Ello was all the rage a few weeks ago. Invites were like solid gold, which only spread the word further that there was a new social media kid on the block (ready to take on Facebook, of course). People were even auctioning off invites on eBay. Now we’re not hearing as much about it. A few hot weeks, and now the place makes Google Plus look like Times Square? (yes a stretch, but I was on a caffeine-fueled rage when I wrote this).
Such is the way when we’re searching for the next big thing, the next viral phenomenon, and frankly, that’s what Ello’s up against as they face off against Twitter and Facebook for mindshare and human time. (You can say these sites are not in competition, but humans have 24 hours per unit, so those hours are what a social media platform has to capture. Yes, they have to compete for our time).
Ello is a new social media platform, designed and built by a group of graphic designers, and they’re trying to do things a bit differently, including making a few, shall I say, bold promises. No ads (EVER), and they’ll never sell your personal data. They recently reorganized the company as a Public Benefit Corporation, which tells me they’re serious about keeping their word.
Do they have a chance? Honestly, who cares? That’s not a negative sentiment. What I mean to say – why not give these guys a chance to do something differently. I think the pundits ask the monetization question in a sort of “gotcha” way. Must everything we do be monetized? Maybe the founders are trying to shift our thinking on privacy, on data collection, on human communication. Maybe they’re trying to change the world. Hell, I’d love to change the world, and would require no compensation in return should I succeed. Guys, maybe this isn’t about the money. Maybe it’s about doing something amazing.
Thanks Angela for having me on.
Good luck, Ello.
