😤 TikTok Rips Off BeReal

Welcome to The Level Ups. Modern business news for the future business leader (explained in plain-Jane English).

Today:

• Tiktok rips off Be Real.

• The history of social media apps stealing from each other.

• Our call on the UK's interest rate hikes is coming true

Let’s get into it.

TikTok Be Stealing

BeReal is a small(er) but rapidly growing social app built around one key feature.

At random times of the day, the app gives all its users a 2min window to post a photo. The camera automatically captures the front and back camera and shares it with all your friends.

There are no filters, no likes, and no “getting famous.” The app markets itself as “not another social app for this reason, among others. Users have animated versions of their selfies, called “RealMojis,” to interact with each other.

Tiktok literally stole the feature and is calling it “TikTok Now,” and for a good reason. BeReal is currently #8 on the social media list of apps downloaded, and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down.

Social Media Apps Are Savages

Instagram especially.

They will take what another company does and turn it into a product feature.

• Instagram stories and Twitter fleets (disappearing posts) were stolen from Snapchat.

• Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn versions of “stories” now as well.

• Instagram Reels are literally TikTok.

• Discord and Twitter stole audio chatrooms from Club House.

BeReal is the latest target. Interestingly enough, TikTok is now doing the stealing (instead of being robbed).

Can’t They Get Sued For That?

No, they can’t. There are many reasons and a long history, but here’s the short version.

• Social media features are often seen as a “form of expression,” not necessarily a product.

• The code is original. They achieve the same result with the technology but in different ways.

• The look and feel are different enough.

• You can’t patent it because it’s “non-obvious.”

"Non-obvious" is a way of saying: any average person can get how it works. It’s implied that if any person “gets it, " what the hell are you patenting? If that’s the case and it’s just a matter of code (that will also be original), good luck patenting it. Full details here.

The UK’s Economy is Going Wild

Five days ago, I covered the UK's new tax cuts. This is creating all kinds of pressure.

• Homeowners were warned to brace for a “significant” rise in interest rates (this was yesterday).

• The Pound is dropping against the USD. It’s at a 40-year low.

The government believes that dropping rates will stimulate growth. The logic makes some sense. People can keep more of their hard-earned money, so they’re more likely to spend.

This might stimulate growth on a large enough scale (provided the $$$ is spent in the UK).

The markets disagreed, and the Sterling dropped. The official name will be soccer if it gets any worse.

With GBP being this low, the costs of importing food, petrol, and other products have increased. Your foreign exchange isn’t doing you any more favours now, innit?

Jokes, it works both ways. It also becomes cheaper for other companies to do business with the UK (or travel there, for example).

It would make much more sense if the UK were a major exporter (like China was 20 years ago). More likely to stimulate the growth had that been the case. 

In fairness, it’s been less than a week, so we’ll have to see how it goes.

Should This Matter to You?

Every government is keeping an eye on this. It’s an experiment that few are willing to try. There are many risks if it fails.

• No one will give it another chance.

• They’ll never get voted into power again.

• Taxes will have to go back up eventually anyway.

But if it does work, there’s a possibility that other governments will also consider it.

Very curious to see how it goes.

Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow,

Darwin