What Does the Rise of Ello Mean for Facebook? (#socialmedia info) Although Ello was launched over five months ago, interest in the platform has increased exponentially over the past two weeks to the point where the exclusive network has received an estimated 31,000 invitation requests an hour. With such a massive increase in viewership, some are asking, is this the beginning of the end for Facebook?Ello launched on the promise of an ad-free, data-free experience, going as far as to proclaim, “We also think ads are tacky, that they insult our intelligence and that were better without them.” Catering to consumers hungry for a non-corporate social experience, Ello’s manifesto is written in first-person with critical, direct language against the practices of other networks. Some people even refer to Ello as “the anti-Facebook.”How Does Ello Make Money?The new network states it will monetize the site by locking certain areas or features to non-paying customers. This is surely a different approach than we’ve seen in the past, but it’s odd considering its stance on wasted space for advertisements. Would people rather pay to avoid being locked out of a feature, or visually bypass the ads of Facebook? This is yet to be determined.But it’s indisputable—Ello’s appeal comes in democratizing the social space, by providing information to consumers on what other social network giants are doing with user data. Networks across the board ask users to sign away rights to their own created content, but not Ello. It puts user content above everything else with its attitude toward chosen anonymity (you can choose to post under whatever pseudonym you like and aren’t legally required to use your real name). This minimizes the focus on who you say you are and makes it more about the content you provide to the community.“You are not a product,” claims Ello. And we have to agree; you are not the product of everything you “like.” There is plenty of white space to be whomever you want on Ello, post whatever you want, with absolutely no directions for where to go. Time will tell — is this disorder liberating or anarchistic?Cowritten with Stephanie Orlowski
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 12:42:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015