**TikTok’s Back Up and Running, But What’s the Real Impact on the Social Media World?**
Okay, folks, let’s cut to the chase – TikTok is back in action after that epic outage last week left over 220 million users in the US in the dark. I mean, who didn’t know what to do without their TikTok fix?
So, what went down? Apparently, a winter storm knocked out power at an Oracle-operated data center, causing some serious issues with posting, discovery, and even real-time video analytics. Yikes. But, as the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade… or in this case, try out a different social media app.
I’m talking about apps like Skylight and Upscrolled, which saw a massive surge in popularity while TikTok was down. Skylight, built on the AT protocol, gained over 380,000 new users in the week after the outage. And Upscrolled, founded by Issam Hijazi, even made it to the second spot in the US App Store’s social media category, with 41,000 downloads in just a few days. Pretty cool, huh?
Now, what does this mean for the social media landscape? Well, for one, it’s a reminder that even the biggest players can have downtime (hello, backup plan!). It also shows that when one social media app is struggling, another one can swoop in and steal the spotlight.
But that’s not all – we’ve also got some news on TikTok’s ownership. Back in January, the US finalized a deal to create a separate entity for the app, with a US-based investor consortium taking the reins with an 80% stake and ByteDance holding onto 20%.
So, will TikTok bounce back to its old self, or will some users stick with those other social media apps? Only time will tell. Stay tuned for more updates, and mark your calendars for our upcoming event in Boston, MA on June 23, 2026 (more details coming soon!).
