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There’s a new social media space up and running called Ello.co. It’s currently by invitation only, says that it values your privacy and won’t ever show you ads. Of course, it still tracks you and there’s no way to block users who might be abusive, and they have venture capital money invested in them so they already have an exit strategy…
Anyway, there is no such thing as a free lunch, especially online in 2014 (not sure there ever was), and so I got my hands on an invitation and I’m checking it out. So far, I really like it there. I keep describing it as if Twitter and Tumblr had a really minimalist baby. And it is a baby. The search feature just got up and running. There is no way to easily share or amplify something you like. You have to manually enter the person’s username that you are replying to (if they have already replied to you).
But…
I really, really like it. I like that, for the most part, it’s very text based, allowing for basic mark-up tags, and not putting any limits on the length of what you write. It allows for basic media inclusion, so pictures and gifs. There isn’t an algorithm telling me who I should follow (or who should follow me) so I’m discovering a whole new realm of people to connect with, alongside some of my closest Twitter-friends (which sounds ridiculous, but I looked and 90% of the people I follow on ello are people I’ve met in person).
Ello is the first social media space that has resonated with me. I like it there. That sounds weird, but I’ve felt inspired by the space more than any other I’ve tried playing with (and I’ve tried most of them). Ello is also the first social media platform that I’ve approached with no real intent. I got on Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, while I adopted Twitter and blogging for professional reasons (at the time, building a business). I’m on Pinterest and Instagram, but neither of them have really inspired me in any way without a set purpose. Ello, on the other hand, even though I don’t have a purpose, speaks to me.
If you find me on ello, I have a lot of thoughts on analogies for social media platforms, not to mention thoughts and over-shares that don’t show up on Twitter or on the blog.
I KNOW! There are STILL MORE THINGS for me to share, apparently.
