I’ve been hearing a lot of mention of “Ello” lately in my Commerce courses, but didn’t really understand what it was before today. Ello is a new social networking site that brands itself on being the anti-Facebook; essentially, no ads, and they won’t sell your data to advertisers. Plus, you need an invite to join. I decided to take a look at it, and here are my thoughts.
Instagram #2?
It reminds me of an even more hipster version of Instagram (which I guess isn’t hipster anymore), which is not surprising, as it’s created by artists. I clicked around on the public profiles I could access, and mainly saw a bunch of photos with captions.
Ads are bad!
In theory, it’s really nice to come to a peaceful site free of advertisements. But Ello refer to advertisers as “armies”, and to you as a “product” being sold, which I find a tad overdramatic. Let’s be realistic, social media sites need to make money somehow, and this is oftentimes through advertising. And hey – maybe there’ll be an ad for something you like, and then it’s a win for both you and the company! Basically, I’m questioning their sustainability, a good point that WIRED raised as well.
Elitest?
You need an invitation to join. Isn’t this a bit unfair? Couldn’t that mess up people’s self-confidence if they don’t get accepted? What if you don’t know anyone on Ello already that can give you one of their 4 golden invites? On the other hand, if you do get an invite, you’ll feel really cool and and part of something special – an ad-free community.
Sustainable?
Despite these question marks I have about Ello, I’m excited to see where it goes. I agree with Lance Ulanoff, that Ello is No Facebook Killer, but who knows how big it could get? I’m sure there is a market for what Ello is doing, the question is just, how big is it?
Source for featured image: ello.co