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☆ TikTok and its owner ramped up their hiring from China, even as Congress raised national security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

669 of the 1,089 approved US H-1B hires for TikTok and ByteDance in that fiscal year were from China. The hiring occurred as US officials raised concerns about TikTok's ties to China. Only 12% of all approved fiscal year 2023 H-1B applications were for Chinese nationals, compared to 61% of TikTok and ByteDance's approved applications. AdvertisementEven as TikTok has taken steps to downplay its association with China, its owner, ByteDance, continues to operate in the US. The company has also used TikTok's Chinese sister app, Douyin, as a testing ground for features that ultimately end up on TikTok.

Persons: —, ByteDance, US Sen, Tom Cotton, Cotton, Alejandro Mayorkas, ByteDance's, China TikTok, TikTok, Trump Organizations: TikTok, Service, Companies, Citizenship, Immigration Services, Business, US Data Security, Chinese Communist Party, US, Homeland, India, National Intelligence Locations: China, Beijing, ByteDance, California, Taiwan, Canada, Vietnam

☆ Noplace is the hottest new app on the charts. Its founder spills on how it went viral and plans to skirt becoming a 'fad.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Alexandra Bacon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The social media app is the brainchild of 27-year-old serial founder and investor Tiffany "TZ" Zhong, whose tech career took off in her late-teens. Instead of stressing over carefully curated posts, the app encourages users to share their stream-of-consciousness thoughts directly to the feed. According to its App Store description, it aims to harken back to the social media era before "algos and ads" took over. She particularly follows the behavior of Noplace's "power users," some of whom even spend between eight and 10 hours on the app, Zhong said. And at a time when social media platforms are prioritizing entertainment over social interactions, Noplace feels timely.

Persons: —, Tiffany, Zhong, you've, It's, Noplace, Nospace, …, Alexis Ohanian, it's, There's Organizations: Service, Twitter, Apple, Business, Noplace's, Big Locations: Noplace, Reddit

Read previewTikTok's owner ByteDance is pushing a new campaign this week to promote its Pinterest-like app, Lemon8, according to three sources familiar with the effort. AdvertisementThe "100 Bucket List Ideas" promotion is the latest in a series of pushes by Lemon8 to pay influencers to plug the app. AdvertisementThe company has been using influencer promotions for Lemon8 since early 2023 when ByteDance sought to jump-start app downloads as it rolled out in the US and UK. While Lemon8 has by no means achieved the usage levels of its sister app TikTok, it has gradually gained an audience in the US and abroad. AdvertisementByteDance is also trying to grow other content-creation apps outside of TikTok and Lemon8, including its widely popular CapCut video-editing tool.

Persons: —, ByteDance, influencers, they've, Lemon8 Organizations: Service, Business, Apple, Lemon8, TikTok Locations: Lemon8, TikTok

☆ Social Media Is Dead: Instagram, TikTok Replaced by Group Chats, Messaging
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Frustrated with the state of the platform, Breuning launched the "Make Instagram Instagram Again'' crusade in 2022. Influencers, marketers, average users, and even social-media executives agree: Social media, as we once knew it, is dead. Social media to social mediaNo app better defines the changing nature of social media than Instagram. "I'm honestly just tired of social media," said 23-year-old Walid Malb, who works in the creator economy. Amanda Perelli is a senior creator economy reporter covering social media influencers, advertising and marketing trends for Insider.

