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Comment by rsynnott | Hacker News Reader

How to appeal to Gen Z; name the thing after a form of video playback that was totally obsolete before any of them were born.

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Can't tell if the OP is being sarcastic. Just want to point out that "Tik Tok" is the sound an analog clock makes - which is also obsolete technology - except for the odd grandfather clock.

It's closer to the sound of a metronome, which is pretty fitting and likely where the name originated.

People are still more likely to come across a ticking clock than a film reel.

Most places I go to will still have an analog clock in multiple rooms.

People seem to underestimate how important a name can be. "Instagram Reels", "Reels", "IG Reels"... they have no buzz, they're clunky to say, and like you said, it already implies ancient uncool tech. The marketing people must have been phoning it in when they named this.

I obviously don't speak a generation but I'm in the target demo and I like the name. "Did you see X's reel the other day?" to me feels better than "Did you see X's tiktok the other day?"

reel sounds like a word that has another meaning. tiktok doesn't. i feel better saying tiktok

Such as, fishing reel.

I'd actually forgotten it was the word for the thing film went on.

I am also in the target demo, do not like the product, but the name sounds pretty good. Like "Have you seen her story?" "Did you see her last reel?" just sounds nice.

Distribution on film was still incredibly popular up until 2012/2013.

Just like the tick-tock of a mechanical clock.

The people who launched Reels are probably in their 30s and 40s and working against serious organizational biases that prevent them from innovating. So not surprised that they named this Reels.

I'm in my mid-30s, I still think Reels sounds... very old-fashioned.

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