TikTok's Algorithm: The Engine of Meme Mutation

With the U.S. tech partnership for TikTok being finalized, what happens if source code is excluded (and more specifically, the For You Page algorithm), given China’s revised export controls? But more broadly -- well beyond the specifics and politics of this deal -- what does the success of TikTok tell us about “creativity network effects”, where every additional creator makes the rest of the community more creative? How did "seeing like an algorithm" and the new age of algorithm-friendly product design enable the short video-sharing platform to grab massive marketshare in cultures and markets never experienced firsthand by the engineers and designers in China, beating out other dominant players and apps in the United States?

In this episode of 16 Minutes -- our show where we discuss what's in the news, tease apart what's hype/ what's real, and  where we are on the long arc of innovation  with specific tech trends with top experts -- Eugene Wei (former head of product at Hulu, Flipboard, and video at Oculus) joins us. We also touch on the future of entertainment, education, and the power and future of video.

full transcript here: https://a16z.com/2020/09/18/16mins-tiktok-seeing-like-an-algorithm-friendly-design-creativity-network-effects-video/

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