Chinese short video platform, TikTok, is taking on YouTube. The company is testing the ability for users to upload 30-minute videos. Social media consultant Matt Navarra spots this new feature on the iOS app beta version in the UK. He also mentioned that some of the Android beta users are also seeing this option.
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Initially, TikTok (owned by ByteDance) rose to popularity for its short video platform but they have been embracing long-form content for quite some time. If this feature is released in the stable build of TikTok, it will have come a long way from its original video limit of 15 seconds.
This change makes TikTok a direct competitor of YouTube. They are looking to capitalize on the creator economy. TikTok wants to attract creators to post their long-form content on TikTok instead of YouTube.
In the past, content creators were using both platforms but for different purposes of managing content. TikTok has always been seen as a short-form content platform, while YouTube is considered the king of long-form content. However, in the past few years, the objectives of these platforms overlapped as TikTok is embracing long-form content and YouTube adopted short videos.
This new time limit increase would allow the creators to share different content like beauty tutorials, education videos, comedy, and more. It may even birth a new type of video content that wasn’t possible with the restrictions.
TikTok is exploring the possibility of replacing YouTube. But we have to consider what the viewer thinks. Not everyone browsing TikTok wants to see long-form videos on the platform. It could be a welcome addition for some or a nuisance for others.
This is a test feature, I don’t know whether TikTok will ship this with the stable build or not.
