TikTok Now is a new feature by the famous app which sends a notification to users encouraging them to go candid and take a quick photo or a video of what they are up to at the moment. The app went fully copycat mode “stealing” the whole concept behind the BeReal app.
TikTok calls it a “daily photo and video experience to share your most authentic moments with the people who matter most.”
But in reality, although it’s your friends, who would be notified first in case you post, other users can also take a peek at your “authentic moment” if they also share one.
Why does the new feature matter to journalists?
Many individual journalists and publications have been on the app for a while, experimenting with what works well, trends and sounds. Now that most of them got the hang of it, hopping on the new trend could get them closer to the audience.
The content would be available to the users that have also posted or are about to post during the day but will remain hidden from those who haven’t, so that’s where it gets tricky.
Whether it’s a behind the scenes shot of a busy news day, a sneak peek into tomorrow’s edition, or whatever the journalist decides to capture, it will most definitely bring the viewers closer to them and make them more memorable.
At the same time, there will be users who don’t want to post but while randomly scrolling may encounter a blurred image of a journalist’s post and don’t approve of their choice to “gatekeep” whatever is behind it.
TikTok has left users with an option and journalists with a dilemma to contemplate: to post or not to post. What would you do?