159: The TikTok Ban + Its Impact on Writers

 

Unless something big happens, TikTok is set to be banned in the US on January 19, 2025. This will have a massive impact on writers and the writing community, which we discuss in this episode. 

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THE TIKTOK BAN + ITS IMPACT ON WRITERS

Hi friends, welcome back to your big creative life. Thanks for being here. I had something else planned for this week, but I'm recording this right after the Tiktok ban, right after the appeal was turned down. Essentially, the federal appeals court just ruled that the ban is still in place, which means, unless something miraculous happened, Tiktok is going to get banned in the US, January 19, which is just a matter of weeks away. It's not long at all. And so I wanted to do an episode talkingabout Tiktok specifically, because this is gonna have a huge impact on the writing community. I mean, I'm gonna talk in this episode about me specifically, but then also just writers books like this, whole community is gonna suffer if Tiktok does get banned, and it's a lot to wrestle with.

 

So like I said, if you're not in the US, you know, well, first of all, in this sense, at leastyou are fortunate, but you're still gonna have access to Tiktok. But I've seen a few comments when I've talked about the Tiktok ban on social media from people outside the US, who are like, it's gonna be so weird to not see my US friends, my American friends on this app anymore, which I totally understand. And I do want tosay first of all that I'm aware that there are a lot more heavy, important, serious things going on in the world, like I'm aware that this might seem very trivial on the surface, oh no, a social media app is going away.

 

But the reality is that Tiktok has changed the social media landscape forever. Tiktok has changed the lives of so many people, so many creators, so many small businesses, so many freelancers, so many authors and writers and so to trivialize it, or just shrug and say, What's the big deal? That it feels flippant to do that. And I think we really need to understand, I don't think we are yet able to understand, actually, the impact that this is going to have, even if we just look at the writing community, the book community. So I mentioned the appeals court ruling. So Tiktok was banned earlier this year, in April, in a piece of legislation that Congress passed, it had bipartisan support, and they set an effective date nine months in thefuture.

 

So unless bytedance divested their American their part of the company thatoperated in the US to an American owner, it was going to be banned. And so that'sJanuary 19. TiKtOK by dance immediately appealed and said, this is this goes against free speech. This isn't, this isn't a good idea. Also, it singles out one company, so they appeals it, and the federal appeals court in DC just recently issued their ruling and denied it, denied that appeal, said the government had a good case that there were security concerns, and so the ban is upheld. Now a couple things could happen that they have said that they're going to appeal it to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court has to agree to hear arguments they might not take the case on, so that's a big if, and that could possibly delayTiktok getting banned, but and then they could if they do agree to hear the case, then of course, the Supreme Court could just issue the same kind of ruling and say, Nope, the ban is still it still stands. There's still security concern. The ban is going to happen.

 

Trump has promised when he takes office, to stop the ban from happening, but it's impossible for him to do that. That's not how our government works, unless he putspressure on Congress to pass a new law that overrides that ban. But unless he does that, which doesn't seem likely, especially because the ban is set to go into effect January 19, I just don't know what he can get, what he can do realistically. So I mean, it's frustrating, it's maddening, it's sad. And again, if you're someone whose first instinct is to roll your eyes and say, Oh no, the poor influencers won't have Tiktok anymore, then you don't understand the power that Tiktok has on people's lives. Tiktok for most people, you.

 

It really got big during the pandemic, we were all home a lot, not really going about our normal lives, and that's when Tiktok really exploded. And I know for myself, like Tiktok brought a lot of comfort to me. I quickly became obsessed with it, and when I started creating content on Tiktok, there wasn't much in terms of writing content. There wasn't a big writing community. Book Talk was just growing. It was starting to get established. And I don't want to say that Tiktok started any ofthose things. There's been a massive writing community on YouTube for years. Bookstagram has been around for years. So it's not fair to say that Tiktok started any of these things, it's just that it allowed it to grow and flourish in a way that it hadn't, and I think, to reach people that it hadn't reached before. There's also, you know, Gen Z was kind of coming of age and using social media, creating content ina way that they weren't obviously like 10 years ago, when your options were really just Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, that kind of thing. And look, I don't want to preach. I don't want to preach in this episode either, but I just am.

