Feb 2024

TikTok is fun.

It is also full of digital landfill that rots the brain.

Fortunately for me, my hopes and dreams require a level of brain rot literacy. My TikTok is a tool that helps me understand which garbage is more valuable than the rest.

Truth be told, I enjoy the videos I post. I think they’re valuable.

Viral salesmen on TikTok will tell you that posting videos that you personally enjoy is a waste of your time. The path to success is hacking a viewer’s value system. This isn’t entirely false.

I do my research. I look at keywords, trends, popular discourse, etc. Pre-verified content is an important part of joining the algorithm; previously valued trash will still be valued by some.

However, I have found that my most popular videos produce content that I genuinely enjoy. My theory on why this works?

Authenticity!

I don’t want to deceive you. Authenticity should be the top note of a hook-heavy, visually stimulating, and culturally relevant video. There is plenty of viral fresh-hot garbage out there that lacks authenticity. I think you will find that users are quicker to exercise their fickle nature on these videos.

So, how do you know if your content is valuable?

There are key ways to measure this value:

1. Bookmarks - a user has valued this video so much that they will return to it in their bookshelf of garbage.

2. Shares - a user wants their friends to see the garbage they found. This video now becomes part of a broader culture’s value set.

3. Views + Likes - kind of useless?

4. I bet you disagree with that one.

5. You’re not wrong to. But hear me out.

6. As a part of the garbage-loving children that major brands seek to brain-hack, I can tell you that a like means almost as much as a friendly smile to a stranger. We do it to be kind. Sometimes for pity. Does that sound like a valuable interaction? It’s better than nothing, but it certainly isn’t the most valuable.

I would be pretty upset if my millions of views and likes disappeared tomorrow (for ego's sake and algorithm's sake). They’re still important! But a lasting impact is reflected in dms, follows, bookmarks and saves. The community you build is the true value of your content.

Take a look for yourself. I’d love to hear what you think.