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TikTok is the FYP.

Or ‘For You Page’ for those with fully unrotted brains.

It’s a perfect algorithm that knows its users better than they know themselves, showing them a constant stream of short form goodness they’re guaranteed to love.

So with TikTok yet again facing an impending U.S. ban, I want to do a deep dive into the 10 platforms that are trying to outflank TikTok while it stands on shaky legal ground.

Also in this edition:

• Fortnite UEFN Creators Cash In

• The Best Way to Micro-Survey Your Audience

• Making Money from Fan Questions

• Substack’s Creator Fund

• Jobs from Context, Komodo, and Fixated (Hey! That’s me!)

• …and a dank meme by yours truly!

Let’s get into it.

NEWS:

We’ll Start The Bidding for 170 Million U.S. Users…

The major (and not so major) platforms are ready for TikTok to go away in the U.S., leaving 170 million monthly active users looking for their new FYP.

And they’re going hard.

It felt like the right time to run down the top 10 along with what they’re doing to ‘win’:

1. Google / YouTube

Of all of the players in this space, Google has the most to lose and the most to gain.

Their size and scrutiny would make it near-impossible to be a buyer of the app, lest they run afoul of monopoly laws. They own connected TV consumption and video ad inventory, so TikTok’s success could continue to nibble away at its market share. Plus, Google’s stuck delisting TikTok, which was almost certainly a cash cow, as they take an estimated 15% of each transaction.

But good news, YouTube loyalists! They already have relationships with many top creators, including most TikTokkers who cross-post on YouTube Shorts. The Shorts features have substantial parity with TikTok, and Shorts gets some passive monetization, albeit minor (I have access to a few accounts that currently stand at about $.10 RPMs). But this tiny monetization and promise of a video-first audience could be enough to get TikTok creators and fans to move their attention over fully.

2. Meta

Meta has been reportedly doling out $5,000 checks to creators to post their TikToks natively to their Reels product, which spreads across Instagram and Facebook.

But creators are wise to their shenanigans. Meta platforms, especially Facebook, tend to change monetization and algorithmic priorities every earnings call. Arguably, this sunk Buzzfeed, Vice, Jellysmack, and dozens of others who tried to build real businesses on their properties.

Pair that with Mark Zuckerberg’s terrible recent PR in the creator community (getting rid of moderation, more like ‘X’, masculine energy, sucking up to Trump), and I don’t think a lot of TikTokkers, who seem to be more liberal than the vibe of most other platforms, are too excited.

And we’ve seen these monetization plays before. Remember the streaming wars when YouTube Gaming, Twitch, Mixer, and Facebook Gaming (side note: I was working there at the time) went head-to-head. Overwhelmingly, creators took big checks, lost big audiences, and then returned to their original platforms when the money dried up.

Meta has announced new, simpler monetization in the coming months (FINALLY!!). However, as someone in the beta, the monetization on short videos needs to grow significantly before it can be a compelling offering to TikTokkers. Really interested to see the launch of Edits, the competitor to TikTok’s CapCut, as I firmly believe that’s a big part of TikTok’s secret sauce.

3. Snapchat

I’m a Snapchat loyalist, so this will be biased. I’ve always been a Snapchat bull, and it’s always paid off for me, from original Spotlight monetization to Discover shows and now Snap Stars Stories monetization. And we’re a few days away from the February 1 launch of their new unified monetization program that brings the spotlight back onto, well, Spotlight, their TikTok-style feed.

And it’s so hot amongst U.S. teens. 82% sign on at least once per month and 36% call it their favorite app.

Snap will continue to be held back by their messaging-first value proposition unless they are able to successfully design the app to encourage more ‘FYP’-style consumption, but their monetization has always been top-notch and the TikTok audience is already there.

4. Xiaohungchu (RedNote)

This Mandarin-first community app seemed to come out of nowhere. Outside of China, where 300 mostly-teen users are on the app, there was almost no U.S. usage until last month, when it topped the social app charts for weeks before the ban.

For anyone who used ‘Chinese PsyOps’ as a reason to ban TikTok (note: there has never been any credible proof that happened), this app truly feels like it’s wildly ‘pro-China’ and ‘anti-U.S. TikTok policy’ in its feed. So if this were a successor to TikTok, this would be the U.S. government’s worst nightmare.

There has been some reporting that RedNote is offering some payment to U.S. creators to continue promoting the app, and they nailed the ‘game,’ which is so important to get creators to make their first video on the platform. These ‘TikTok Refugees’ generally take some jabs at their government before showing off some of their new Chinese knowledge, from Duolingo-style greetings in Mandarin to effusive appreciation of their culture.

However, downloads have tanked now that TikTok’s U.S. ban has been pushed out a few months, which means this was likely more of a temporary fad than a sea change.

5. Triller

The little app could have been plugging away into the social media scene for years with occasional pops through massive stunts like going public and partnering with boxing events. Triller’s CEO Mike Lu has claimed the app has 100m monthly active users, but that is almost universally disputed.

But amongst all of the strange press and inflated popularity, Triller does have a lot of value. It was one of the first apps to truly embrace endless feeds of short form content after Vine’s demise and has since leaned hard into music, where it’s developed pretty cool tech around lip-syncing and music video creation.

