The Monday After TikTok Was "Banned" - Fyreside Newsletter - 1/20/25


Fyreside Newsletter - 1/20/25


Hey Reader,

First off, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! I hope you have the day off and I hope it's inspiring you to think critically about the society in which we live and the ways we, as individuals, can change it. I'd like to share with you the lyrics of a song called Pretty Songs by this punk band I like called Bob Vylan.

White folks love quoting Martin Luther
'Cause he held hands and prayed while they bombed his building
Good for him but the times have changed
And don't forget, white folks still killed him

Let's talk about TikTok

This weekend, TikTok voluntarily went offline in America for about 15 hours. "Voluntarily?" Yes, voluntarily.

ICYMI, the Supreme Court upheld a law banning TikTok in the US on January 17th. This decision set the date of enforcement for January 19th. With the inauguration scheduled for the 20th, Joe Biden announced he would not enforce this band and would instead leave any decisions to the incoming administration.

On the evening of January 18th, TikTok went restricted access to US users, only to bring it back on the 19th with a message thanking "President Trump" approximately 24 hours before Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President. Kind of a wonky timeline, right?

So wtf happened?

This seems to be the topic of every conversation today, and for good reason. I have a lot to say about the politics behind these actions, but that's not the point of this newsletter. The point of this newsletter is to investigate content as it exists on the internet, so that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Well, actually, I've already done it. It's all here in this blog post.

To give you the highlights

  • We're going to see some major changes to TikTok.
  • This has all happened before.
  • This will definitely happen again.
  • The best thing you can do is be aware.

Here's the reality:

Social media is an integral part of small businesses and non-profits across this country and TikTok is going to remain in that conversation. While the things we witnessed this weekend will likely bring cataclysmic digital shifts to TikTok, the platform itself is far from disappearing. It's important now more than ever to understand how TikTok really works. That's what I'm here for, to make it all make sense.

I hope this newsletter and the blog I posted today help clear things up, but if they don't, please let me know! If we're being honest, I'm still processing some emotions from this weekend. I want to give you what you need via this newsletter, so if you have questions I may be able to address here, don't hesitate to reply! Next week, I hope to be a little more on top of things, but suggestions for topics are always appreciated.

-MC

p.s.

  • Follow @bahnfyrePR on TikTok because I think it's still worth it and I'm still posting.
  • Check out my new eBook!
  • If you enjoy this newsletter or any of the content I produce, I'd be honored if you would share it with someone else. And hey, if this email was forwarded to you and you're not a subscriber, consider joining the list here.

Around the Bahnfyre

The Future of TikTok

It’s been a hectic weekend in the social media world. The TikTok ban has been in the headlines for months, but I don’t think there’s a broad understanding of what actually happened and how we should respond to it going forward. So please, allow me to lay that out for you.

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This is so incredibly cool of you. Thank you!!
-MC


Bahnfyre

Content Marketing for independent entrepreneurs done differently. Here's your first tip: You don't need to grow your following.

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