When TikTok launched, everyone called it a copycat of Instagram Stories, which had in turn stolen that idea from Snapchat. Of course, TikTok’s way of serving videos was different than Instagram since you saw content from more than just people you followed, and your way of navigating that content was to scroll through an endless feed. TikTok’s algorithm was so good — even at launch — that it exploded in popularity… and also because everyone was stuck in quarantine during the pandemic.
TikTok became so popular that, in usual Meta fashion, the company copied its format with Instagram Reels. So, it seems fitting that TikTok would eventually copy a feature from Instagram (or Snapchat, but who’s keeping count anymore).
In a press release, the company announced that it’s rolling out a new feature which allows users to create “text posts.”
Today we’re thrilled to announce the expansion of text posts on TikTok, a new format for creating text-based content that broadens options for creators to share their ideas and express their creativity. With text posts, we’re expanding the boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok, giving the written creativity we’ve seen in comments, captions, and videos a dedicated space to shine.
According to the company, users will be able to customize their text posts by “adding Sound, tagging a location, enabling comments, and allowing Duets, among others.” They’ll also be able to add stickers, tags and hashtags, and background colors to text posts.
If all of that sounds familiar, it’s because those features have been part of Instagram and Snapchat for a long time now. It seems that TikTok has finally crossed the threshold into being a long-standing social media app now that it has done what every other app has done — ripped off features from its competitors. Of course, this isn’t the first time it has done so. It’s already ripped off, then killed, its BeReal clone.
As TikTok tries to become more like Instagram, Instagram is trying to become more like Twitter. Twitter, in the meantime, is trying to become less like itself.