If they focus hard on segmenting the TikTok creators and users who love music, I see a chance for astronomical growth, but I haven’t seen a lot of strategy from them recently.

6. X / Bluesky

Yup, microbloggers are going after short-form video feed audiences and creators, too. Both X and Bluesky have rolled out their version of ‘For You Pages’ with vertical video feeds.

X is a natural, as they already have video monetization through their Amplify program. Still, with how complex it is to get video feeds right and Elon’s tendency to fire everyone who keeps his company running smoothly, I’m not surprised to see it’s an absolute disaster.

Bluesky, on the other hand, is small, but with a clean interface and a more serious, less spammy community, video has a real chance to thrive. However, until they can nail how video creators can make Bluesky videos into an actual career, they’ll struggle to get the big TikTokkers to take notice.

7. Likee

Released in 2017, Likee feels like a dinosaur in the short-form video space, but it’s also constantly popping up at the top of the social app charts. And recently, it seems to be in the top 5 pretty regularly.

This is the most apples-to-apples TikTok clone of them all, right down to the editor and sounds. The content is also fun and young. But there’s also really simple ad monetization built in and a very female-forward vibe that feels unique to the culture of TikTok.

The biggest struggle with Likee being a TikTok successor is its lack of an identity outside of ‘smaller TikTok,’ which leaves it vulnerable to the more feature-rich, well-known platforms like YouTube.

8. Tumblr

Wait, what? No…seriously. Tumblr made a big play last week with the launch of video within Tumblr TV, their longtime gif discovery feed. Tumblr claimed a massive increase in installs and visits to their Community features after the TikTok ban, but the site still has a very ‘stuck in the past’ vibe.

As for their TikTok feature, it’s very 1.0. Lots of grainy gifs, not many features, and the content is more of a ‘what is this?’ vibe.

9. Lemon8

Wait, but this app went down along with TikTok last week! It’s also a ByteDance app, so that makes sense. But Lemon8 is quietly carving out a niche in the beauty/fashion/lifestyle space due to it’s photo-carousel-first presentation, though video is certainly a core part of its offering.

It’s a bit more Pinterest than TikTok, but seeing ‘For You’ feeds by vertical leads to a more specific experience for what I need at the moment, and that kind of differentiator could be huge for users looking for more control around their feed.

As written it does not appear the ban would explicitly remove Lemon8 as well, and, if not, ByteDance may make a larger play to integrate TikTok features into Lemon8 to ease their U.S. audience into another one of their ecosystems.

Which, of course, is why I continue to believe this ban is ridiculous. If the problem was Chinese apps and U.S. data security, there should be legislation around all Chinese social apps in America, lest one is banned only for another to rise.

10. ShopMy/Flip/LTK/WhatNot/Amazon

Why group these all together? Because one of the most promising features TikTok was starting to figure out in the U.S. was social commerce, to the tune of approximately $17.5b in sales in 2024.

And, since these sales happened through creator content who earned a commission for each purchase, that’s a lot of creators who need a place to go.

That probably explains why ShopMy was able to close a $77.5m investment round last week, WhatNot has been valued at nearly $5b, and LTK raised $300m led by SoftBank.

TikTok Shop walked so these others can run. That is, if TikTok truly goes away.

Note: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Clapper, LinkedIn Video, OTT platforms, Twitch, and all of the other Chinese short-form apps on this list, but alas, 10 is just too few for an ecosystem this big.

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FAME & FORTUNE:

Fortnite creators rejoice! Fortnite-creator Epic released a 2024 year in review that touted $352m paid out to their 70,000 creators. Creators are starting to take notice, with Typical Gamer launching his own Fortnite studio this year and using his sizable audience to promote his maps. Learn how to build in UEFN here!

Creators: survey your audience. Trust me. It helps sell brand deals and understand your audience. But long surveys for Amazon gift cards are so 2012. Use Opinari* instead. It’s a beautifully designed micro-survey that asks users to answer one question, then after answering, shows an ad, so you’re monetizing from your first user. I threw one on my Instagram stories, and the response was incredible!

BuyMeACoffee has always been an excellent default ‘tip me’ platform, but if you’re looking for a bit more heft, AsqMe is an interesting twist. They allow fans to pay a small amount of money to have their favorite creator answer a question, and they have a pretty cool AI feature that can train on your YouTube videos to automate answers.

Substack isn’t going to let beehiiv keep eating its lunch in the newsletter game! They launched a $20m creator fund to encourage creators to launch their communities with them. You can apply here.

*I get a small affiliate fee if you sign up

INDUSTRY HIRING:

Context needs a Content Marketing Lead for their web3 wallet tracking so you can finally see where those Trump coins went!

Komodo is looking for a Head of Creator Talent Management, and they’re ‘dragon’ brands into the 21st century!

SELFISH POST: My company, Fixated, is hiring roles in influencer marketing sales, talent operations, and talent management in senior-level, mid-level, and entry-level positions. If you want to hear more, send me a DM on LinkedIn and introduce yourself!

MEME ZONE:

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this edition, give it a share and if you get someone to sign up, I’ll send you my ‘10 Rep-Friendly Ways to Monetize Today!’ deck!

Until next time, protect yo rep.