Detail from the website ello.co.
Between the tweeting, Facebook posting, Google+ circles and pinning all the pretty Internet things, have you heard about the next big thing in social networks?
I'm the first to grumble about yet another social thing to check and maintain, and emphatically roll my eyes at the headlines of yet another "Facebook killer" (Remember Diaspora? Path? Right. Neither does anyone else.) But I'm keen to say hello to Ello, for one good reason: It promises to be Facebook, without all the things we hate about Facebook.
Ello is a minimally designed, simple-type face social network with all the things you love about Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr mashed into one artful platform. You can share photos, mention friends in tweet-like fashion and upload giant GIFs that autoplay in a feed (though video, early reviewers say, isn't as flawless).
And it's most beautiful trait: It's ad-free, and promises not to collect and sell your information to advertisers. (I dare you to Facebook chat about weddings and watch all of your ads turn into promos for engagement ring sales immediately.)
"We believe there is a better way. We believe in audacity. We believe in beauty, simplicity and transparency," reads the Ello manifesto. "You are not a product."
There are good reasons to be displeased with Facebook. While there are 1.3 billion people using it on a monthly basis, research suggests the social network may be losing its key youth demographic: A 2013 report indicates that Facebook lost nine million active monthly users in the United States and two million in Britain in the two previous years. A study by istrategylabs based on 2014 demographics shows that the number of users aged 13-17 plummeted 25.3 per cent compared with 2011.
Ello, meanwhile, is gaining Pinterest-like momentum in recent weeks: According to its founder, Paul Budnitz, the site is receiving 3,000 invites an hour.
Created by artists based in the United States, and until recently a private network strictly for creative types, Ello is in its public testing stages. For now, you can only join if you receive an invite by someone already on the network.
But how can a business remain free, be profitable and not have ads? Budnitz told Fast Company the business will flourish by offering optional features for a small fee to users – such as the ability to change a colour scheme or use special emojis designed by artists.
Then this: "Our business does not have to be worth a billion dollars for this to be profitable and for it to work well. It can just be a good business."
It's worth remembering that's similar to what Mark Zuckerberg said about Facebook, which was once an ad-free, semi-private social network for college kids – before a sixth of the world showed up and he had the opportunity to cash in.
It's also worth noting that Ello received nearly a half-million dollars in funding from venture capitalists, which some have criticized as a pre-emptive step toward profits over principles early in the game.
Will Ello last? Will it stick to its original principles? And do we have time for yet another thing to check and maintain? Only time will tell – but for now, please, someone send me an invite.