TikTok Interview

TikTok Celebrates Launch in Australia

TikTok, one of the world's most downloaded apps in 2018, recently celebrated its launch into Australia this year with a special event in collaboration with Ava Max.

The event was all part of the #SoAmI Challenge – and achieved an astonishing 12,000 submissions and 2 million downloads. 

Celebrating Ava Max's brand new song 'So Am I' which championed authenticity and being yourself, a specially created filter allowed users to interactively swipe away negative thoughts and comments through gestures while singing along to 'So Am I'.

Said a TikTok spokesperson of the challenge: "TikTok is proud to be a creative content platform that promotes authenticity, inclusivity and diversity – and the #SoAmI challenge was the perfect way to launch into Australia".

For Ava Max, it was a great way to connect with her fans – many of which she's made through TikTok, in person "Having the opportunity to connect with my Australian Avatars was so amazing. Watching all of their #SoAmI challenge videos & then getting to meet some of them was so surreal! I'm so grateful to be able to spread positivity through my music & encourage people to celebrate their differences".

Interview with TikTok

Question: What is TikTok?

TikTok: TikTok is the world's leading destination for short-form mobile videos. Our mission is to capture and present the world's creativity, knowledge and moments that matter in everyday life. TikTok empowers everyone to be a creator directly from their smartphones, and is committed to building a community by encouraging users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos


Question: What inspired the creation of TikTok?

TikTok: As the world embraces the mobile era, bringing about shorter attention spans and a change in behaviour of creating and consuming content, TikTok becomes the preferred platform for creative expression. TikTok is built for mobile users - capturing creativity, knowledge, and moments through easy-to-use video capturing and editing tools which enable creators to easily share their creativity.

TikTok allows users to express their creative ideas through their content, giving rise to extremely interactive challenges and trending topics that anyone can participate in. Challenges give users a feeling of being a part of the TikTok community, enabling them to find common ground while expressing their differences.


Question: What do you hope to achieve with TikTok in Australia?

TikTok: We want Australia to join the growing community around the world that is sharing their passion and creating amazing content. Australians have their own sense of humour, style and passions, and we want to see more of that on TikTok. We will also make TikTok better through providing our Australian creators with the best possible online experience.


Question: Why should we download TikTok, today?

TikTok: TikTok truly is the destination that allows users to showcase their creativity and interact with other users. No matter what your passion is, TikTok enables everyone to be a creator, and encourages users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos with their friends, family, and the global community. TikTok also encourages creation and sharing through easy-to-use video capturing and editing tools, resulting in a pool of very diversified content, and providing a direct way for creators and fans to connect.


Question: Can you tell us about the #SoAmI Challenge?

TikTok: The #SoAmI Challenge was an awesome challenge we did in collaboration with Ava Max. Ava, who you may know from her song 'Sweet But Psycho', is a huge TikTok fan and has grown a huge fanbase through the app. We had a special filter with Ava's new song 'So Am I', that is all about being proud of your creativity and who you are. We got Australians to take part in the challenge and even chose a few to see Ava Max perform live at a special event in Melbourne! You can see the video here.


Question: How does TikTok allow users to swipe away negative thoughts and comments?

TikTok: For the #SoAmI challenge, we created a special filter that allowed users to use gestures to 'swipe away' the negative thoughts and comments – it was a fun interactive way to encourage people to take part in the challenge that promotes diversity and inclusion.


Interview by Brooke Hunter
Photos: Lauren Dunn