The future of the Internet as predicted may not be video, but what portion of it is will probably be ruled by lip-syncing micro-videos. You know, that sing-song video selfie thing teens are doing. Facebook suspects this might be the case as well, but they're late to try to capitalize on a trend from 2015. We’ll see. Facebook's up against a lot, including this guy as a "final boss."
The social media giant’s latest earnings call has been described as a mixed bag and “uncharacteristically transparent.” User growth has slowed and Facebook missed revenue targets but Facebook CFO David Wehner sees “good growth opportunities” within video, namely the Stories features on WhatsApp and Instagram. Lip Sync Live, Facebook’s platform entry to the genre, rolled out this summer. Facebook announced it was developing its own lip-syncing selfie app, Lasso, last week.
Meanwhile, the mother of all lip-syncing apps Musical.ly (now TikTok) hit 10 million users in 2015 and was sold to ByteDance this summer for around $1 billion dollars. At the time of sale, TikTok had grown to 60 million users. Competing US-based app Triller, founded in 2015, reported 29 million users this August.
We are living in the age of micro-video celebrities, and these two apps have given the world a bunch of teenage internet celebrities called "musers." They have huge fan bases -- in the millions. Even if Facebook starts offering their own lip-syncing video selfie feature, it is unlikely musers would leave an app for Facebook, a social media platform teens are purported to hate. Europeans, Westerners and older millennials concerned with privacy and surveillance, issues like GDPR, the rise of antisemitism, attacks on refugees and misinformation, the trolls and scandals like Cambridge Analytica are other factors slowing growth.
“Every major player in the social space, from Bytedance's TikTok to Instagram and Snapchat, is realizing that short-form videos, or "micro" videos, are the new standard for content consumption” wrote Triller CEO Mike Lu when emailed for comment. He described Facebook's push behind Stories as “a smart move,” continuing, “as this is the platform's best shot at boosting engagement rates among millennials and Gen Z.”
Facebook’s edge, of having licensing deals with all the top record labels, could be enough of a draw. However, Triller’s users can also lip-sync without fear of copyright infringement... and their edge is being “not Facebook.” No one talks about being on Facebook. People are not on Facebook by choice. There's the dread that we are living in the end times and it's Facebook's fault.
But you know who is on triller? Kevin Hart. So is Loren Gray, a 17-year old muser with more than 28 million followers, 14 million on Instagram. Triller also has all the buzz, but it's not because they are actively trying: top talent leaving TikTok for Triller have publicly and privately cited issues with TikTok's owners ByteDance, particularly over monetization. TikTok removed muser 19-year-old Kristen Hancher's farewell announcement, the text of which is below:
“Okay, so the reason I don’t use Musical.ly/TikTok anymore is because since it went under new management, their values changed. And, I don’t agree with those values. (I can’t get that much into what, you know.) But, it has really nothing to do with you guys at all. So, don’t take it personally whatsoever. It’s just the app itself. So, that’s why whenever I’ve been posting on this app, it’s to promote Triller, my YouTube, or something. But, yeah. I know you guys are confused about that. I hope this gives you some intel as to why.
But, yeah, I hope you guys want to follow me on this journey. I don’t want to lose any of you guys because I don’t use the app anymore. But, yeah, that’s pretty much it.”
Hancer has 21 million followers.
Micro-videos have been the "hottest social media trend" since at least 2013 for a variety of reasons. Video is very attention-consuming -- you need to use both your eyes and ears -- and that can be a nuisance if your earbuds are in and you’re scrolling on your phone during your morning commute, reading the news and texting so-and-so about plans for later. Micro-videos though, that are 10 seconds, 30, 45 seconds? Everyone has time for that, can make time for that. Add that these apps easily produce high quality content, the mandatory multi-tasking of a digital life and our collective reduction in attention spans? And when the micro-content is video selfies…with YOUR FAVORITE SONG!?!??? How can you not be hyped.
These apps offer the perfect bite-sized amount of content for our busy lives. What makes the lip-syncing ones addictive and unusually fun for everyone is how it’s actually kind of difficulty to produce bad content on these apps, thanks to all the technological bells and whistles built in. Those features now include biometric scans and AI, by the way. Yes, artificial intelligence is there to ensure your lips, dance moves are on beat to the song. You will never not nail it. And unlike Musical.ly, Triller bothered to get patents and actively assists top users in monetizing their content.
Video views on Facebook may be dodgier than some advertisers would like, but the consensus still seems to be video content in the form of Stories is Facebook’s best face going forward. Original video content via Facebook Watch has potential, but asks people to spend more time on Facebook when user have expressed wanting the opposite.
