The Most Viral, Strongly Connected Component: Instagram, Tik Tok, Youtube… Combined
As Tik Tok introduced a new form of social media in short clips, it revolutionized both the creation and consumption of media. Moreover, Instagram, Youtube, and Facebook quickly changed their platforms to accommodate the demand for this media. Since competition for shorts rapidly developed, so did the amount of content. Specifically, anyone has the ability to copy a video from one and upload it to another. In addition, anyone who has access to Tik Tok also has the ability to go right to Youtube, or any other platform that accepts short content videos. Even though the platforms might not directly connect to one another, the parallels of how they are used, as well as what they allow, create a structure that is essentially one giant strongly connected component.
From the understanding and principles of strongly connected components, I would like to make the argument that these short content platforms have created one viral strongly connected component rather than separated ones. In addition, tying the structure to that of the class will help us understand the power and control these big tech companies have as they further develop their social media platforms. Built as an app and accessible to anyone with a phone, we make the argument that Node Youtube is connected to Node Tik Tok, as someone has the ability to download whatever application they see fit. Moreover, these platforms have in the past, shared data with one another, however, the addition of shorts on all is interoperable. This means that anyone on Tik Tok can take the same video and put it on Youtube or vice versa and that everyone has the ability to see the same things. In addition, any node on the network can see the traction of a video on Tik Tok and therefore, transfer that same video to Instagram or Youtube. There is no way to deduce if the connection is uphill or downhill, as everyone has access to everything. When considering the structure, this just means that there are three massive components, which are built in parallel with each other, ultimately creating the most viral strongly connected component. Why aren’t they seen as separated? One could make the argument that because they are all different platforms, they are different. However, the interoperability of apps and the content they accept has transformed the short content industry into one giant component. Since the addition of shorts to these social media platforms, a parallel of platforms has created a viral strongly connected component.