security official.

Cooper said the reported deal with Oracle hosting data as a minority shareholder "doesn't sound like it resolves the security concerns" raised by Trump and other US officials.

James Lewis, who heads technology policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Oracle could still win approval for its deal, but may need to make changes.

"If they can show a good package of security measures it will help," Lewis said. "It's an easier sell for Oracle if ByteDance becomes a minority owner."

Six Republican senators said in a letter to Trump this week that "any deal between an American company and ByteDance must ensure that TikTok's US operations, data, and algorithms are entirely outside the control of ByteDance or any Chinese-state directed actors, including any entity that can be compelled by Chinese law to turn over or access US consumer data."

Trump has threatened to ban TikTok in the United States if no deal is reached by September 20, in the latest battle between the two countries over technology.
Possible Beijing veto

Richard Windsor, an independent technology analyst who writes the Radio Free Mobile blog, said that any TikTok deal that addresses the US security issues runs the risk of facing a veto by Beijing.

"The fact that Oracle will have access to TikTok's algorithms and source code greatly increases the chances of the deal being approved by the US administration, but it also greatly increases the chances of it being blocked by China," Windsor said.

While parties struggle to reach a deal, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday on a tour of a factory that "innovation is the most important quality of business management, and it is also what we must overcome obstacles to do in the future."

"Key core technology must be firmly kept in our own hands," he added, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.

But Windsor also noted that "ByteDance needs this situation to be resolved quickly" since "there are no shortages of innovative apps waiting in the wings to fill any gaps left by TikTok should ByteDance fail to prevent a ban."

The TikTok saga has seen several twists, with Microsoft seen initially as the suitor before its bid was rejected.

Walmart, which was working with Microsoft, said in a statement Sunday it "continues to have an interest in a TikTok investment and continues discussions with ByteDance leadership and other interested parties."

Chinese authorities have said they would not allow ByteDance to sell the algorithms used by TikTok, which are believed to hold much of the value for the popular social platform.

Trump has demanded a significant portion of the sale go to the US Treasury, but said Wednesday he had been advised that was not possible.