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is6621 · 3 years

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Are Virtual Influencers The Next Big Thing? by Katy Lee

In recent years, K-pop has gained worldwide recognition. One of the unique traits of K-pop is that they always tend to be in groups. Within the industry, almost a new group debuts every week, so when I heard another girl group was making a debut I didn’t think much about it. Until I heard their concept, something unique and has never been done within the Korean Music industry, virtual members. I was always used to real people/ members being part of a K-pop group, however, in a recent announcement recently made by South Korea’s top entertainment company, SM Entertainment, they are planning to debut a new venture group that mixes humans with virtual members. Yes, virtual members that are AIs. The K-pop group “aespa” is set to debut in the next week to turn a new page in the chapter of Kpop. The group’s name, “aespa”, is derived from the words “avatar,” “experience,” and “aspect.” It has been said that the real-life members of aespa will continue real-world promotions like other Kpop stars going on concerts and live performances. Within the virtual world, their avatars will engage with fans in new and unique ways. The concept draws inspiration from several musical performances within video games like Fortnite and Roblox. The founder of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo Man said “the avatar members have AI brains that allow for them to converse and to support the real members, even befriending them, sharing information, as well as going back and forth from one world to another.”

We’ve seen the rise of virtual influencers and pop-stars like Lil Miquela and Japan’s Hatsune Miku. But what if real-life and virtual idols came together in one K-pop group? When I first heard this, I had mixed emotions. Not only is this a new concept to me but I was curious to see how successful it will actually be. It’s pretty common to see computer graphics and technology being utilized for music videos and virtual influencers/ pop-stars is not a totally new concept. We’ve seen artists like Travis Scott, Marshmello, and others are already exploiting their digital selves for a massive gain. The Travis Scott Fortnite concert event was one of the most-watched in-game concerts ever. However, seeing a combination of the virtual and real-world is unheard of and a bit creepy for me.

The purpose of creating these virtual stars is to solve problems and perform actions that real pop-stars cannot achieve. Real celebrities deals with lots of scandals, but avatars won’t have that problem and fans can essentially interact with them anywhere and anytime they want. The avatars are capable of doing things you cannot directly do with your favorite celebrity. Imagine an avatar of your favorite celebrity being created and being together with him/her, next to you. Kind of creepy or uniquely attractive? This news had stirred quite a controversy across K-pop fans. They find the idea of fans “owning” their idols problematic, especially when “aespa” is made up of young women. Others also think virtual idols will only make fans, some dangerously obsessive, more far removed from reality. Fans dislike the ambiguity of mixing a fake and real world together. Many people think that this will further perpetuate “sasaeng” fan behaviors. A term widely used in Korea to describe obsessive fans who stalk or engage in behaviors that invade an idol's privacy. It is not uncommon for sasaengs fans to go through extreme measures to see their idols in Korea, which is why “aespa’s” concept it worrying many people.

While there are many factors to be worried about, I can see how this concept can be successful. Given that virtual idols have proven to be popular and it has been done before. For example, Hatsune Miku, a character developed by computer programs and has appeared on billboards, in TV commercials, and gave sold-out concerts to fans all over the world. The main reason for Hatsune Miku's success is that at some point she stopped being looked at as a software program and started being treated as a legitimate pop star. Miku's virtual status has allowed her to easily move into forms of media often ignored by real-world idols. If done properly, this can be the case for “asepa” as well. SM Entertainment might change the future for not only K-pop but other countries. We have seen technology being gradually integrated into the music industry as a whole especially with the pandemic and more virtual events, “aespa’s” concept might not be completely bizarre. I’m curious to see the results of this launch and whether it’ll be a it a miss. Should we be expecting more artists to opt to become an avatar whether it may be in games, music or another platform entirely?

Sources:

https://reputationtoday.in/virtual-influencers-the-next-big-thing/

https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/10/29/k-pop-group-aespa-introduction/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvxxgd/aespa-kpop-music-girl-group-virtual-sm

https://kotaku.com/why-hatsune-miku-is-the-worlds-most-popular-virtual-ido-5936200#:~:text=With%20Miku's%20Vocaloid%202%20in,primed%20for%20her%20big%20break.&text=And%20because%20of%20the%20ease,covers%20of%20popular%20Japanese%20songs.

https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/aespa-ai-lee-sooman-sm-entertainment_in_5f9a4b71c5b6a4a2dc823ae6

https://www.soompi.com/article/1433733wpp/watch-sm-drops-mysterious-teaser-launches-twitter-account-for-something-called-aespa

https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-k-pop-band-include-cgi-performer

#is6621

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aquilaaktuk · 4 years

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things that have happened to me part 1

I’m doing this because I have an unbeatable urge to complain about normal things that happen to everyone, but that’s irrelevant. Some days not enough will happen, and some days I just won’t be arsed. This account is mostly a joke.

