There has been a lot of buzz about the anti-Facebook stance from the new start-up Ello. The new site does not accept advertising and have no data mining. At the moment, you can`t participate, unless you have an invitation to join the community.
(Picture: Ello logo)
Those Ello people do not like Facebook`s business model. They obviously don`t like to be a part of facebook as they feel they are the product, while the network is owned by advertisers. And this is exactly how they do it on Facebook.
They track every post you share with your friends, every friend you make on Facebook and the links you follow. All this is recorded while advertisers can buy the data and show you more ads. Ello obviously don`t like this, and belive they have a better business model.
The founder Paul Budnitz, which is also the founder of the cool bikes called Budnitz Bicycles, launched the site Ello earlier this year and say he has seen thousands of sign-ups an hour to Ello the last week, and it seems like this site is now taking off.
Ello is made by designers and they have a manifesto, which is;
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.
How will Ello survive without advertising? Are people willing to pay for a subscription? It can be a site for artists and musicians as they have the problem with Facebook`s policy to use their pseudonyms as part of their profession.
But I don`t think that billions of people will run from site to site as a new one is launched. Ello will probably end up as a niche community for musicians and drag artists, among others, who want to use pseudonyms to protect themselves. Your friends on Facebook will still be on Facebook I think.
It`s ads and banners everywhere and the ads on Facebook and their data commercialization is not an issue people out there care enough about, so shareholders should stay calm and relax. People will stay and continue to be active on Facebook.
Ello is a mix between Facebook and Tumblr and I think it will be heavy to compete with Facebook right now. There are a lot of social networks out there and I feel that Ello is just another Google+, and If they didn`t make it, why should Ello? And do we need them all? In my eyes yes, but only if they have a product.
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Ket Garden
Shiny bull 