--- title: Everyone wants to be TikTok, and TikTok wants to be everyone - The Hustle description: As companies work to copy TikTok, the platform is giving them a taste of their own medicine. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/436828291-tok.webp --- # Everyone wants to be TikTok, and TikTok wants to be everyone ![Jacob Cohen](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_5670-1-modified-768x768.png?width=48&height=48&name=IMG_5670-1-modified-768x768.png) [Jacob Cohen](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/jacob-cohen) [Jacob Cohen Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/ImJacobCohen) Published: October 13, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 Over the past couple years, “more like TikTok” has become a business strategy for tech companies, large and small. ![Everyone wants to be TikTok, and TikTok wants to be everyone](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/436828291-tok.webp?width=595&height=400&name=436828291-tok.webp) Many are “TikTokifying” themselves, scrambling to embed carbon copies of the app’s defining features in their platforms. As they forge ahead, TikTok itself is flipping the trend on its head, laying the groundwork for features rivaling those of Google, Amazon, Spotify, and more. #### **Who is TikTok facing up against?** Everyone, basically. - Instagram made Reels, and YouTube launched Shorts, so **Meta** and **Google** are fair game. - Since 2021, **Spotify** has been [trialing](https://www.engadget.com/spotify-is-testing-a-tik-tok-style-vertical-feed-called-discover-103009169.html) a TikTok-esque discovery feature. - **Amazon**, too, is [testing](https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/17/amazon-is-internally-testing-a-tiktok-like-feed-in-its-app/) a TikTok-like shopping feed, and recently expanded its livestream shopping efforts. #### **So where is TikTok looking to grow?** For now, TikTok is particularly well positioned to move into: - **Search:** Google [literally](https://thehustle.co/07192022-tiktok-search/) said it themselves — young people use TikTok to find places to eat, not Google, and TikTok is already [deepening](https://twitter.com/olivia_deng_/status/1555595199564464130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1555595199564464130%7Ctwgr%5E487b2235cc5f3352a3823709ea883d6c1c22c2d3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2022%2F08%2F09%2Ftiktoks-latest-test-feature-improve-search-capabilities%2F) its search functionality. - **Music: **63% of TikTok users [discover](https://thehustle.co/08042022-tiktok-music/) new music on TikTok before any other platform, and TikTok is now in [talks](https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-parent-bytedance-plans-music-streaming-expansion-11665602937?mod=djemalertNEWS) with labels about rapidly expanding its music platform Resso globally. - **Commerce: **Earlier this week, *Axios* [reported](https://www.axios.com/2022/10/11/tiktok-chases-amazon-fulfillment-centers) that TikTok is launching product fulfillment centers, putting Amazon in its sights. As *The Washington Post*’s Gen Z tech correspondent Jules Terpak [eloquently](https://twitter.com/julesterpak/status/1580067364313260033) put it: “TikTok is a beast.” Topics: [Big Tech](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/big-tech) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Enshittification just keeps happening](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1666508617-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-enshittification_20230712223650-13.webp) ### Enshittification just keeps happening - ![After years of building pricey playgrounds, Big Tech recalibrates](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/995155615-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Tech-Real-Estate_20230622224458.webp) ### After years of building pricey playgrounds, Big Tech recalibrates - ![TikTok’s new plan to avoid getting banned in the US](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1576652447-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-16T235439.232Z.webp) ### TikTok’s new plan to avoid getting banned in the US - ![Why are there so many tech layoffs?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2012563462-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-24T002724.255Z.webp) ### Why are there so many tech layoffs? - ![Is eBay’s brief renaissance over?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/917426280-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-24T004301.526Z.webp) ### Is eBay’s brief renaissance over? - ![Can Netflix be a lifestyle brand?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/181502968-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-07T042108.421Z.webp) ### Can Netflix be a lifestyle brand? - ![All rise: Emoji have entered the court](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1748928362-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-02T004506.400Z.webp) ### All rise: Emoji have entered the court - ![What the past year of tech lobbying looked like](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/937681179-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-25T233808.193Z.webp) ### What the past year of tech lobbying looked like - ![Meta, Microsoft team up on map nonprofit](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/799858659-HS-News-Brief_2022-12-16T014636.683Z.webp) ### Meta, Microsoft team up on map nonprofit - ![Apple’s big changes, courtesy of the EU](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/281541661-HS-News-Brief_2022-12-15T001040.995Z.webp) ### Apple’s big changes, courtesy of the EU Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. 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