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My family made me go outside for a walk because apparently I’m going grey due to lack of exposure to the sun, little do they know I go on a healthy stroll everyday after school in my main survival world, and sometimes even walk the dog. It was alright, there were some geese, and I had traumatic flashbacks to the P.E lesson where we were walking to the hockey pitch and I saw a goose, so my first move was to sprint up to it, flailing my arms around and screaming. Then it started chasing me. I don’t like geese much. These geese were no different.

After that ordeal we were going back home, and I was getting ready to assume the fetal position at my desk to enjoy some quality fan fiction when my mum dropped the news that I had to stay in the general vicinity of the garden so that I could at least remain exposed to the sun. I don’t read fan fiction in front of my family, because they start to pry. They don’t want to see my library. I worked on a drawing that was knocking around in my files instead. It’s still not done. We had an uneventful lunch, and I finally found peace in the bathroom. I found a really good fic. Too bad it was unfinished and hadn’t been updated since late 2017. And I thought there was hope.

I watched the birds for a while. A few robins, coal tits, starlings, crows, blackbirds, and pigeons graced the garden. I wanted to see a blue jay. I know they live in my area. I’ve seen them before here. It’s been months since one last appeared in the garden. I only like blue jays for their appearance. They clearly think they’re too good for the garden, which sucks, because we have a bird feeder when I remember to set it up.

I want to change my Roblox username. The account is four years old, and RayquazaLemon seems a bit juvenile. Too bad I have to pay 1000 robux to do it. I’d make a new account, but I’m rank 55 on Phantom Forces, and I like my current weapons. I wish there was a gifting feature. Then I wouldn’t have this problem.

My mum asked if I’d spoken with any of my friends lately. I sent Tizz a meme about depression. The conversation lasted about three minutes. Pretty successful interaction, if I don’t say so myself.

Feeling good, might actually listen to music that isn’t on my ‘lonely’ playlist. Might go to the ‘unshit’ playlist. See, I’m changing things up.

Wild.

#lifeisfun #hahajk

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nahoo883 · 5 years

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It’s time to pay serious attention to TikTok

If you haven’t been paying attention to TikTok, you haven’t been paying attention. The short-form video app hailing from Beijing’s ByteDance just had its biggest month ever with the addition of 75 million new users in December — a 275 percent increase from the 20 million it added in December 2017, according a recent report from Sensor Tower.

Despite its rapid rise, there are still plenty of people — often, older people — who aren’t quite sure what TikTok is.

TikTok is often referred to as a “lip-syncing” app, which makes it sound like it’s some online karaoke experience. But a closer comparison would be Vine, Twitter’s still sorely missed short-form video app whose content lives on as YouTube compilations.

While it’s true that TikTok is home to some standard lip-syncing, it’s actually better known for its act-out memes backed by music and other sound clips, which get endlessly reproduced and remixed among its young users.

youtube

Its tunes are varied — pop, rap, R&B, electro and DJ tracks serve as backing for its 15-second video clips. But the sounds may also be snagged from YouTube music videos (see: I Baked You A Pie above), SoundCloud or from pop culture — like weird soundbites from Peppa Pig or Riverdale — or just original creations.

These memes-as-videos reference things familiar to Gen Z, like gaming culture (see below). They come in the form of standalone videos, reactions, duets, mirrors/clones and more.

youtube

The app has been growing steadily since it acquired its U.S.-based rival Musical.ly in November 2017 for north of $800 million, then merged the two apps’ user bases last August.

This gave TikTok the means to grow in Western markets, where it has attracted the interest of U.S. celebrities like Jimmy Fallon and Tony Hawk, for example, along with YouTubers on the hunt for the next new thing.

But unlike Vine (RIP), YouTube or Instagram, TikTok doesn’t yet feel dominated by micro-celebs, though they certainly exist.

Instead, its main feed often surfaces everyday users — aka, amateurs — doing something cute, funny or clever, with a tacit acknowledgement that “yes, this is an internet joke” underlying much of the content.

youtube

Okay, okay.

Sometimes these videos are described as “cringey.”

But that’s because those of us trying to talk about TikTok are old(er) people who grew up on the big ol’ mean internet.

Cringey, frankly, is an unfair label, as it dismisses TikTok’s success in setting a tone for its community. Here, users will often post and share unapologetically wholesome content, and receive less mocking than elsewhere on the web — largely because everyone else on TikTok posts similar “cringey” content, too.

