Ethnographic research is useful for media and communication professionals as it enables them to gain, “as complete an understanding as possible of the cultural meanings and social formations (and their inter-relationships) of a group, such as an organization, profession, community or society.” (DAYMON & HOLLOWAY, 2011, P.148).
Over the coming weeks I will learn all about researching people, various methodologies and have the chance to conduct an in-depth research project about a media niche I’m interested in. This being said, when starting to brain storm for this project we were all asked….
What is your Media Niche or Specialisation?
I was firstly overwhelmed with countless ideas of niches I am interested in, but the one I kept coming back to was my obsession with all things TikTok and trying to achieve ‘That Girl’ lifestyle.
If you haven’t heard of it, check out the short video below.
These videos are posted on the global application TikTok. TikTok is a video sharing app where users create content and post short videos (15 seconds- 3 minutes long). The app is the host to an enormous range of content that covers super niche communities and sub-communities. These can include; satisfying slime, dancing, lip syncing, cake decorating and so on.
TikTok has gain become one of the most well known application in just over two years. As of December 2020 there has been over 6 billion lifetime downloads of TikTok on iOS App Store and Google Play, with 689 million TikTok users monthly internationally. (IQBAL, 2021)
Tech Expert John Holdridge explains in his words what made TikTok so popular so quick is that it is,
“TikTok’s success can simply be attributed to how it flips what we think of as social media on its head, while at the same time returning us all to roots of the original appeal–the ability to go viral. We’ve all gotten so caught up in maximizing reach by growing a massive fan base through subscribers or followers, so it’s refreshing to have a platform with an algorithm that rewards content above all else.” (Holdridge, 2020)
Perhaps one of the most prominent feature of TikTok is it’s ‘for you page’, which is a curated feed that shows you new content you might like based off a complicated algorithm that analyses the content you engage with. My personal FYP in particular, is majority lifestyle and self care. I personally am extremely interested in these topics and due to the algorithm I seem to find the niche community.
I find this all appealing and extremely interested to explore further. How is ‘That Girl’ persona and lifestyle content on TikTok form unique personas and how this different ‘personality’ will affect the audience and community who interact with them. Is it sustainable and achievable?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Victoria
IQBAL, M., 2021. TikTok Revenue and Usage Statistics (2021). Business of Apps. https://www.businessofapps.com/data/tik-tok-statistics/ – Accessed 17 August 2021
Taulli, T., 2021. TikTok: Why The Enormous Success?. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomtaulli/2020/01/31/tiktok-why-the-enormous-success/?sh=1543f54765d1 – Accessed 16 August 2021
Tiiu, V., 2021. The Ultimate Guide to Being “THAT Girl”. Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Fq1rL2nm0 – Accessed 15 August 2021
Youtube.com. 2019. How to Use TikTok – Complete Beginners Guide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyaZxrN_gM8 – Accessed 17 August 2021
Victoria Bobbermien 