More and more well-known seems to be Hello – a special, ad-free and invite-only independent social network, which in publications of the special press is often characterized as "anti-Facebook».
As reported in his publication Mashable, το εν λόγω κοινωνικό δίκτυο φαίνεται να σημείωσε μία viral «έκρηξη» την τελευταία εβδομάδα, με πολλούς χρήστες να περηφανεύονται ότι έλαβαν πρόσκληση στο 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.
The Ello Manifesto reads: "Your social network is owned by advertisers. Every post you share, every friend you make and every link you follow is scanned, recorded and converted into data. Advertisers are buying your data so they can show you more ads. You yourself are the product that is bought and sold. We believe there is a better way. We believe in the 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 interconnect, create and celebrate life. You are not a product ".
The site is somehow a cross between them Twitter και του Tumblr, με πιο περιορισμένα χαρακτηριστικά. Οι χρήστες μπορούν να δημοσιεύουν status updates, φωτογραφίες και GIFs και να κάνουν comments in their friends' posts, and there's also a search tool for people one might know. According to the creators there are many new features in the design stage, however it is not known when they will appear.
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.
Designers - artists and designers - have emphasized "clean" design, which enhances the ad-free image of the network. In a relevant Gizmodo report it is commented that if a network wants to become the "anti-Facebook" then it should be different - and Ello seems to make some "sacrifices" in the directness of navigation, although the simplicity in appearance remains a key feature. Contacts can be organized into two lists - "friends" and "noise", which refers to Google + circles but is simpler - just like the feed that looks smooth in the style of Twitter.
As far as Ello's profitability model is concerned - if ad-free character is promoted and highlighted as a key feature - the site indicates that the social network is completely free of charge, but it will soon begin offering "special features" to users. "If we create a special feature you like, you can choose to pay a small amount to add it to your account forever. We believe that everyone is unique and that we all want and need different things from a social network. So we will start offering different ways for users to customize their Ello experience. The overwhelming majority of features, what we all use everyday, 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 advertising-free network and help us make it even better. "
Source: naftemporiki.gr
