Archive for Ello

Ello Says That Social Media Needs A Bill Of Rights

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 1, 2015 by itnerd

I got an interesting e-mail today from social media network Ello. In an attempt to set themselves apart from every other social media network by saying that social media needs a bill of rights. Let me take a quote from the e-mail that they sent me:

Today, in honor of the spirit of U.S. Independence Day, we’ve released The Ello Bill of Rights for social networks.

It outlines 10 basic rights that all social networks should adhere to. These include the rights to privacy and transparency, the right to control and own what you post, and the right to delete your account permanently at any time.

If you agree with these principles, please sign the Bill of Rights and let other networks know that you demand a change.

Now, I have read their bill of rights and I like everything that it has to say. However, it’s not exactly news that Ello has been struggling to attract users and the fact that they released an iOS app doesn’t seem to be helping to attracting users. So, I wonder if this is more publicity stunt and less a call to arms for the Facebooks of the world?

Thoughts?

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Review: Ello

Posted in Products with tags on November 16, 2014 by itnerd

Ello is a new social network that has a bunch of things going for it. Most notably the fact that it is ad free and doesn’t sell your data to third parties. It’s an interesting social networking platform that is in beta and is only accessible via an invite from an Ello member. I was fortunate enough to get an invite which gave me the ability to look at Ello.

The first thing I noticed about Ello is that it’s pretty stark:

ello

This is the exact opposite to Facebook which can be insanely busy in terms of the look and feel. This is likely deliberate as Ello really wants to contrast themselves against Facebook.

Several elements of Ello’s design are smart:

  • Your profile photo shows up within a circle, and you can follow other users by dragging their circular icons into either a “friends” or “noise” category, and recategorize them at any time.
  • You can view a feed of updates from either category, with the “noise” one sporting a somewhat compressed, Tumblr-esque layout that makes it easier to glance at many posts at once.

One thing that really annoyed me was that it was really easy to delete a friend’s comment on one of your posts by clicking a tiny gray “x” next to the comment. But other than that, it was easy for me to figure out how Ello works. One thing to note is that Ello curates content so that you can find really interesting content.

Downsides? First, it’s a beta. So you can expect that there will be bugs and oddities. Second, the fact that it’s an invitation only means that the user base is likely small. The third thing is how Ello will pay for all this while still keeping out ads. They do say that it will soon offer “special features” that users can pay “a small amount” to get. It will be interesting to see what those are and if users will pay for them.

If you do get an invite for Ello, I’d say it’s worth trying out. I think as more people join Ello, it might be an interesting place to be. I’ll be keeping an eye on Ello.

 

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Why Facebook Should Worry About Ello

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on September 29, 2014 by itnerd

There’s a new social network out there. It’s called Ello (as in the way that some from the UK say “hello”) and it’s currently an invite only platform. Now, you’re likely saying that there’s a new Facebook clone popping up every week. Why should you care about this one? Here’s why. This is what the creators of Ello have to say when you scroll down their landing page:

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.

We believe there is a better way. We believe in audacity. We believe in beauty, simplicity and transparency. We believe that the people who make things and the people who use them should be in partnership.

We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce and manipulate — but a place to connect, create and celebrate life.

You are not a product.

That’s a clear shot at Facebook who’s known for not exactly being the best at balancing the needs of users privacy with its need to make a buck. That’s the main reason why I steer clear of Facebook and will never get an account on that platform. But will the fact that Ello advertises itself as being the exact opposite of Facebook resonate? It does for me and I suspect it will for many others out there as well. That’s a problem for Facebook as it makes most of its cash from collecting data on its users and selling it. Unless it can somehow wean itself off that addiction to making money in that manner, it will be under threat by a service like Ello. Thus Facebook will have to adapt or perhaps face the possibility that it may lose users.

My advice? Let’s see how this plays out. It will be very interesting to watch what happens as I really think that Facebook truly has something to worry about.

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