 

So I'm concerned,first of all, just as an American citizen, I mean, the fact that they're banning an app without sharing any real information with the American public about what these supposed security concerns are, other than vague references to oh, they can. They have access to people's data and they can manipulate, you know, pro China sentiments. Well, tech companies have had access to our data for years. Every tech company does so the fact that they would single out by dance and single out Tiktok is so frustrating. But then  it's also concerning, on a personal note, for me with my business. I mean, I've shared that a significant portion of my revenue, of my clients, comes from Tiktok, like probably 80%.

 

I want to share, in case you didn't see this on on me, sharing about this on social media. I still can't I'm pinching myself that this happened. A reporter from the New York Times reached out to me yesterday, so I'm recording this on December 7, and she reached out to me on the sixth, and I happen to see the email. I don't check mywork email all that frequently, but I happen to see it, and she's like, Hey, you know, we're putting together a story on this. I'd love to talk to you. I saw your video because I posted a video on Tiktok reacting to the band.

 

And she said, Do you have time in the next few hours to talk? And thankfully, I saw it, so I was like, Yes, oh my gosh. And I gave her my number, and I didn't know when she was gonna call, and I didn't just want to sit around. So I had to run to thegrocery store to get some milk, because we were out and we weren't gonna have any milk for Audrey this morning. So I went to the grocery store, and of course, she called while I was shopping in the middle of the store, about to grab some milk, and I had some other stuff in my cart, so I'm like, shit. I can't run outside, like, abandon my car. I don't have time. I don't want to, I don't want to say, call me back. So I found the bathrooms, and I stood outside of the bathrooms in this little hallway and talked to a reporter from the New York Times, which is insane.

 

She we talked for about 15 minutes, and it's interesting. This is the second time thatI've talked to a reporter about the Tiktok ban. Actually, I was interviewed by someone at the Nashville scene earlier this year.Yeah, earlier this year. And it's always it's interesting to see. You know, we talked for 15 minutes. She asked me a lot of questions, and then in the actual article, there's, like, maybe two little things that I said, which is fine, because the article is, is sharing reactions from creators onthe Tiktok ban. So I'm there's a bunch of people that she interviewed that are kind of featured in this article, but it is kind of funny how, how that happens. So anyways, she just wanted to get a sense of how this would impact people who are who make a living from Tiktok, who are content creators or freelancers like myself. And she also wanted to get a sense of, okay, what makes Tiktok so special, like why? Why is it different there, as opposed to other platforms? And it was a good question, and it's one I've thought of. I mean, I just like the app better from a user perspective, from user experience, both of consuming content and then creating content, I find it so much easier, 100 times easier, to create content on Tiktok than Instagram.

 

So there's that, but then also, I don't know. There's just this sense of people who areon Tiktok and love Tiktok, love Tiktok, and it just seems like this kind of It sounds socheesy to say it, but it's like this big family where trends and little inside jokes happen on Tiktok that people who are not on Tiktok just don't understand. And, and I like that. I like that it feels like this little group of people who are, you know, like a little friend group or something. And there's also a massive writing community there, yes, and of course, again, the writing community is on YouTube, they're on X, they're on Instagram, they're everywhere.

 

But the writing community feels very passionate and very vocal and very supportive on Tiktok, and maybe part of that is just due to the algorithm being a little bit easier to grow. I found anyway, on Tiktok, I have the most followers on Tiktok, but I've made friends with writers from Tiktok. I've gotten encouragement and support and learn things about writing from Tiktok. It's inspired me in so many ways. It helps me feel less alone, and I can only imagine if it's had that impact on my life. I can only imagine how much of an impact it's had on other people's lives as well.

 

Writing is isolating. You know, we sit alone, staring at a computer screen by ourselves, and the fact that we can get plugged into a community online is so valuable and and I've, I've gotten lots of comments and received some messages of like, everyone's just gonna float over to Instagram. It's fine, and I hope that happens. I do hope that that people flood over to Instagram when Tiktok is no longer available for people in the US. But Instagram is different. It just is. It's a different user experience. It's a different app, different pieces of content do well. The algorithm is different. So to just shrug and say, people will migrate to Instagram. It's fine.