Persons: Tati, everyone's, Bruening, Breuning, algorithmically, Kylie Jenner, Adam Mosseri, Instagram, Jeffrey Gerson, Sarah Frier, Influencers, Mosseri, Hannah Stowe, Andrea Casanova, Casanova, I'm, Walid Malb, —, Gerson, Nina Haines, Victoria Johnston, Johnston, Lia Haberman, Alpha, they're, Haberman, wouldn't, Amanda Perelli, Bradley Organizations: Bloomberg, Apple, Twitter, UCLA, American Influencer Council, Social, . Locations: Instagram, New York, Similarweb, Castro, Geneva

☆ Chinese apps remain hugely popular in the U.S. despite efforts to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

But while TikTok has been the one in the spotlight, other Chinese apps that present similar issues are also experiencing massive popularity in the U.S. Gorman said as the U.S. considers the threat posed by TikTok, it will also need to develop a framework for how to evaluate the relative risk of Chinese apps. But in the meantime, U.S. consumers continue to turn to Chinese apps. "And then of course, there's the early growth of Lemon8, which suggests that the appetite for Chinese apps in the U.S. is still growing." And some say the most effective long-term solution for curbing the use of Chinese apps may be fostering an environment for robust alternatives to grow.

☆ TikTok creators just filed a lawsuit to fight Montana's ban on the app. They say it tramples their rights.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A group of TikTok creators have filed the first lawsuit against Montana's ban on the app. — Five TikTok content creators have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Montana's first-in-the-nation ban on the video sharing app, arguing the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights. Opponents say Montana residents could easily circumvent the ban by using a virtual private network. President Joe Biden's administration initially shelved those plans, but more recently threatened to ban the app if the company's Chinese owners don't sell their stakes. TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has also released another so-called "sister app" to TikTok across the globe as talks of bans have mounted, called Lemon8.

☆ Temu accused of data risks after sister app was suspended for malware
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Stefani Reynolds | Afp | Getty ImagesThe U.S. has accused discount shopping site Temu of possible data risks after its Chinese sister app was pulled from Google's app store over "malware" — but analysts say they're not that worried. Google called it an "identified malicious app" and urged users to uninstall the Pinduoduo app, but the Chinese online retailer denied those claims. Kevin Reed chief information security officer, Acronis"There should be no need for biometric data to be stored on an e-commerce website or app. Data risksIn a report on Chinese "fast fashion" platforms published in April, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission accused Temu and Shein of posing possible data risks. Shein and Temu "primarily rely on U.S. consumers downloading and using Chinese apps to curate and deliver products," said the report.

☆ Montana governor bans TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Greg Gianforte signed a bill Wednesday banning TikTok in the state. The bill, which will take effect in January, specifically names TikTok as its target, prohibiting the app from operating within state lines. In a statement to CNN, TikTok said it would push to defend the rights of users in Montana. “Governor Gianforte has signed a bill that infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok, a platform that empowers hundreds of thousands of people across the state. NetChoice, a technology trade group that includes TikTok as a member, called the Montana bill unconstitutional.

☆ Despite TikTok ban threat, influencers are flocking to a new app from its parent company
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

However, they denied rumors that ByteDance had paid creators to promote the new app on TikTok. Still, the app lacks some standard social platform features such as messaging and the option to tag other users in posts. Lemon8’s userbase remains a far cry from the 150 million users TikTok says it has in the United States. By launching a new app even with TikTok in the spotlight, “ByteDance clearly doesn’t feel like they’re at risk,” Lewis said. Even if TikTok and Lemon8 were banned, Cruz said, “I already have a following on all the other platforms.”

☆ TikTok ban is the least palatable of options
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Montana is following a movement around the United States to try to keep Americans from using TikTok. That has consequences: The United States has never pulled a platform used by so many people to communicate. China, which before TikTok had never cracked the U.S. market with a successful social media network, is unlikely to let ByteDance part with TikTok. More recently the company had been working with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to ease concerns. TikTok users in the United States could still binge on short videos, but the company – and its rivals – would face tougher constraints.

