TikTok is weighing major changes to the type of content it serves up, as evidenced by a new test rolling out today.
Per Aisha Malik at TechCrunch, the test enables some users to upload videos up to a duration of 60 minutes in length. This is a massive increase over the current 3-minute limitation and may carry big implications for TikTok’s future ambitions.
Will hour-long videos work on TikTok?
TikTok is no stranger to adjusting the time limit for video content. The current 3-minute limit was in place for a time before being upended by a 10-minute limit, then eventually reverting back to 3. Upon launch, 15 seconds was the TikTok sweet spot.
Making small tweaks to the length of videos certainly can have an impact on the trajectory of the service, and the type of content it provides. But supporting 60-minute videos is a much bigger deal, with the potential to usher in massive transformation for the social media platform.
TikTok says that while creators can weave multipart stories together by telling viewers to go to part two or more of a story, it often hears from creators who want more time for things like cooking demos, beauty tutorials, educational lesson plans, comedic sketches and more.
The purpose of the increased time limit is to give creators the opportunity to experiment with new or expanded types of content with more flexibility, the company says. Of course, this puts TikTok in even more direct competition with YouTube.
That final sentence is especially important. If TikTok goes after YouTube’s market, it could represent the first serious YouTube competitor in years.
Can it be successful? Or will it sacrifice the service’s uniqueness by opening the floodgates to long-form content?
9to5Mac’s Take
We don’t know how many users are included in this 60-minute test, but the very presence of a test at all shows that TikTok is getting serious about transforming its brand identity. While it built its reputation as being the king of short-form video content, it seems that’s no longer enough for the company.
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