Joining Ello

Ello.co is a new social network that’s caused a bit of a stir online due to its anti-Facebook attitude, the manifesto makes this fact pretty clear…

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. - Ello Manifesto

Personally I don’t mind the UI although many web designers are complaining that it’s uninspired, not something I necessarily disagree with but I feel it’s a serious improvement over Facebook’s archaic look and feel.

At the time of writing this post, the social network is invite-only, meaning basically no one I actually know IRL has an account. Interestingly I quite like this, I’m finding people and organisations using Ello that I’d probably never find elsewhere - including designers, developers and artists.

Take a look at my page to see my latest posts and if you’re already a member why not add me to your noise feed?