More and more well-known seems to be Hello - a special, ad-free and invite-only independent social network, which in special press publications is often described as "anti-Facebook".
As reported in a Mashable report, this social network seems to have witnessed a viral "boom" in the last week, with many users boasting that they were invited to Facebook.
It is not yet clear what caused this particular "explosion" of popularity (the site has been launched since March) but many link its upward with the recent controversy over Facebook's real name policy, which took place earlier in the month when some drag performers and LGBT activists complained when they were prevented from accessing their accounts due to non-use of their regular names.
Officials of the city of San Francisco were involved, while there was a meeting at Facebook's headquarters. Although the social networking 'king' has agreed to temporarily allow account holders access to them, there has been no change in usage rules.
This, according to Mashable, has made a percentage of the LGBT community "move" to Ello, which allows the user to use whatever name he wants.
Ello's manifesto reads: “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 is being bought and sold. We believe there is a better way. We believe in boldness. We believe in beauty, simplicity and transparency. We believe that people who make things and people who use them should work together. We believe that a social network can be a tool of empowerment. Not a tool of deception, coercion and manipulation, but a place where one can connect, create and celebrate life. You are not a product."
The site is in a way a crossroads between Twitter and Tumblr, with more limited features. Users can post status updates, φωτογραφίες και GIFs και να κάνουν σχόλια στις δημοσιεύσεις φίλων τους, ενώ υπάρχει και εργαλείο αναζήτησης για άτομα που μπορεί να γνωρίζει κάποιος. Σύμφωνα με τους δημιουργούς υπάρχουν πολλά νέα χαρακτηριστικά στο στάδιο του σχεδιασμού, ωστόσο δεν είναι γνωστό το πότε αυτά θα εμφανιστούν.
The dramatic rise in popularity seems to have brought "barrage" requests for invitations, while some "drunken" users are starting to put up for sale on eBay.
Its designers - artists and designers - have emphasized the "clean" design, which reinforces the "ad-free" image of the network. A related article by Gizmodo commented that if a network wants to be the "anti-Facebook", then it should be different - and Ello seems to make some "sacrifices" in terms of immediacy of navigation, although the simplicity in appearance remains a key feature. Contacts can be organized into two lists - 'friends' and 'noise', reminiscent of Google +'s 'circles', but simpler - as is the feed, which looks smooth, in the style of Twitter.
As for Ello's profit model - since its ad-free nature is promoted and highlighted as a key feature - the site states that the social network is completely free, however, it will soon start offering "special features" to users. “If we create a special feature that you like, you can choose to pay a small amount to have it added to forever account your. We believe that everyone is unique and that we all want and need different things from a social network. So we're going to start offering different ways for users to customize their Ello experience. The vast majority of features, the ones we all use every day, will always be free and we will continue to improve them. When you choose to pay a small amount for a new feature, you help support Ello as an ad-free network and help us make it even better."
Source: naftemporiki.gr
