Talk has been rife this week with the boom of a new social network called ‘Ello’.
Just like its name, without the letter ‘H’, the new kid on the block aims to be minimalistic, doing away with all that is deemed redundant, like ads.
Creator Paul Budnitz told Fast Company, “Ello is very simple and reductive. We wanted to make something that was very easy to use, so you take out everything you don’t need, so we took out the ‘H’.”
Touted as an ad-free space, Ello recognized that if they were to go against that direction, an extensive Ello community would be lost.
Some have called it an anti-Facebook social network. Other than its no ads and no data mining policy, Ello allows users to create pseudonyms that are not their real names, unlike Facebook. This could be ideal for performers or artists who are more popularly known by their aliases.
Currently, Ello works on an invitation-only basis. It was originally a private social network created by a small group of artists and designers. However, interest for the network grew and they decided to build the now public version of Ello for everyone to use.
Like most social networks, one can add friends, post status updates and photos on the GIF-supported network. However, one downside is its lack of privacy control—the inability to block other users. Nevertheless, the team at Ello is already working on it, along with other features like inappropriate content flagging and apps for iOS and Android.
What are your thoughts about Ello?
[via TechCrunch, images via Ello]