VOA科学技术2024--How TikTok's Technology Makes the Service Popular

A recent American law requires TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the company's U.S. operations within nine months or face a nationwide ban.

But the video sharing service remains¹ popular among Americans. It remains unclear if ByteDance will agree to sell the business. It also is not known whether the law can survive expected legal challenges related to freedom of speech.

Here is a look at how TikTok has developed its technology and expanded its business to include more than one billion users worldwide.

ByteDance was launched in China in 2012 by businessman Zhang Yimin. Its first product was a news collection service for Chinese users. In 2016, ByteDance launched a video sharing app called Douyin. The popularity² of Douyin led the company to launch a foreign version of that app called TikTok.

ByteDance bought a video sharing service called Musical.ly for $1 billion in November 2017. The company then combined that app with TikTok in August 2018.

Technology experts have widely considered TikTok's predictive algorithms a main driver of its success. The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered system seeks to identify what new videos users will likely be interested in based on what they have watched before.

TikTok offers users videos of many different interests. These could include users demonstrating dance moves, food preparation videos or personal care advice. Some TikTok users also take part in physical "challenges" that start on the app. Videos can discuss serious subjects like politics or war but could also include humorous performances or information about music or movies.

A recent report by Reuters news agency examined TikTok's technology and operating methods. It suggests the company's use of algorithms has played a major part in its success. Industry experts said the app's algorithm is particularly good at working with the short video format³ used by the app.

Before TikTok, many industry experts believed the most important element to having a successful social media app was linking a user's social connections. Such a model was successfully demonstrated by Meta's Facebook and Instagram services.

But TikTok showed that an algorithm, driven by data from what a user looks for and watches on the service, could be more powerful. Rather than building an algorithm to connect large social groups, TikTok has sought to develop what it calls users' "interest signals."

Some TikTok competitors use similar interest-based algorithms. But TikTok has been able to perfect its system because it uses short videos, said Catalina Goanta. She is an associate professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands who studies how social media services make money.

Goanta told Reuters that while the kind of algorithm TikTok uses is common among similar social apps, "what really distinguishes⁵ TikTok...is the design and the content," she noted⁶.

Experts say the short video format permits TikTok's algorithm to identify in greater detail specific user interests and favorites. This enables the app to predict what kind of content TikTok users will want to see at different times of the day.

Jason Fung is the former head of TikTok's gaming activities. He told Reuters the app's short video format permits TikTok to learn what users want to see at a much faster rate.

"You're able to collect data about a user's preference a lot faster than YouTube, where maybe the average video is just less than 10 minutes long," Fung said. "Imagine you're collecting data about a user on average every 10 minutes versus⁷ every couple (of) seconds," he added.

Industry experts say TikTok's early entry into the short video market supported its success. Instagram did not launch its short video service Reels⁸ until 2020, while YouTube introduced its Shorts service in 2021.

TikTok has also been effective at getting its users to form groups by establishing certain hashtags, said Ari Lightman. He is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. These groups that users form help TikTok learn more details about members' behaviors, interests and personal beliefs.

Lightman said that if TikTok is banned in the U.S., he thinks it will be difficult for any existing technology company to reproduce⁹ the strong user culture that the app has built.

Words in This Story

challenge - n. something difficult that tests one's ability or determination

app -n. a computer program that carries out one or several closely linked tasks

algorithm - n. a set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process

format - n. the way something is designed, arranged or produced

distinguish⁴ - v. to recognize the differences between two people, things, etc.

preference - n. the feeling of liking¹⁰ something or someone more than another person or thing

hashtag -n. a special word marked by a # symbol that search engines use to find information on the internet

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

3 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

4 distinguish   

vt.区别，辩明，识别，辨认出；vi.区别，辨别，识别

参考例句：

• It is not easy to distinguish cultured pearls from genuine pearls.辨别真正的珍珠与养殖的珍珠不容易。
• Some people find it difficult to distinguish right from wrong.一些人认为很难辨对与错。

5 distinguishes   

辨别，区别( distinguish的第三人称单数 )； 使出众； （凭任何感觉器官）识别出； 看清

参考例句：

• He has that je ne sais quoi that distinguishes a professional from an amateur. 他有那种难以言表的特质，体现出他是专业而非业余的。
• It is in a storm that a capable skipper distinguishes himself. 暴风雨中才识好船长。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

8 reels   

卷轴( reel的名词复数 )； 卷盘； 卷筒； 绕在卷轴上的线（或金属丝、胶卷等）

参考例句：

• He took a series of large tape reels from a cupboard. 他从一个框子里取出了一套很大的磁带盘。
• The dances following, the polkas, the schottisches, the mazurkas, will be preceded by short reels. 然后是波尔卡舞、苏格兰轮舞、玛祖卡舞，这些都将用一个弗吉尼亚短舞打头。

9 reproduce   

v.生育，繁殖，复制，重做

参考例句：

• The machine can reproduce a key in two minutes.这机器能在两分钟内复制一把钥匙。
• The picture will reproduce well.这照片会印得很清楚。

10 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。