If artificial intelligence were given the task of coming up with the most engaging content for teens, it would create TikTok. The social network’s content is dynamic short videos with music and effects, which makes TikTok a kind of a hybrid of YouTube and Instagram, and it instantly captures your attention.
The Chinese TikTok app, through which users share short videos, continues to set popularity records – it has become the most downloaded application on Google Play and the App Store. In January of this year, TikTok and its version for the Chinese market – Douyin – were downloaded about 104 million times from the Apple Store and Google Play.
And now, YouTube decided to compete with TikTok and create a similar app. The YouTube team is working on a new service called Shorts that will allow you to publish short videos, which will be displayed in the YouTube mobile app in a separate feed. It is noted that Shorts will provide access to a massive catalog of licensed music. Tracks can be overlaid over the videos, as in TikTok.
Previously, YouTube has already borrowed successful ideas from other social networks. Hence, the platform already has a full-fledged analog of "Stories" – short videos from users that are automatically deleted in a few days.
There is no information yet on whether Shorts will have a separate app, or it will only be a service inside YouTube. Shorts may be released before the end of this year, but when exactly is still unknown.