 

No, there's something special about Tiktok that we're gonna lose if Tiktok goes away. I know authors on Tiktok who have been able to quit their jobs, who have been able to put their books on Tiktok shop, who have been able toconnect with readers in a way that was not possible before Tiktok. So a ban is going to have a massive impact on those authors lives, and we can't ignore that, Instagram, YouTube, X, whatever. It's just not the same.And then, personally speaking, let me just share my own experience with it. I got on Tiktok, like I said, in 2020 and I started creating content.

 

Well, now I honestly can't remember. It was either summer of 2020 or summer of 2021 I can't remember, but I started posting writing tips, because I'm like, Well, let me You know, I was freelancing on the side. At the time. It was a side hustle, and I was like, Well, let me see if I can get some book editing clients. But I didn't, I didn't promote my services right away. I just created content. I created a ton of content. Ishared what I knew. I shared tips, and started growing. And then probably three months after I was on Tiktok, I got my first client from Tiktok specifically, which was awesome. And then probably eight months after I joined Tiktok, I was able to quit my job because of it, like it that would not have been possible if it weren't for Tiktok, because I would not have the number of followers, the small platform that I do have, like none of that would I wouldn't have any of that without Tiktok, and it would have been a struggle still to find clients, and I probably would have had to keep doing it on the side for a long time.

 

So Tiktok has changed my life in a massive way. And just on a personal note, I've grown so much creating content. It's not like I'm new to creating content, or I was new that Tiktok was the first time I was ever creating content. I created content on Instagram before I had a Bookstagram for a few years, but video content was new to me. Reels hadn't come out yet. Tiktok was sort of the first time that I dipped my toe into into video content. And it was terrifying at first, because I was like, I just felt so awkward on camera. I felt like I wanted to be seen, but I also didn't want to be seen. So I had all this stuff going on about visibility and being seen and self doubt, etc, but I did it anyway, and I got more comfortable on camera. And I am sograteful for that experience. I don't think I would have pushed myself if Tiktok hadn't come along to do video content, because I always just assumed it wasn't forme, because I'm shy, I'm an introvert, I'm not like a performer or anything. So I just assumed it, yeah, it just wasn't going to be for me. But I've grown so much.

 

I think that creating content and putting yourself out there online is something it teaches you so much, and it forces you to go through a lot of growth very quickly, like personal development type of stuff, to see what limiting beliefs you have, because you deal with criticism and you deal with people seeing you. And it bringsup all of these beliefs that you have. And so I've grown just so much through this process. I don't know it's I was watching a video from someone who I follow, who creates content around movies. J.stoobs, I think is her name, but she's a creator that I love, and I'm not really that into movies, but for whatever reason, I just really like her account. And I like her, I like watching her reviews of movies, and she was saying that, you know, it is tempting to just laugh and shrug and say, like, Tiktok ban, like, people will be fine. They'll figure it out. But the reality is that the economyis really hard right now. The job market is very difficult right now, and there are hundreds of 1000s of people who rely on Tiktok as their source of income, their only source of income, or their main source of income.

 

So it is having a massive boost to the economy. And when all of that goes away, how are those people gonna what are those people gonna do? I do hope, if you're listening to this and you don't follow me on YouTube or Instagram. Hint, hint, gentle nudge, go follow me there. And I do hope there's a massive, you know, transfer, where people do follow the their other the creators that they follow on different platforms. But it's not a guarantee that people will do that. So there's no guarantee that, you know, someone with a big platform on Tiktok will have a big platform on another social media app. I don't know.

 

It's just it's gonna have a huge impact on people's livelihoods. Like I said, 80% of my clients come from Tiktok, and I'm a little anxious about it, to be perfectly honest. And I sometimes I hesitate about sharing business related stuff when it comes to revenue or finances, because I never want anyone listening to this podcast or consuming my social media content -- I never want anyone in my community to feel like they're just $1 sign to me that I view my small, tiny platform as like an opportunity to just get rich. I mean, it's laughable to think of getting rich if you're a book editor, it's impossible, but I never want anyone to feel that way, butit but the reality is, is that I this is how I support myself, and I'm able to create free content because I have paying clients who pay me to hire to edit their books, and then I also have coaching clients who I work with for six months that pay me to help them in the process of writing their book. So if I'm not making money doing those things, I'm not able to create all of this free content. And I want to create, keep creating the content. I want to be doing the podcast for free. I want to be doing free social media content.