You might not know this, however, if your only exposure to TikTok comes from YouTube’s TikTok Cringe Compilations. But spend a day in the (oddly addictive) TikTok feed, and you’ll find a whole world of video that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the web — including on YouTube. Videos that are weird, sure — but also fun to watch.

youtube

It’s a stark comparison to the existing social media platforms.

Users today are engaged in the culture wars on Twitter (ban the Nazis! protect free speech!), while YouTubers are gaming the algorithm with hateful, exploitive, dangerous and otherwise questionable content that freaks out advertisers. And Facebook is, well, contributing to war crimes and the toppling of democracy.

Meanwhile, TikTok presents an alternative version of online sharing. Simple, goofy, irreverent — and frankly, it’s a much needed reset.

For example, some of the popular TikTok memes have included videos of kids proclaiming what a great mom they have, as they drag her into frame, or they remind people to pick up litter and conserve water. They might give themselves silly, but self-affirming makeovers where, afterwards, they cite themselves not as “cute” but rather “drop. dead. gorgeous.”

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They might spend hours setting up gummy bears as Adele concert-goers, learning how to do a shuffle dance up a set of stairs or in a dance battle their dad. Or they may showcase some special talent — drawing, painting, gymnastics, dance or skateboarding, perhaps. They do science experiments, make jokes or use special effects for a little video magic.

They shout out “hit or miss!” in public places and wait to see who answers. (Look it up.)

Sometimes it’s dumb, Sometimes it’s clever. But it’s addictive.

youtube

Of course, it is still the internet. And TikTok isn’t perfect.

The app has also been the subject of troubling reports about its “dark” side, which is reportedly filled with child predators and teens bullying and harassing one another. It’s not clear, however, that TikTok’s affliction with these matters is any worse than any other large, social, public-by-default app of its size.

And unlike some apps, concerned parents — or the users themselves — can set a TikTok account to private, turn off commenting, hide the account from search, disable downloads, disallow reactions and duets and restrict an account from receiving messages.

It is concerning, however, that under-13 kids are setting up social media accounts without parental consent. (But, uh, have you seen Fortnite and Roblox? This is what kids do. At least the TikTok main feed isn’t worrisome, we’ve found.)

The bigger issue, though — and one that could ultimately prove damaging to TikTok — is whether it will be able to keep up with content filtering and takedown requests, or handle its security and privacy protection issues as it scales up.

Content and community aren’t the only things contributing to TikTok’s growth.

While Vine may have introduced the concept of short-form video, TikTok made video editing incredibly simple. You don’t need to be a video expert to put together clips with a range of effects. It’s the Instagram for the mobile video age — in a way that Instagram itself won’t be able to reproduce, having already aligned its community with influencers and advertisers.

TikTok’s sizable user base, meanwhile, is due not only to its growth in Western markets, but because of its traction in emerging markets like China and India.

This allowed TikTok to rank No. 4 worldwide across iOS and Android, combined, according to App Annie’s data on the most-downloaded apps of 2018. On iOS, TikTok was the No. 1 most-downloaded app of the year, mainly thanks to China.

At times last year, TikTok even ranked higher than Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.

Both App Annie and Sensor Tower agree that TikTok scored the No. 3 position for most installs among all apps worldwide in 2018.

Now, TikTok is growing in India, says Sensor Tower.

The country accounted for 27 percent of new installs between December 2017 and December 2018, and last month was the source for 32.3 million of TikTok’s 75 million total new downloads — a 25x increase from last year.

Some of this growth comes from ad spend, according to a report from Apptopia, which examined the app’s widened use of ad networks. (It’s also driving people bonkers with its YouTube ads).

The revenue is starting to arrive, as well.

Worldwide, users spent $6 million tipping their favorite live streamers, a 253 percent year-over-year jump from December 2017’s total of $1.7 million, Sensor Tower estimates. But live streaming is not the default activity on TikTok — it added the feature after shutting down Musical.ly’s live streaming app, Live.ly.

Above: full-screen ad in TikTok when app is first launched; spotted today

Think this is the first real ad campaign I’ve seen on @tiktok_us. @kerrymflynn pic.twitter.com/zt3JcSYCz0

— chris harihar (@chrisharihar) January 26, 2019

Above: an ad appearing earlier this month

TikTok is also starting to test in-app advertising, and is being eyed by agencies as a result. When you launch TikTok, you may see a full-page splash screen ad of some kind — though the company has not officially launched ad products.

But the brands are starting to take notice. This week, for example, TikTok collaborated with SportsManias, an officially licensed NFL Players Association partner, for the introduction of NFL-themed AR animated stickers in time for the Super Bowl. The move feels like a test for how well branded content will perform within the TikTok universe, but the company says it’s “not an ad deal.”

