'Ello' Aims For A Return To Ad-Free Social Networking
Ello is a new, invitation-only social network that aims to thrive and survive on a business model that does not include selling user data or advertising. Ello.co hide caption
Ello is a new, invitation-only social network that aims to thrive and survive on a business model that does not include selling user data or advertising.
Vermont is known for its green pastures, farmsteads and roads free of billboards. The founders of the new social network Ello live in the state, and they want to bring Vermont-like serenity to the Internet.
"We set out to prove that a social network will survive and thrive that doesn't have a business model of selling ads to its users," says CEO and co-founder Paul Budnitz.
Budnitz owns a bicycle company in Vermont and also founded Kidrobot, which makes high-end art toys. He says Ello's creators initially launched the site for their circle of friends. They wanted a clean online space to exchange large images and long-form text.
The site has been growing steadily for about a year, he says, but that changed last week, when news stories about a group of disenchanted Facebook users mentioned Ello as an alternative and set off a stampede of interest.
"We're getting about 40,000 signups and requests an hour ... so it's a lot," Budnitz says.
You need an invitation from a friend to use Ello, and that amps up the allure. Many Ello users, like 24-year-old Charity Walden, say they joined simply out of curiosity.
"I use Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Snapchat," Walden says, and now Ello rounds out that group. "I think it's really cool to be there at the beginning and see how it's developed."
The spike of interest in a new social network also points to intensifying concerns over issues like data mining, online bullying and the protection of privacy. Users can't make their Ello accounts private, but the founders say that's coming soon. And Ello's stated mission is to be profitable without selling user data a claim that attracts scrutiny. Once it was revealed that Ello received venture capital money in January, the critics went to town.
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'Ello' Aims For A Return To Ad-Free Social Networking