 

It's just the nature of it, like I have to be able to support myself somehow. And I've already been feeling a lot of stress this year. Just to be transparent, I've already been feeling stress this year about AI and its role in the book world, because AI is here to stay. It's not going anywhere. And there are people who I imagine would have considered using an editor in the past, and now think that AI is fine, that they don't need to hire an editor because they've got AI, which breaks my heart. Number one, because the quality can only imagine. But number two, it is a scary thing for this industry. I don't know if book editors in this capacity, doing what I do, will exist in 15 years. I don't know, and so part of me is questioning my long term goals. I mean, I've always said, you know, I'd love to be an author, and that's still what I'm working towards.

 

But it does make me wonder about this field, in this industry, and what it's going to look like over the next 5, 10, 15 years, especially if Tiktok gets banned. All of this is related, and even if you think about book talk, I mean, I talked about indie authors who have been able to make a living selling their books on Tiktok with Tiktok shop,or even not without, even without Tiktok shop. But book talk has led to this resurgence, and book talk has a massive impact on publishing, like traditional publishing, and we can't ignore that. When something catches on, on book talk, there's a massive financial gain for publishers. And TikTok going away, you know? And look, I maybe this is all doom and gloom that I'm projecting. Maybe everythingwill everyone will transfer over to Instagram. Maybe there's going to be, in a coupleof weeks, a new kind of US based Tiktok app will come out. It's like a dupe of it, and everyone will flood over there, and it'll be totally fine, I don't know, but it just feels like a big loss for the book community, for the writing community.

 

It is. So I wanted to record this episode, I guess, just to share my thoughts on it, andmaybe some behind the scenes too. In case your first thought when you heard about the band, it's just like, Yeah, whatever. We'll see. We'll see what happens. You know, like I mentioned at the beginning, there is a chance that it will the band will get overturned. So it's not the end of the road for Tiktok. I'm going to continue posting on there, but it's not going to be my main focus, because it's hard to think about investing time and energy and creativity into an app that might just be gonein a couple of weeks or a couple of months, even if the ban gets extended. So those are my thoughts on the Tiktok ban.

 

It sucks. It really sucks. And it feels like we're kind of powerless as American citizens to do anything about this, because the legislation has already been passed. It's already been the appeal has already been overturned. Like at this point, I guess wecan put pressure on Congress, but given how slow and out of touch Congress is, I don't have faith in that either. This just sucks, because one thing that I did find interesting, one last thought I want to share is right after the ban was the appeal was denied, and that ruling came out yesterday, there were all these people who were like, oh, lemon eight lemonade is going to be the next thing. Everyone will jus transfer over to lemonade.

 

Well, I looked into this, and I'm not, please don't quote me on this. I'm not a lawyer, but I did look at the legislation, and it seems to be pretty clear that it's a foreign adversary controlled something act, and it's pretty clear that Congress considers bite, dance and any subsidiary parent company thatexists, or will exist to be included under to be included in the definition of a foreign adversary, and therefore be included in the ban which lemonade is a subsidiary ofbytedance. Bytedance is their parent company, so that indicates to me that, yeah, lemonade isgoing to get banned as well. And cap cut also, I edit in cap cut. I love cap cut. I didn't know that that was owned by bytedance, but apparently it is. So that could go away too. But I'll link to the legislation just in case you are curious.

 

I don't know. I guess we'll just again. It's one of those things. We'll see what happens, and maybe my doomsday predictions will not be true and everything will be fine, and Tiktok will be saved. We can hope for that, but also prepare for it to go away. I think that's good to kind of set our expectations about it, and we'll find out soon. I mean, the ban is set to go into effect January 19, so it's not going to be that long either. It's going to get appealed, and the Supreme Court will hear the case, and then that'll get extended, or, you know, bytedance has not made any sort of they've not hinted that they're willing to divest and sell a portion of it, and I don't think that they would scramble in the next couple of weeks and do that either. But who knows? I guess that's another possibility that could happen. So maybe an American buyer will save the day if they're willing to sell. That is okay. Well, I'll see you on Instagram and YouTube for sure. I'm @katiewolfwrites the same exact user name that I'm on that I have on Tiktok and yeah, we'll just see what happens. Thank you so much for listening.

Katie Wolf