Digital bytes: ‘Ello world!

‘Ello world!

Whether you’re ready or not, another social network is here.

There’s a new Facebook in town, and its name is Ello. Of course, the fledgling social network is marketing itself as the “anti-Facebook,” and trying to court the demographic of hip youngsters who are bored with the big blue giant. Facebook turned 10 years old this year, which makes it practically a senior citizen in the here-today, gone-tomorrow world of the Internet, and especially long-toothed for a social network.

Ello’s big draw is that it is ad-free. It also aims to eliminate the clutter of a Facebook news feed or a Twitter timeline by allowing its users to sort items into “Friends” and “Noise” categories. These two separate buckets of content will be completely private, so you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings when you deem their vacation album or baby photos unworthy of your time. Users can post status updates, photos and GIFs and comment on their friends’ posts.

Ello is also invite-only, which adds to the coolness factor. You can request an invite, though, which apparently many people are doing. The site itself seems to aim for a cross between Twitter and Tumblr.

Is Ello the next big thing, or just another passing fad? It’s hard to tell, but businesses shouldn’t worry about managing their brand on yet another social network just yet. In fact, the “Ello Manifesto” visible on the network’s home page (www.ello.co), seems to go out of its way to discourage business. “You are not a product,” it blares.

Of course, when Facebook started out, it was ad-free and only accessible to college students with a .edu e-mail address. And now, every other post on my news feed is from Dunkin Donuts or my 12-year-old cousin. Will Ello hold true to its ideals? Will it rise up and take Facebook’s place, or simply fade away? We’ll see what the future holds.
 

The Ello Manifesto
Your social network is owned by advertisers. Every post you share, every friend you make, and every link you follow is tracked, recorded, and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that’s bought and sold. You are not a product.

For more: www.ello.co

Are you excited about Ello? Tell me about it at mmcclellan@gie.net.