The company also declined to say how many are today using TikTok.

However, parent company ByteDance had publicly stated last year that it had 500 million monthly active users when it announced the app’s rebranding post-merger. It has yet to release new numbers for its global user base.

That said, ByteDance just shared updated stats for China only, on all versions of the TikTok app (including the non-Google Play Android version). It says that TikTok now has 500 million monthly active users in China alone.

Sensor Tower today estimates TikTok has grown to nearly 800 million lifetime installs, not counting Android in China.

Factoring in those Android in China installs, it’s fair to say this app has topped 1 billion downloads.

Here comes the new new internet, folks. It’s big, dominated by emerging markets, mobile, video, meme-ified, and goes viral both online and off.

So if you haven’t been paying attention to TikTok, you may want to get started.

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readersforum · 5 years

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It’s time to pay serious attention to TikTok

New Post has been published on http://www.readersforum.tk/its-time-to-pay-serious-attention-to-tiktok-2/

It’s time to pay serious attention to TikTok

Despite its rapid rise, there are still plenty of people — often, older people — who aren’t quite sure what TikTok is.

youtube

These memes-as-videos reference things familiar to Gen Z, like gaming culture (see below). They come in the form of standalone videos, reactions, duets, mirrors/clones and more.

youtube

The app has been growing steadily since it acquired its U.S.-based rival Musical.ly in November 2017 for north of $800 million, then merged the two apps’ user bases last August.

But unlike Vine (RIP), YouTube or Instagram, TikTok doesn’t yet feel dominated by micro-celebs, though they certainly exist.

youtube

Okay, okay.

Sometimes these videos are described as “cringey.”

But that’s because those of us trying to talk about TikTok are old(er) people who grew up on the big ol’ mean internet.

youtube

It’s a stark comparison to the existing social media platforms.

Meanwhile, TikTok presents an alternative version of online sharing. Simple, goofy, irreverent — and frankly, it’s a much needed reset.

youtube

They shout out “hit or miss!” in public places and wait to see who answers. (Look it up.)

Sometimes it’s dumb, Sometimes it’s clever. But it’s addictive.

youtube

Of course, it is still the internet. And TikTok isn’t perfect.

Content and community aren’t the only things contributing to TikTok’s growth.

TikTok’s sizable user base, meanwhile, is due not only to its growth in Western markets, but because of its traction in emerging markets like China and India.

At times last year, TikTok even ranked higher than Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.

Both App Annie and Sensor Tower agree that TikTok scored the No. 3 position for most installs among all apps worldwide in 2018.

Now, TikTok is growing in India, says Sensor Tower.

Some of this growth comes from ad spend, according to a report from Apptopia, which examined the app’s widened use of ad networks. (It’s also driving people bonkers with its YouTube ads).

The revenue is starting to arrive, as well.

Above: full-screen ad in TikTok when app is first launched; spotted today

Think this is the first real ad campaign I’ve seen on @tiktok_us. @kerrymflynn pic.twitter.com/zt3JcSYCz0

— chris harihar (@chrisharihar) January 26, 2019

Above: an ad appearing earlier this month

The company also declined to say how many are today using TikTok.

Sensor Tower today estimates TikTok has grown to nearly 800 million lifetime installs, not counting Android in China.

Factoring in those Android in China installs, it’s fair to say this app has topped 1 billion downloads.

Here comes the new new internet, folks. It’s big, dominated by emerging markets, mobile, video, meme-ified, and goes viral both online and off.

So if you haven’t been paying attention to TikTok, you may want to get started.

0 notes

technicalsolutions88 · 5 years

Link

Despite its rapid rise, there are still plenty of people — often, older people — who aren’t quite sure what TikTok is.

These memes-as-videos reference things familiar to Gen Z, like gaming culture (see below). They come in the form of standalone videos, reactions, duets, mirrors/clones and more.

The app has been growing steadily since it acquired its U.S.-based rival Musical.ly in November 2017 for north of $800 million, then merged the two apps’ user bases last August.

But unlike Vine (RIP), YouTube or Instagram, TikTok doesn’t yet feel dominated by micro-celebs, though they certainly exist.

Okay, okay.

Sometimes these videos are described as “cringey.”

But that’s because those of us trying to talk about TikTok are old(er) people who grew up on the big ol’ mean internet.

Cringey, frankly, is an unfair label, as it dismisses TikTok’s success in setting a tone for its community. Here, users are able to post and share unapologetically wholesome content, and receive far less mocking than elsewhere on the web — largely because everyone else on TikTok posts similar “cringey” content, too.