20240430 - TikTok's Strategic(?) Missteps

To counter the bill that might force TikTok to sell, they adopted several strategies, including one particularly aggressive tactic. They displayed a pop-up on their main page urging their users to contact congressmen. However, this move backfired by demonstrating TikTok's potential to influence its users in significant ways.

 

It's surprising that a company like TikTok would employ what seems like a very naive strategy. They likely have crisis management protocols, but the approach they took seemed amateurish. It's so amateurish that I think they intentionally intended to do this, letting the congressmen relax by showing how unprepared they are. Framing the issue as a confrontation generally doesn't improve the situation. Normally, people who have gone through a proper socialization process stop doing that kind of stuff after childhood ends.

 

According to the ancient military strategy text "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, one should never engage in confrontation without having at least twice the power of the opponent. TikTok's approach ignored this wisdom, leading to unfavorable outcomes.