When Kendra Womack uploaded a short video of her aunt’s Labrador Retriever on TikTok last year, she did not expect what would happen next.
The social media app’s algorithm picked up the clip of the 26-year-old student and part-time barista throwing a yellow pressure game at Daisy, who apparently devoured it in a single gulp and promoted it to users around the world. The twelve-second track went viral overnight and garnered hundreds of thousands of views. It has since been seen by more than 1.4 million people.
“I was shocked and disbelieved,” she said. Womack said. “I could not believe how easy it was.”
Ms. Womack and other enterprising smartphone users around the world have turned to TikTok as the best platform to deliver an instant shot at internet fame. At a time when a growing number of social media platforms are basing their business models on well-known artists and other popular influencers, TikTok emphasizes the idea of turning nobles into viral sensations as it seeks to gain momentum after a turbulent 2020.
However, some TikTok users get frustrated when it is difficult to repeat the viral fame of one video with subsequent clips. And the short-format video format of TikTok, which was novel when it was introduced less than five years ago, is now facing competition from a number of competitors.