☆ ByteDance is pushing a new app in the U.S. as TikTok faces a ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

While political scrutiny continues to intensify on the widely popular short video app TikTok in the U.S. and across the world, Lemon8 owned by ByteDance is going viral. Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesChinese tech giant ByteDance is pushing another social media app in the U.S. — even as its flagship short video app TikTok faces a possible ban stateside. It seems like ByteDance is pushing Lemon8 as a potential alternative to TikTok," said Lindsay Gorman, senior fellow for emerging tech at the German Marshall Fund. But Lemon8's links to ByteDance and TikTok will come under the radar of U.S. regulators too, especially as the app continues to rise in popularity. Not a solutionCreating another app to replace TikTok is not a quick solution for ByteDance, the analysts said.

☆ Why banning TikTok could be a bad idea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Download Insider's app here. Screenshots from Lemon8 app, Ese Nuesiri / Shantania Beckford1. The rise of Lemon8 proves how pointless a TikTok ban would be. The US government wants to ban TikTok, but its parent company ByteDance is coming out with a new app aimed at the US market. Paayal writes that even if the US banned TikTok, Lemon8 would still exist.

☆ The viral success of Bytedance's new app Lemon8 shows just how pointless a TikTok ban would be
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amid talk of a TikTok ban, its Chinese parent company Bytedance is pushing a new app in the US called Lemon8. The early success of Lemon8 shows how banning TikTok wouldn't actually solve anything, experts say. As calls for a national TikTok ban escalate, its China-based parent company Bytedance is pushing a new app in the US called Lemon8. In fact, beyond TikTok and Lemon8, Bytedance has another success in its US portfolio: CapCut, a video-editing app. For Lemon8, Bytedance is pushing hard to get creators on the new app.

☆ Salesforce employees are not happy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

That said, there's plenty happening in tech news, from Salesforce layoffs to an unusual new perk for Meta employees. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Salesforce1. Employees aren't happy about how the cloud giant is handling its plan to cut 10% of its workforce. The cost-cutting did help Salesforce avoid a proxy battle for control of its board, as activist investors pushed for Salesforce to focus on efficiency. Read why Salesforce employees are upset at how the company is handling layoffs.

☆ TikTok sister app Lemon8 is hiring staffers in New York for a US creator team as its downloads surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Dan Whateley | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

ByteDance's fast-growing app Lemon8 is building out its creator partnerships team in the US. Lemon8, a social platform from TikTok's parent company that recently rolled out in the US, is starting to build out its creator partnerships team in New York as it looks to expand. The company also has similar creator partnerships roles listed on its jobs site for new hires in London, Jakarta, and Bangkok. ByteDance's push to build out its Lemon8 creator team comes at a tenuous moment for the company as its flagship app TikTok faces threats of a ban or forced divestment in the US. Outside of offering to pay some creators to post on its app, Lemon8 has suggested other incentives to encourage US creators to join its partner program.

☆ TikTok's parent ByteDance is developing a new 'AI-based' learning platform called GeniusJoy that it will test overseas
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

TikTok's parent ByteDance is developing a new 'AI-based' learning tool called GeniusJoy. TikTok's parent company ByteDance is developing a new learning platform for children that the company is referring to as GeniusJoy, per two job postings on its website and a June trademark filing by a company subsidiary. GeniusJoy will adopt "Singapore math pedagogy" for its program, per ByteDance's job listing. ByteDance, which is headquartered in Beijing, has released a variety of educational products in the past centered on Chinese consumers. The company also once operated a learning app called Guagua Long, a course-livestreaming platform dubbed Qingbei, and an English-language tutoring app named GoGoKid.

☆ TikTok owner ByteDance has quietly launched a new app, Lemon8, in the US and UK, and is paying creators to post
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

TikTok owner ByteDance has quietly launched a new app in the UK and the US called Lemon8. Creators said they're getting paid to post on the app, which they described as Instagram meets Pinterest. TikTok owner ByteDance has quietly launched a new app called Lemon8 in the UK and the US, and is paying creators to post on it, according to industry insiders. The app launched in Japan in 2020, and has since also expanded to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore. ByteDance has been paying creators in the UK to post on the app in recent weeks, three influencers told Insider.

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