Everyone I know on TikTok is talking about the same thing: Where are we going next?
Here are a couple.
Red Note
If you love TikTok, openingRed Notewill cause you to immediately relaxit looks remarkably similar.
Theres even an alternative to TikTok Shop.
Cons:There are no hashtagswhen you see them in posts, they wont work.
There do seem to beChinesehashtags, if you’re free to figure out the Chinese equivalents.
Because international users have had no need to move from TikTok, you probably wont find them.
Remember, Red Note comes with a lot of political baggage that TikTok doesnt.
Im also, however, deeply curious about what I agreed to when I signed up.
Reels are more like a longer Instagram Story than a TikTok.
Pros:You probably already know how to use Reels.
you’re free to tag people and businesses, locations, and target specific audiences.
Comments arent limited to a few sentences.
Obviously, Instagram has the advantage of being in English, and uses hashtags to help people navigate.
Cons:Instagram is Meta, and Meta is on the cusp ofsome big changesregarding moderation.
Part of the beauty of TikTok was the exceptional moderation tools, which kept everyone behaving generally well.
Youll see a lot of ads.
Reels doesn’t seem to want to keep you in Reelsit routinely pushes you to regular Instagram.
Lastly, you cant watch videos in 2x time on Reels, which feels downright insulting.
If thats the case, you might consider starting a new IG account to migrate your TikTok followers to.
Youre likely to find a similar audience, if less well-behaved, on Instagram Reels.
YouTube Shorts
Pros:YouTube isnt going anywhere, ever.
People know the platform, and they know what to expect from YouTube.
You probably already have the app installed on your phone.
Like Reels, the feed is mostly full of regurgitated TikToks, so it feels familiar.
Cons:Shorts are, at max, three minutes long, not longer as with TikTok and Reels.
While there is a simple interface for making and uploading videos, it’s overly simple.
There’s a truly abhorrent lack of comment-moderation tools, or moderation, period.
YouTube is (still) the Wild West, and for that reason, many find it unappealing.
Takeaway:Shorts feels like a very different product than TikTok.
Shorts, however, misses the mark on all of that.
I suspect people who migrate back to YouTube will do so for long-form videos, not Shorts.
The bottom line
Its not so much that all American TikTok users are scattering to the wind.
