[jpindar]

Its not random. I always see content related to my specific interests (as indicated by the videos I've liked, and I never see celebrity posts.

In fact TikTok is widely said to have the best algorithm for determining someone's interests.

[winternett]

It always depends on what type of user you are... The most disgruntled people usually are people who are business owners... If you're not marketing a business or your art work for example, you have no problems and the algorithm entertains you seamlessly.

If you're someone like a musician, makeup artist, or web developer (for example) TikTok floods you with success tips, tutorials about how people went viral, with tips on pay for promotional ads on the platform, and a constant stream of thought leadership programming to keep you struggling and spending time and money on growth. It's quite hostile to anyone who just wants to develop listeners and viewers, or anyone who wants to market a product independently. Big businesses can just have a meeting with TikTok reps, pay a fee, and get prime promo placement. When you run a small business, without lots of employees, managing social media presence becomes a huge mountain to climb, and TikTok won't meat with you unless you're very popular or wealthy (and willing to spend) already.

Everyone on the platform has a different perspective, TikTok's algo is good at determining that and maximizing what can be earned from each user, but it's not fair nor transparent at all, and it creates a situation where no one can question things because there are others that will always say their TikTok experience is "going just fine". User experience all depends on the user's personas.