To add to this, BeReal flamed out because it was a gimmick that was quickly copied and then forgotten by all the other platforms.

Agree that blaming VCs for why TikTok has an algorithmic feed and hundreds of millions of users is simplistic. A non-algorithmic TikTok would have no users.

And without a personalized algorithms, the feed ranking would just be showing content from popular accounts, which is a worse experience.