Our artist’s interpretation of:
- @barbarakristoffersen 2. @kendrascott 3. @hannahschlenker
- @jameshenry 5. #squishmallows 6. @alexisnikole
- @skincarebyhyram 8. @humphreytalks 9. @trinidad
- @kyliecosmetics 11. @beauty2thestreetz
- @kentuckyfriedchicken 13. @walkerhayesofficial
- @hellosweetscandy 15. @bennydrama7 16. @itsjojosiwa
- @detroitlions 18. @siderswoodcrafting
123 4
56
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17188 FORTUNE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021
FOR A FATEFUL WEEK in early August,
the social media universe was focused
breathlessly on daily reports coming out of the
University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. For once,
the suspense and fascination had nothing to do
with Alabama football coach Nick Saban or his
Crimson Tide, though the defending national
champions were again picked as the preseason
favorites. Rather, the world was captivated by
the #BamaRush TikTok craze.Under the Influencers
In a development that could
probably be fully understood only
by TikTok’s all-knowing algorithm,
videos posted by incoming first-years
going through the high-stakes soror-
ity rush process became a national
obsession. TikToks in which the
young women revealed their #OOTD
(“outfit of the day”) garnered millions
upon millions of views—and spawned
lessons from his conversations with
creators and marketers. “First, don’t
be shy,” says Jeff. “Be yourself.” Cre-
ators who succeed tend to do so by
being totally authentic. “Because of
the power of the algorithm,” he says,
“if you create something universally
funny or wise, it will pop.”
TikTok’s radical bias in favor of
authenticity of all types makes for
a vibrant landscape—one captured
wonderfully on this month’s sub-
scriber cover by artist Rami Niemi.
The annotated guide at left identifies
some of the real-world influencers
and brands in the illustration. For ex-
ample, No. 16 in the key is JoJo Siwa,
a bona fide social media sensation and
member of our new Creator 25 list
(previewed on page 121). And No. 2 is
Kendra Scott jewelry, which received
a windfall of free marketing because
the brand’s trendy accessories were a
staple of the #BamaRush outfits.
This issue is also filled with stories
about leaders who wield their influ-
ence far from the spotlight of social
media. That includes the executives
in the 24th edition of our Most Pow-
erful Women in Business ranking.
Five of this year’s top 10 have become
CEOs since the pandemic began,
including our new No. 1, Karen
Lynch of CVS Health. And this year’s
Change the World list, our seventh,
profiles a total of 64 companies that
are harnessing the power of capital-
ism to improve the world around us.
Now that’s a creative economy.BRIAN O’KEEFE
Editor-in-Chief, Fortune
@brianbokeefeadditional videos about the phenome-
non that further boosted the hashtag.
As a graduate of the University of
Alabama myself, I was as surprised as
anyone by these developments. But I
was also intrigued by the power of the
ultra-addictive video-sharing plat-
form that now dominates so much of
our collective attention.
It’s an increasingly potent engine
for commerce too. With more than
1 billion monthly users and off-the-
chart engagement metrics, TikTok
has emerged as the flagship of what’s
known as the creator economy—a
$104-billion-and-growing ecosystem
of self-propelled entertainers, experts,
and everyday folks ranging across the
social media landscape. And accord-
ing to TikTok, it now works with
hundreds of thousands of advertisers,
all of whom, no doubt, are hoping to
go viral—in a good way.
We asked longtime Fortune
contributor Jeffrey M. O’Brien to go
deep on what makes TikTok, well,
tick. And his richly entertaining story
(page 112) is full of insights about
what works on the app, and what
doesn’t. Jeff learned a couple of coreFOREWORDILLUSTRATION BY SAM KERR