How Ello is Revolutionizing the Future of Social Networking?

There was a buzz about the latest social network, Ello. People are going frenzy about this brand new social network because it is the only ad-free social network who is promising their users a forever-ad-free social networking experience. Though, all the beloved social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. came out as an ad-free but ended up providing ads and using customer databases for targeted adverts.

My intuition, backed by these five reasons, says that Ello is paving the way for a new era of social media platforms. Here are some of the attributes of Ello and other social networks which are going to rule the roost in future.

1 - No Ads Ever

Of course, this is what Ello stand for. It is their USP. Here is what they say, " Ello doesn't sell ads. Nor do we sell data about you to third parties." Ello became a USA Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), making it virtually impossible for Ello to ever sell ads or user data. Ello’s PBC’s written agreement states that Ello:

• Will never sell user-specific data to a third party;
• Won't enter into an agreement to display paid advertising on behalf of a third
  
  party; and
• And in the event of an acquisition or asset transfer, the Company shall require
  
  any acquiring entity to adopt these requirements with respect to the operation of
  
  Ello or its assets.

Then how will they earn the revenue? Ello is building something like App Store. Basic version will include all the features other networks are providing. All of those features are free forever but if you want to enhance Ello, you need to pay extra bucks. You would be able to customize Ello to you. Therefore, it's good that

people can use it then fall in love with it and then be impelled to buy extra features of it.

2 - Organic Engagement

Whatever social network you use right now, there are no parameters by which a user (Not the admin) can say that one is performing well because of their engagement efforts or just because they're spending ton of bucks to promote their posts and pages. Audience cannot differentiate between organic followers/likes and the paid ones. Engagement is the buzz word in social media, and user engagement will be most relevant with 'no-ad' Ello. Because, the most engaging and relevant content will win the hearts of the followers. Only more engagement will lead to more followers.

3 - Noise/Friends

The most important and unique feature of Ello is, you can follow people in two segregated way. One is Noise, in which you can follow all the random profiles like magazines, news, celebrities, brands etc. And another one is as Friends. I totally loved this feature. Because I'm kind of an information junkie person (we all are), and I just cannot stop myself from liking/following any interesting page I stumbled upon. Therefore, my walls on Fb, Twitter and Instagram are full of profiles of brands and magazines. Hence, I always end up missing the posts of friends, which is quite annoying for both of us. Although, Facebook provides a feature using which you can Star your friends, you get a notification whenever they post anything.

Similarly, Twitter also provides a feature of customizing groups. Still, it was not the best solution to the problem. I believe this feature of Ello surely is.

4 - Fb-Twitter-Instagram

A benefit of entering late into a field is you can learn from your competitors' mistakes. And adopt their positive aspects as well. That's exactly what Ello is doing. Ello is embracing unique and useful features of all three beloved social networks, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. When you open Facebook, it looks messed up, so many things on one single screen. USP of Twitter is, they don't have Real Name Policy. Instagram‘s UI is more user-friendly for pictures than FB and Twitter. If we look at the statistics, a post with a picture is more engaging than a simple text one. Ello has embraced all of them.

5 - Minimalistic UI

Ello is simple, beautiful and ad-free. That's what they say, and it really is. I've fallen in love with its UI. I have always believed in ‘less is more’. Ello is in beta as of now. It has limited features right now. But I’m sure it’s going to be simpler, no matter what features they add in future. Ello is conceptualized by a team of three

people, comprising two graphic designers and one computer programmer. CEO Paul Budnitz, a designer, lifetime cyclist, artist, and author. The proud designer also owns a bicycle company, Budnitz. A competitive edge Ello has is its core team comprises graphic designers who understand simplicity. Ello has simple snow

white UI. I would say Ello has the potential to become ‘Apple’ of social networks. In a nutshell, Ello exists for your benefit, not just to make money.