By: Marley Crisp
What is TikTok–
Tiktok is famous for being an app used to make short clip videos of people lip-syncing, filming GRWM, mini vlogs, and many more. This app helps build communities and it is an app that allows you to express yourself in many ways. There are many different communities on TikTok and that’s why many enjoy it. Also, many people have become famous on this app, which is another reason why many people started using the app because they wanted to be a part of something big. TikTok has always had a huge profit off of the “influencers” that used the app because with every video the influencer makes TikTok gets money for that and more app users. Now there is also an application called TikTok shop which is basically a place on TikTok where you can buy and sell things. With this, you can also get coupons to buy the things that are on there, including books. Due to all these aspects, it makes TikTok very popular starting many new trends, and overall building communities.
Background-
Before there was Tiktok there was Musically. Musically was made by Alex Zhu; the platform users created and shared short lip-sync videos. In the beginning, Musically was not as popular as you thought it had its group of users called “Musers” but then in July of 2015, more people started to find out about this app and started using it. Once the app gained this attention from the media it took off and millions of people knew about it and used Musically. However, on August 2, 2018, the app was shut down due to its new owner Zhang Yiming discontinuing the popular app. It was renamed as TikTok. Many people were confused about what happened to Musically and some were also a little leery of the new app because when “Musers” went to update Musically it turned into TikTok and they hadn’t seen that app before. When it did, many past users started to post on it, making fun of the new name; they wondered if it would ever turn back to Musically.
Who Created BookTok?
No one really created BookTok, it was something that happened because of a new hashtag that was going around that was made by book-lovers. After this, it became a huge trend and many people have said that they are part of the BookTok community. Now it is one of the world’s most large book groups out there which is really impressive, especially since it only started out as a hashtag. The BookTok community was just recently formed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic which is another reason why it became so popular. BookTok also helps many authors find their voice and gain new fans because they can now post on something that is specifically made for book lovers.
What is BookTok?
BookTok is many things: a community, a hashtag, a book club, and a place where people come together. On BookTok you are allowed to express your thoughts about a book and it is also used to give reviews, ratings, and recommendations on what books are great. Many authors make profiles on TikTok because they have noticed that a lot of book readers were using this app and noticed that many other authors gain more readers when they join. This both benefited the authors and TikTok itself. Many people really do enjoy BookTok because they get introduced to many new and different writers and they also get to have more of a close-up on the author’s life when they follow them. Many also talk about how much they love it because they are able to connect with other minds that think like theirs and they get to see other different points of view in a book. BookTok is a superior trend that is not going away anytime soon.
TokTok.com WHNT.com
Opinion on BookTok
I believe that BookTok is a well-thought-out concept and as someone who really enjoys reading, I find this trend very useful and fun. I used to not be a fan of reading at all but when I started to get videos on my TikTok page about BookTok it made me curious about the books that were covered. Once I started to look into the trend feed and really look at the reviews and comments I finally bought my first book that I was planning on reading on my own time, and ever since then I have loved reading. BookTok has really opened my mind up to different genres of books and different authors. I really enjoy this trend and hope that it becomes something even bigger so that others will start to take an interest in reading and being a book lover.
What Students Have to Say
Students/Book Club members:
Emmerlina See (sophomore and avid consumer of Booktok)- “I personally think that Booktok is a very well-thought out operation and I think that it is a good place to get book recommendations.”
Kira Sanders (senior, El D Book Club Member)- “I think it’s good for people to find new books and introduce others to the book community”.
Nakiya Rivera-Velyines (senior, avid consumer of Booktok)- “Booktok is so exciting and it gives me many good recommendations. I personally really enjoy it and would recommend others to look at it.”