It was a Monday afternoon and 2018 alumna Samantha Walkoff decided to create a TikTok during her break between classes. She went about her day as normal. The next morning, when she awoke, she saw that she had more than a million views.
Walkoff created a short video that gained more than seven million views in a popular app among teens called TikTok. Users make and share short videos with a wide range of lip-syncing, comedic skits and viral challenges.
“Honestly, I didn’t use TikTok a lot,” Walkoff said. “I [had] 10 followers and two videos I made with my friends.”
While hearing friends talk about the increasingly popular app, Walkoff installed TikTok as a new way to explore video creating. Her interest in video making began in her early childhood.
“I always loved making videos with my family [of our] adventures,” Walkoff said. “ [When] I got a GoPro, every time my family and I would go on vacation, I filmed the whole thing and then I started to edit [videos].”
With a passion for video-making as a child and a double major in strategic communications and creative media at Butler University, TikTok gave her a platform to further her interests.
“[TikTok] definitely made me realize how much I love making people laugh and putting out content that [they] like,” Walkoff said. “It made me confirm my love for making videos and [let] people feel something whether that’s a laugh or just a smile.”
Walkoff began using TikTok when she discovered comedic videos and decided to recreate one on her own. Occasionally during her free time, TikTok allowed her to continue expanding new ways by creating videos through entertainment.
“[The videos] were funny to watch so if I saw one that was funny, I tried to [recreate] it,” Walkoff said. “I made [it] as a joke for my friends.”
After memorizing and imitating a small comedic skit made by another TikTok user, she explained that she did not plan on posting it on her account except wanting to save it on her camera roll so she could share it with friends and family. However, TikTok policy requires users to post the video on the app in order to save it to their camera roll.
After posting the video, Walkoff went back to her school schedule throughout the day.
@swalkoff
“I was at a meeting for a class, and my friends started texting me [saying], ‘look at your TikTok, you’re famous,’” Walkoff said.
As the night progressed, Walkoff gained a million views on the video and reached up to 7.5 million after several days. The day after she posted the TikTok video, Walkoff received a message on Facebook from a worker of Good Morning America that asked permission for her video to be displayed during the show.
“I was freaking out, calling my family [and] friends and running around the sorority house,” Walkoff said. “[The video] blew up and everyone was posting it and it went a little crazy. I thought it was so exciting.”
On the day the TikTok video was shown live, Walkoff had class during the time. Her professor allowed her to share her news with the whole class and watch it together on his smartboard. The show featured American former professional football player Michael Strahan and actress Keke Palmer, where they showed three videos that had recently gone viral on TikTok.
“It’s definitely been crazy and a lot of fun. People are recognizing me,” Walkoff said. “[Some] will call me a TikTok girl, but I don’t consider myself famous because I made one video that [went] viral.”
TikTok’s usage has allowed Walkoff to entertain herself during her free time while adopting new ways to create content. She plans on going into advertising or becoming a producer in the film industry. Along with her classes and creating TikTok videos, Walkoff currently interns with the women’s basketball team at her college, creating videos for them.
“I think this was a once in a lifetime experience that I’m really grateful for,” Walkoff said. “It’s going to be a really fun memory.”
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