TikTok announced the launch of a new feature that allows people to post text-only content, similar to Meta’s Threads and Elon Musk’s Twitter. The feature lets users create and share text posts, which can be enhanced with stickers, hashtags, and music.
The Chinese-owned social media app revealed its new feature on the same day that Elon Musk changed the Twitter logo and name to X, drawing lots of criticism. Musk wants to turn Twitter into a super-app that offers a variety of features, just like China’s WeChat.
Also read: Jack Dorsey Rejects Mark Zuckerberg’s Follow Request on Threads
‘Empowering’ creators
In a blog post published on July 24, TikTok claimed that its new format will “empower” users with what it called “innovative tools that inspire self expression.”
“Text is the latest addition to options for content creation, allowing creators to share their stories, poems, recipes, and other written content on TikTok – giving creators another way to express themselves and making it even easier to create,” the blog post stated.
“With text posts, we’re expanding the boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok, giving the written creativity we’ve seen in comments, captions, and videos a dedicated space to shine.”
TikTok is a popular video-sharing social media platform where people can create and share short videos. The app reportedly became so popular that it briefly surpassed Google as the most visited website in the world in 2021.
In addition to short-form videos, TikTok now also supports images, putting the app in direct competition with Mark Zuckerberg’s Instagram. Earlier this month, TikTok launched a music streaming service that is similar to Spotify and Apple Music.
However, the service is currently only available in Brazil and Indonesia, as MetaNews previously reported. The company said it is planning to expand the service to other markets in the future.
How to create a text post on TikTok
TikTok’s text posts will be able to play background music, just like its video and image posts. This is unlike Threads and X, which do not support background music in text posts. People can also add hashtags and stickers to their text posts.
“Sounds are core to the TikTok experience, which is why we’ve incorporated them into text posts,” the company said in a note to users.
To create a text post on TikTok, users can go to their camera page from where they will be able to choose from three options: photo, video, and text. Once you choose the text option, you’ll be directed to the text creation page, where you can type out the content of your post.
On the post page, people can customize their content from familiar options, including adding sound, tagging a location, enabling comments, and allowing duets, among others.
“These features make it so your text posts are just as dynamic and interactive as any video or photo post, the company stated.
TikTok’s text-based feature is seen as a move by the company to compete with other social media platforms that focus on text-based content.
For example, Meta’s Threads app is designed to be a “public and private space” for users to connect with their close friends. Elon Musk’s X app is a text-based social media app that is meant to be a “free speech platform,” according to the tech billionaire.
and then