TikTok’s latest suite of features—shared feeds, collaborative collections, and digital greeting cards—arrives with lots of earnest enthusiasm.

TikTok is essentially trying to formalize something that already works organically. Right now, millions of users are already curating personalized content experiences for their friends. The act of selection itself becomes an act of care. “This made me think of you” carries weight precisely because you chose it, not because an algorithm decided you both might enjoy pottery tutorials.

Instagram launched a nearly identical feature called “Blend” back in April, and TikTok is now following suit. Both platforms seem convinced that passive, automated sharing will somehow replicate the intentionality of active curation.

The centerpiece is the “Shared Feed,” which creates a custom stream of 15 daily videos based on you and a friend’s combined interests. Think of it as an algorithmic matchmaker, but instead of finding you romance, it’s finding you content to deepen those bonds. The “Shared Collections” feature follows similar logic. It’s essentially Pinterest boards transplanted into TikTok, allowing friends to collaboratively save videos for later viewing. 

The greeting cards feature, meanwhile, is TikTok’s entry into the “let’s make everything a platform” sweepstakes. Why send a greeting card when you can send a TikTok one complete with festive animations? It’s seasonal, it’s on-brand, and it’s another small step in platforms’ ongoing quest to ensure you never need to leave their ecosystem for any human interaction whatsoever…

If you look closer, there’s a broader pattern worth noting: Social platforms increasingly believe they need to teach us how to be social. But real digital connection happens in the margins, the places that these platforms can’t quite “productize.” 

Anyhow, to know more, click here.