New app, byte, just launched as a potential TikTok competitor.

Byte is the second Vine.

Byte is an app made by the creator of Vine, Dan Hofmann to come back into the social media realm after the original was shut down.  This app is designed for people to create six second videos to share with friends and the general app’s community. (“Byte… mobile” 2020)

However, the logistics of the platform are not too thought out yet – as it is still in beta stages.  Issues like crashing, no way of blocking, and no hashtags to connect communities are in existence.  But, Perhaps the largest issue on the platform is spam.  Being dubbed “spam bots,” these accounts are only made to get the greatest amount of random followers by leaving unwarranted comments and messages. (“Byte… spam” 2020)

It is possible this app was only now created because of TikTok’s popularity, with many people comparing it to the original Vine.  There had been talks of a “Vine 2” years ago, but it never came to light.  However, the creators plan to use their history to their advantage in terms of nostalgia (“What is Byte?” 2020).  By returning to the original six second platform, removed from all of the gimmicky aspects on TikTok, the app is expected to have many participators.  Already according to slate.com, a few people who were once popular on Vine have made a debut in this app. (2020)

It is interesting to see how this new platform will pan out.  It may lose it’s footing against the continuously growing TikTok, or enough people might miss the original, that they wont want to miss out on this opportunity.  In class we spoke about the different abilities of different platforms.  It is possible this is too similar to pre-existing concepts.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/25/tech/byte-app-tiktok-vine/index.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/what-byte-internet-s-new-old-school-short-form-video-n1123866

https://slate.com/technology/2020/01/byte-vine-spam-ios-android-fake-accounts.html

3 thoughts on “New app, byte, just launched as a potential TikTok competitor.

  1. There are so many emerging applications out there that follow the footsteps of Vine, Snapchat, and TikTok. I have been an Instagram user for so long, and when they launched the ‘Stories’ feature, I thought that other applications or websites would introduce the same thing. After this addition to Instagram, Facebook made the same move and added the same feature, which is not as popular as Instagram’s, but still widely used by many Facebook users especially when it was integrated with Instagram.

    With new applications emerging, I am concerned most with the security. I think it is safe to assume that the users of these applications are on the younger side of the population. While kids and teens essentially “grew up” with technology, one could not exactly say that they are fully aware of the precautions and harmful effects of social media. “New apps like TikTok offer opportunities for hackers looking to target services that haven’t been tested through years of security research and real-world attacks. And many of its users are young and perhaps not mindful of security updates.” (Bergman, Frenkel, & Zhong, 2020)

    This goes to show that even a huge application like TikTok has some major security flaws. With Byte emerging, it makes us think, are these applications secure for its users? No one reads the privacy policy. It’s a trend; if your friends are using it, you probably will too. New and emerging applications must make security a priority and protect their users properly.

    Bergman, R., Frenkel, S., & Zhong, R. (2020, January 8). Major TikTok Security Flaws Found. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/technology/tiktok-security-flaws.html

  2. I think that Byte has the potential to become a very popular app, after they fix the initial problems that the app is encountering. The idea of a new Vine is something that will bring back the original Vine users as well as the younger generation who missed out on Vine.

    Byte has the ability to become more popular than TikTok, and in my opinion I think that it will. TikTok allows users to upload longer videos which can result in people posted long winded stories, which can sometimes be annoying. Also due to the sound sharing feature of TikTok, the videos begin to get repetitive until a new trend emerges. The 6-second feature of Byte will bring back the types of videos that everyone fell in love with on Vine.
    In addition, Byte is launching a partner program that will pay creators, which will boost their status.

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/01/27/byte-app-vine-creator-launches-new-short-form-video-app/4586454002/

  3. A new version of Vine is going to be great for entertainment. They proved the first time around that the short clip approach was popular and with Tik Tok’s popularity the concept has not gone away. I think that this app, once it fixes its bugs, will become one of the most downloaded apps due to its system for paying creators. Since no social network has something similar to this it will draw in creators and allow them to make more interesting, more funny, and more purposeful clips. This will, therefore, make it a better experience for the user, and make the app more popular.

    It is possible that Byte will not outgrow Tik Tok, but I think it will. Tik Tok has a system which allows the audio from each clip to be taken and used by other profiles. This results in many trends involving a particular sound, or the exact same video just with a different person with the spotlight. Since Byte (and Vine) do not have this, it forces the clips to be a little more creative. I think users will appreciate this and get more enjoyment from each clip, which in turn will boost Bytes status.

    https://www.searchenginejournal.com/byte-a-6-second-looping-video-app-launches-on-ios-and-android/345458/#close

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