Loops is a Fediverse TikTok alternative by the creator of Pixelfed. We try the app out for a spin, and give our honest thoughts.

Loops aims to be an open Fediverse alternative to TikTok, Snapchat, and Vine. We take an early look at the app, and talk about what it’s like!

  • The Octonaut@mander.xyzEnglish
    0·
    7 hours ago

    No source code and no federation just makes this a worse app with less liability for bad actions. Not sure why he’s pushing this before those are ready. Pixelfed itself isn’t exactly finished yet.

    • OpenStars@piefed.socialEnglish
      0·
      4 hours ago

      At a guess, bc the timing might seem right with all the controversy surrounding Tiktok? Knowing that this is out there may increasing the number of contributors to the codebase.

      Also I recall clicking on a GitHub page at some point for a front-end web UI for this content, so while the sourcecode of the app itself may not be available yet, there is a way for someone to make their own instance to receive the federated content. I think.

      In comparison, the Sublinks project garnered so much attention that the Lemmy.World admins seemed ready to jump onto it the moment that it was halfway ready, but now we haven’t heard of any progress whatsoever for months and people seem to have given up hope for it. So communication about a project can be quite important as well as the actual coding itself.

  • dudenas@slrpnk.netEnglish
    0·
    10 hours ago

    If I understand it right… it will be much more costly to host videocentric platform than other types of content. A serious proposal for sharing the burden of hosting will likely be vital - through funding or decentralized storage/processing. Havent heard about that yet.

      • NickwithaC@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        8 hours ago

        The very first Youtube video is still up. Any serious competitor is going to need to offer that level of reliability with added benefits to woo users over.

        • Jake Farm@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          0·
          8 hours ago

          Loops isn’t competing with youtube. I doubt you would be able to find the first tiktok.

        • noodlejetski@lemm.eeEnglish
          0·
          8 hours ago

          have you considered that a platform for sharing short, vertical videos, developed by a single person, perhaps isn’t trying to become a “serious competitor” for Youtube?

    • barkingspiders@infosec.pubEnglish
      0·
      10 hours ago

      I wonder about this a lot. The little research I did suggested DigitalOcean is footing the bill for the moment (and also for Pixelfed? would love to hear more about this). Google, Facebook, TikTok, etc… have all managed to throw enough resources at similar products that people expect a level of performance that is very expensive to maintain. There is some serious hardware and distribution issues ($$$$) with trying to host an “instant and endless stream of short form video”.

      In a counter point though I think large instances like lemmy.world and lemmy.ml have found ways to survive and thrive and the fediverse generally seems to be supported in a very grassroots sort of fashion. Donations, patrons, people who have the hardware and bandwidth sharing what they can for the greater community. Perhaps loops will go the same way.

      • fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.comEnglish
        0·
        5 hours ago

        The problem with Peertube, IMO, is you can’t just “join”.

        Pick an instance, it’s locked down. I get it, hosting others video content is costly and dangerous, but it’s also a huge barrier.

        • Kichae@lemmy.caEnglish
          0·
          5 hours ago

          It’s best use case is self-hosting by established creators funded primarily by patreon subscribers, rather than new creators. But established creators won’t abandon the platform with their viewers. So, it’s a bit of a jam.

          Fediverse platforms also just seem terribly uninterested in supporting creatives’ business models, so we get a high minded desert.

  • Pasta Dental@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    10 hours ago

    The app is good, however what makes the other platforms good is their algorithm and the content that is available. If those are missing (and they likely will for privacy reasons) there’s little reason for me to use it instead of instagram reels or tiktok for example.

      • Coelacanth@feddit.nuEnglish
        0·
        9 hours ago

        I mean… maybe? Those are nice things of course, but if I wanted to start using an alternative to TikTok I would never consider something without an algorithm. The whole point - for me at least - is to waste time eating digital slop served to you by an algorithm so that you don’t have to know what you want to watch when you sit down and open it up. If I already knew what I wanted to watch I wouldn’t be on an app like this, I’d be searching up the video or subject on another platform.