I haven’t been on TikTok much before the “ban” but I don’t know if I will return. For weeks, it had been building up that the social media app would be banned. And for maybe for about 15 hours it was. Pretty much, if you watched all three of the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions on HBO Max with the adds, you might have went the duration of when the app was “temporarily unavailable.”
This is following some embarrassing Congressional hearings where many elected officials proved they’re no better than the late Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens who called the Internet “a series of tubes.” Stevens famously threw a spoiled brat in the cereal aisle rant when it was suggested they use allotted money for a bridge to nowhere in his state to help with the Hurricane Katrina relief. But Stevens was an older man and social media was in its infancy.
But in a world where Facebook went from being used by snobby college students to crotchety Boomers in 20 years, a bunch of leaders not fully understanding the Internet and social media was pitiful. Hate on it as much as you want but social media is here to stay. I used to get criticism from other Boomers and Gen Xers wondering why I was used Facebook and Twitter while in the newspaper business. Yet, these were the same fuddy-duddies who thought hanging out at barbershops and hair/nail salons was where you got all the news.
I mean, people hang out in nightclubs, coffee bars, fitness centers, etc. and spread gossip or rant and rave about something. Just because someone does it behind a computer screen or on their phone, it’s no different really. So, why was TikTok wanting to be banned? Easy, it’s not owned by an American business conglomerate.
Yes, I know it’s owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance, but just about everything else is manufactured in another country. So what’s the big deal? Well, people like Jeffrey Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg can’t have any stake in it. Marky Zuck tried to do the same as TikTok with Instagram back in 2023 but failed. And I guess Threads is supposed to be a version of Twitter, now called X? I’m not really sure. I don’t even think the Zuck knows.
But something tells me this was a plan to help insure TikTok’s longevity in America. It went even up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Wow! Of all the issues the Supreme Court could focus on, they did this. And about 10:35 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Saturday, Jan. 18, TikTok was unavailable.
And by about 1 p.m. EST on Sunday, Jan. 19, it was back on. This isn’t exactly the Iranian Hostage issue, but I don’t believe in bad coincidences. TikTok had a notice they’re working with President Trump once he takes office, which is on Monday, Jan. 20. So, now TikTok has bent the knee and kissed the ring.
I seemed to remember back during the summer of 2020 following his disastrous showing at a rally in Tulsa, TFG wanted to ban TikTok. Reports speculated younger users orchestrated a scheme to make it appear more people were going to show up for his Tulsa rally than they did. And of course, Musky doesn’t want TikTok banned but I’m sure he wants a chunk into it.
I don’t believe the horseshit for one minute that because ByteDance owns it, they’re going to take all our information and share it with the Chinese government. I know people who still have their Facebook and Instagram accounts hacked. If someone wants to hack your account to steal your information, they will. Since a lot of people think hacking is some morbidly obese guy with a beard and long hair who wears RoboTech shirts under unbottoned flannel shirts typing away on a computer keyboard, it’s very easy for hackers to get information.
Something tells me this was an attempt by TikTok to ensure that President Joe Biden in his last few days didn’t go along with the ban. Also, they could stoke Orange Cheeto’s ego by making him think he was able to do something important from the ground running. I’m sure more and more people connected to TikTok will be invited to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring.
The best thing to do for those who never bothered much with TikTok is to not take the bait. I barely look at it much now mainly because the algorithms makes it impossible to keep in touch. I like seeing silly videos but I’m not going to pay to boost my videos. Why aren’t we saying the same thing about Sony and all their connections to our mass media? I mean, they own one of the biggest and oldest movie production/distribution studios in the world. Sony is based in Japan.
Even Hank Hill and his friends can tell the difference between China and Japan. Maybe it’s because we have a better working relationship with Japan. The funniest thing about social media is that it’s always changing. TikTok is very big now. But MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were all the most popular at one time, until they weren’t.
Bezos, Musk and Zuckerberg seem to be the 21st Century versions of the lamplighters walking around protesting the use of electricity. We live in a world that doesn’t want to adapt to change but to hold people back for the betterment of a few who know they will have nothing when that change comes.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 