As a writer I am very familiar with the sounds of typing. I mean, most of us are in modern work, right? We are constantly sending emails, messages, tweets, more emails, documents to each other and the tool we use to do that is the simple keyboard. While I spent a pretty penny buying a nice keyboard, the Logitech G815 if you must know, it’s nothing for the amount people spend on high-end, luxury keyboards these days. And TikTok won’t let me forget.
The For You Page or FYP on TikTok is, as the name suggests, tailored to the taste of the viewer. TikTok’s algorithm determines what I like and dislike and 99.9% of the time it’s terrifyingly accurate. One topic I felt I had an interest in is PC gaming (who could have guessed), and by extension keyboards. Wonderful, tactile, soft-clicking keyboards. I love them.
When I hear the soft tip-tip tapping of the keyboards, my mouth is watering. It activates some of the most satisfying endorphins and I haven’t quite understood why. I’m not one to often enjoy ASMR makers, but there’s something functionally beautiful and insanely soothing about hearing keyboards that don’t rattle, don’t clatter, but clatter like the technical equivalent of rain. I love these keyboards, their switches, and the makers who made them without owning one myself. I’ll build my own mechanical keyboard when I’ve set aside enough money to go a little crazy with it, but for now I just like seeing how much fun others are having with the product.
@xinxinwong (opens in new tab)
♬ original sound – Patricia (opens in new tab)
Most important points:
I reached out to one of TikTok’s keyboard makers xinxinwong, aka Patricia, to talk about the hobby and what the platform has done for keyboards. Patricia started the keyboard hobby in 2020 and it quickly became a passion. Her journey is far from ordinary and quite funny in itself:
“Funny story, but I got an ad on Instagram for this company called Drop,” writes Patricia. “I finally flipped through it and realized custom keyboards were a thing. I wanted a very specific keyboard, white with RGB, so I ended up with a Womier. I bought keycaps on Drop, swapped it and fell in love.
“One day one of my cats had puked on my shelf. I was absolutely devastated. Crying, I called a friend I knew loved keyboards and he walked me through the process of saving it. While I was grossed out , it was actually a lot of fun taking the keyboard apart, lubricating new switches and learning how to modify the stabilizers. From that moment on I knew I wanted to modify and build more boards.”
Cat vomit may not be the most ideal way to discover how keyboards work, but it quickly became a passion for Patricia. She already worked in web development, so she was firmly on the technical side of things before discovering her love for keyboards. She is now a twitch partner, which streams both games and keyboard builds. When she has the time and inspiration, she also creates TikTok content.
“I know a lot of fellow keeptokers because of the nature of working in a niche space, but I don’t feel like TikTok is my main community. When I have time, I make a TikTok with a board and I usually try to make TikToks with upcoming group purchases or products in stock. In my opinion, showing a sign that you can no longer easily buy is almost a form of teasing.”
But TikTok, although it may not be the place to all keyboard enthusiasts, has encouraged many new faces to enjoy the hobby. It’s not a cheap hobby, I admit that because of that factor I haven’t invested in building my own board yet, but many people have admired it from a distance and TikTok is adapting. Patricia says, “the majority of the keyboard community on TikTok has a greater focus on keyboards that are more affordable and accessible in terms of purchase.
“I would say that TikTok has been somewhat positive. To give you some perspective, there are multiple sectors within the keyboard community. There are those that focus on pre-built/modding, those that deal with mid-tier/higher keyboards, and the ones that focus on other things related to keyboards like switches/craftsmen/keycaps.
Switching
Explaining your purchases and hobbies is sometimes not worth the commentary battle
“TikTok tends towards the younger audience who may not have disposable income, so boards that are more affordable tend to be more popular. I will say my content is more focused on high-end boards, but I have a lot of respect for people who can pre- taking builds and sprucing them up. TikTok has brought a lot of exposure to the world of custom keyboards, drawing more people into the hobby, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it.”
And while TikTok is probably a positive force in getting many people to see the hobby, it has its own popularity contest. Unless a keyboard is considered a spectacle, or has a very satisfying aesthetic or sound, it can be quite difficult to find its place in the app.
“TikTok creates trends where people hyperfocus so that it stagnates in a way. Boards that are unique and different in their own way may be rejected on TikTok if it doesn’t follow what’s popular. Innovation may not always be accepted on TikTok TikTok , especially if it’s not affordable. That’s why you don’t normally see designers trying to promote their products on TikTok, they’re usually big companies or keyboard vendors.
Another downside is that your content might end up on the wrong side of TikTok. For many people, there’s no justification for a $300 keyboard when a $20 [one] does the same. You could apply this concept to so many other hobbies, but explaining your purchases and hobbies is sometimes not worth the commentary battle. High-end customs are definitely expensive and TikTok can be quick to judge, especially if they don’t agree with the price tag. It’s one of those things though, you won’t notice the difference until you type one in yourself.”
@xinxinwong (opens in new tab)
♬ LoFi (860862) – skollbeats (opens in new tab)
“It’s definitely a hobby that I think has a higher barrier to entry from a financial standpoint. When you start out, you usually fund your own content and keyboards can get really expensive. Sometimes it’s hard because TikTok seems to have heavy preferences for certain things like sound so what I end up building may not appeal to the community I tend to focus on other details of the board (appearance, mounting style, internals, details on group purchases, etc), rather than what the board sounds or feels like as it varies based on the configuration you choose.”
Keyboards are expensive and time consuming. And no doubt the high barrier to entry just encourages people to watch more beautiful keyboard videos, dreaming of the day they might own one. Patricia’s current favorite keyboard has it all. It’s unusual with an Alice style layout, it’s aesthetically pleasing and it sounds lovely. Alice-style keyboards are split in the middle of the keys, making typing just that little bit more ergonomic around your wrists as they pivot to your hands. You can see and listen to the keyboard on her YouTube (opens in new tab) and if you are interested in the details of the board you can check out Patricia’s website (opens in new tab).
I can’t help but want to invest in an expensive keyboard. As one of the most customizable parts of a PC gaming setup, custom keyboards ooze so much personality. And while I can’t justify a new PC build anytime soon, maybe a keyboard build is the sensible second option, right? At least that’s what I tell myself. Until then, you’ll find me in bed at 2 a.m., listening to the tip-tip-tapping, click-click-clapping of TikTok’s keyboard.
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