- Time is running out for ByteDance to sell its US TikTok business.
- Clapper, a similar video platform, was tested by creators as a potential alternative to TikTok.
- Despite a growing user base, it doesn’t look like Zoomers will be flooding in just yet.
Time is running out for ByteDance after President Joe Biden signed a bill last month saying the company must sell its U.S. business on TikTok or face the app being banned in the United States.
If TikTok suddenly becomes unavailable, creators wonder where they could go next.
Some have tried Clapper, a video platform that looks a lot like a dupe of TikTok, designed primarily for millennial and Gen X users.
The app’s founder, Edison Chen, described it as “a space where older generations feel more comfortable” in an interview with D Magazine last year and a place where “users’ parents of TikTok can express themselves.”
In a 2022 blog post, Chen also said that Clapper was not about videos going viral, but about building community and forming friendships.
Some of its features highlight this orientation. For example, the “Nearby” feature allows creators to see content created by people near them to find friends and connect with similar people.–sensible people.
The app also encourages users to use hashtags to connect them with creators with similar audiences.
Otherwise, if you can use TikTok, you can probably use Clapper. Its setup is almost exactly the same, with a “Next” tab and a “For You” tab and buttons for liking, commenting, and sharing a video all in one place.
Some videos on Clapper’s For You feed. Flying
I’m not a parent, but I am a millennial. Like many people in my age group, I am also an avid TikTok user. Data from the Pew Research Center suggests that 40% of people on TikTok are between the ages of 30 and 40.
However, the dominant demographic on TikTok remains Generation Z, with various surveys estimating that between 50% and 76% of this age group use it.
Could Clapper be the next big thing among Zoomers if TikTok disappears? I’m not so sure.
Mixed reviews
A Clapper spokesperson told Business Insider that the app has doubled its user base every year for the past three years and that the number of daily active users has increased by 400% since 2020.
The spokesperson said that since the House voted on banning TikTok, Clapper has seen 30,000 new users. There are currently over two million monthly active users, according to the latest estimates.
Although the app leans heavily on Generations X and Y, the spokesperson said Clapper is adjusting its strategy “to attract a younger audience.”
But reviews (posted on TikTok) have been mixed so far.
One creator, Shannon Lee, described the app as “a little slow.” Another creator, named Allie, said: “It’s kind of like a TikTok clone, but it’s not comparable at all.”
But others like it. Rebecca Starkey, a creator with more than 500,000 followers on TikTok, said she likes that the site is ad-free, that users must be at least 17 years old, and that every video appearing on the For You page has the same opportunity to be broadcast on TikTok. go viral.
Other positives include no filters and the fact that creators can start earning money immediately – unlike TikTok, where you need to have 10,000 followers before you can join its Creator Rewards program.
A little old-school
I tried to train my Clapper algorithm to provide me with the content I wanted to see.
It’s not entirely fair to compare it to TikTok, which has known me and my tastes for years. Overall, though, I found the content a bit outdated.
My feed is full of cringeworthy sketches and pranks, as well as clips of people misjudging stunts and injuring themselves, reminiscent of the “getting possessed” compilations of the internet before.
Some recent videos served to me include a woman pretending to collapse in front of her partner and a gym goer screaming for help with her too-heavy weights. There are also some questionable comedy sketches that border on sexism and give a general air of anarchy.
BI has reached out to Clapper for comment on its policies, although its terms of service prohibit nudity and violence, impersonation and posting content that is not yours.
This would remind me a bit of the early days of Vine, but a lot of the content I get seems to be old reposted clips taken from YouTube and other platforms.
In 2021, a wave of conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccines flocked to Clapper, seeing it as a “free speech” alternative to TikTok, where they had been banned.
I didn’t encounter any of this during my week on Clapper, but I saw plenty of other content from the Facebook generation.
There are plenty of videos about inspiring athletes and animal rescues, suitable for people who still appreciate the feel-good nature of Facebook’s algorithm.
There are a lot fewer advertisements. Some creators promote products, but you’re nowhere near as inundated with things to buy as you are on TikTok.
The main thing I’m missing right now about Clapper is what the app claims to represent: community. On Clapper, I watch without really thinking. It’s rage bait without substance. It’s a consumer culture without benefit. I mean, what is it?
Clapper is in its infancy, and that’s great. It takes a long time to build a circle on social media, and it could just be that I haven’t found my contacts there yet.
I don’t think Clapper will see a huge increase in Gen Z users unless there is a mass exodus that can help it gain consistency and depth. This already happened with Viners flocking to YouTube in 2016, so never say never.
Clapper definitely brings something. But right now, I don’t think that’s quite what Zoomers are looking for.
businessinsider
