TikTok-ing Through the Apocalypse (Part 1)

In this two-part series we explore the international phenomenon and emerging social media platform: TikTok. From the failing Shanghai tech company that created Musical.ly to ByteDance’s $1b acquisition in 2017, we explore how TikTok became the highest-valued startup to date now totalling over $75b. In part 1 we’ll break down the app and its powerful machine learning technology, and how its Chinese roots are critical to understanding the future of the company. Eating For Free is a bi-weekly gossip podcast reporting from the edge of the internet! We're a new wave of celebrity reporters at a time when pop culture is increasingly chaotic and media lacks the ability or moral direction to make sense of this capitalist nightmare! Do you have a tip for us? Got some hot gossip? Need to get any questions off your chest? Call our hotline at Call 1-810-EAT-FREE (1-810-328-3733) or send us an email at [email protected]! Become a Patreon backer for exclusive access to weekly bonus episodes and more! You can also find us on our website, Twitter, and Instagram. For behind-the-scenes gossip and access, join our exclusive Facebook group: Girls & Gays (G.A.G.S.)!  Joan Summers: Twitter, Instagram. Matthew Lawson: Twitter, Instagram. Sources:  Meet the Head of TikTok, a 35-Year-Old Who Makes Employees Do Push-Ups if Their Videos Don't Get Enough Likes - Money, Julia Glum (2019) How a failed education startup turned into Musical.ly, the most popular app you've probably never heard of - Business Insider, Biz Carson (2016) Chinese Tech Firms Forced to Choose Market: Home or Everywhere Else - NYT, Paul Mozur My conversation with Zhang Yiming, founder of Toutiao - Technode, 2017 Musical.ly, a Chinese App Big in the U.S., Sells for $1 Billion (Paul Mozur) - NYT, 2017 Who’s Too Young for an App? Musical.ly Tests the Limits - NYT, John Herrman, 2016 The popular Musical.ly app has been rebranded as TikTok - The Verge, Dami Lee. (2018) These Teens Are Making Thousands a Month With Karaoke App Musical.ly - Money, Gabriela Fernandez AI In China: How Buzzfeed Rival ByteDance Uses Machine Learning To Revolutionize The News - Forbes, Bernard Marr A Look at Toutiao: China’s Artificial Intelligence Powered News Platform - Wei Chun Chew, Medium The Hidden Forces Behind Toutiao: China’s Content King - Ycombination, Anu Hariharan (2017  The History of TikTok (TeenVogue) How TikTok is Rewriting the World (NewYorkTimes) TikTok, Explained (Vox) How TikTok Holds Our Attention (NewYorker) 32 Biggest Stars on TikTok (Business Insider) How 7 Brands are Using TikTok (HugSpot) TikTok and Activism (BBC) Meet the Head of TikTok (Money.com) How A Failed Startup Became Musical.ly (Business Insider) Chinese Tech Firms Forced to Choose Market (NewYorkTimes) My conversation with Zhang Yiming, founder of Toutiao  (Technode) Musical.ly, a Chinese App Big in the U.S., Sells for $1 Billion (NewYorkTimes) Who’s Too Young for an App? Musical.ly Tests the Limits (NewYorkTimes) The popular Musical.ly app has been rebranded as TikTok (The Verge) These Teens Are Making Thousands a Month With Karaoke App Musical.ly (Money.com) AI In China: How Buzzfeed Rival ByteDance Uses Machine Learning To Revolutionize The News (Forbes) How TikTok Took Over Music (Rolling Stone) Record Labels Demand More Money for Songs on TikTok App (Bloomberg) U.S. Army Looking Into National Security Concerns Over TikTok After Using It to Recruit Troops (Gizmodo) U.S. opens national security investigation into TikTok (Reuters) TikTok national security inquiry (CNBC) US investigating TikTok owner ByteDance (South China Morning Post) Before Mark Zuckerberg Tried To Kill TikTok (BuzzFeedNews) TikTok has moved into Facebook’s backyard (CNBC)