Ello the new Facebook rival
What a new social network could provide different from what is already on the market? For the start, Ello the new Facebook rival promised to be a social network with no ads and the ability to use any ID you want. This is Ello the new Facebook rival, and declared as anti-Facebook.
“The more they know about you, the more money they make” said Paul Budnitz , co-founder of Ello, regarding Facebook.
The platform, that is still in beta version, was released about a month, starting off with 90 members. Access is currently by invitation only, and the number reached 40,000 access requests per hour.
Ello aim is to enable people to feel people, not data. Users can be anyone they want, as long as they comply with a minimum set of rules.
“We do not use geo-location, do not follow the IPs, do not ask your name, we just want you to follow the Ello rules” Budnitz said.
When asked how Ello will survive if there is no commercials, Budnitz explained that Ello will use a micro-transactions system. Users will pay small fee to customize their experience with Ello as desired, and the network’s founders believe that this method will be sufficient to finance the project.
Ello signup system is by invitation only. It should be rather easy to get, you can ask one or ask a friend who has already join Ello, to send you one.
The network is still in the testing phase
Ello the new Facebook rival, is still in beta testing, the program has bugs, but still attracts increasingly more users. 31,000 new users asked to the test beta version this week. Thursday, the team behind Ello the new Facebook rival had to suspend the registration system because they could not handle the number of requests.
Ello Social Platform has a manifesto: “Your social network is owned by companies. Each thing you post, every friend you make, and every link that you access is monitored, recorded and transformed into information. Advertising agencies buys your details to show you more ads.You are the product of what is bought and sold. We believe that there is a better way. We believe in beauty, simplicity and transparency. I think people who do things and those who use them should be partners. We believe in a social network that can be a tool for creating opportunities. Not one of disappointment, not coercion or manipulation – but a place to connect, creation and celebration of life. You’re not a product. “
The logo has a hint of “V for Vendetta”
The people behind Ello social network are Paul Budnitz a bicycles designer, graphic designers and programmers Berger & Föhr. Logo has a hint of “V for Vendetta” – a black smiley face without eyes. This seems to be a reference to respect for privacy. Beside that, the site has a feature that you can cover the front of your photo with the logo, ensuring anonymity.
The social network is divided into two categories: “Friends” and “Noise”. The first provides extensive news about people we know well, and the second gives pieces of information for all.
Ello the new Facebook rival. Questions about privacy
There are still some questions about the privacy and safety of the user. Ello team explains in the presentation section that raise “some information” about the visiting user that “helps to understand how they use Ello” so that they can make a better platform. The information collected concerns the location, language, site of origin and time for visit. The network uses a “anonymous special version ” of Google Analytics to collect visitor data. “If this makes you feel comfortable, we offer the option to refuse,” says Ello the new Facebook rival.
With this great number of requests, it means people desire an alternative to Facebook and Ello the new Facebook rival, could be the one. Indeed it is required a social network without ads and in which personal information may not be used for marketing purposes. These ads sometimes distract users from conversation / socializing with friends, which is the main reason that most people joined Facebook in the first place. If Ello the new Facebook rival maintains the idea of creating a social network without ads, can be truly a threat to Facebook. But as we know Facebook began in a similar way. At first, it was created only for an exclusive group of people, and turned in this giant social network that is today. But although we are annoyed by Facebook’s advertising and privacy policy, we may ask: Can we leave Facebook and join this unknown social network? I think not. Google+ have tried before but failed to compete with Facebook. I don’t think Ello can do something about it.
