Ello

[VegaLA]

So, just caught this on Engadget and was wondering if any CaBbers have an account?

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/26/ello/

Their intentions seem legit but if it becomes successful, well, you know how it goes....

[syntaxerror]

Yeah it's all very well and I can see the appeal to those who have Facebook fatigue or whatever, but where's the money going to come from?

[Benjaminos]

You pay for premium features, apparently. I can't see this sticking around for more than six months - even Google+ is barely hanging in there in terms of relevancy, and that's with the combined might/wealth of Google behind it.

[The Region Legion]

Once upon a time I'd have written this off immediately but I think they've got the timing pretty much right. Most people are sick of Facebook and its endless changes, updates etc. By creating something that isn't just a straight clone (Google+), if it does get a good userbase installed then I can see it working, particularly with the premium features that so many people seem to be fine with parting with cash for these days (in-app purchases etc.).

My only question is "what are the premium features?". If uploading photos and private messaging are considered that, then it'll go nowhere.

[checkoutgirl]

You pay for premium features, apparently.

They've no advertising and it has to be paid for somehow. I'm assuming the founders aren't philanthropic billionaires. If it gets big it will cost a fortune to run.

[chand]

They've no advertising and it has to be paid for somehow. I'm assuming the founders aren't philanthropic billionaires. If it gets big it will cost a fortune to run.

That's the rub, innit. Until the point where one of these social media platforms convinces its users to actually pay for the service, then advertising is gonna be a necessary evil. Those venture capitalists who stuck $400k into it are gonna want a return eventually. And of course, making users pay is colossally offputting to most people, and people are what you need to make it work.

I'm struggling to see any new social network actually becoming a big deal now Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr are so well established. There needs to be a pretty strong reason for people to abandon their existing networks and that's a really hard sell even for a fully-functioning alternative, let alone a beta one with (as yet) no privacy, no blocking, limited sharing and, currently, invite-only access. So far it's reminding me of the G+ plus launch where the invite system created the buzz, only for people to find there wasn't much there.

Once upon a time I'd have written this off immediately but I think they've got the timing pretty much right. Most people are sick of Facebook and its endless changes, updates etc.

I dunno, people complain about Facebook, rightly so for the most part, but it's so established that it's a hard habit to break. People use Facebook to keep in touch with a lot of people who aren't hardcore internet users, the sort of people who don't given a shit about data harvesting or how various Facebook settings impact on anonymous sex workers or people with gender dysphoria. There's a huge user base who aren't going to budge. By the same token it's going to be hard to drag people away from Twitter without a pretty compelling reason (sup, Menshn?).

Of course, there's always room for a new social network to exist alongside the big ones, but as with my experience of Google+, it's hard to get a decent experience going if your friends on the new network are people with active Twitter and Facebook accounts. I had a bunch of G+ friends but they were all cross-posting from FB or Twitter and there was no reason for me to keep logging in.

One issue that Menshn (and stuff like Diaspora) had is that it's honestly kind of a shit idea to launch a social network in this day and age without a fully functioning mobile app, and Ello currently has the same situation. They've said there'll be one at some point but if this bit of buzz has gone by then it's gonna be difficult.

[Uncle TechTip]

Even without advertising it's hard to see that they could resist the cash in from selling all your analytical data - people who liked this and this also liked that kind of info.

And where does advertising stop, do they propose to ban fan pages and the like, as they will be gamed if there are no in line adverts.

[hoverdonkey]

Also, the name. Yuck

[mcbpete]

What's meant to be the difference between this and tumblr ?

[doppelkorn]

What's meant to be the difference between this and tumblr ?

Yeah it just seems to be people posting pictures of cafes, "design" stuff, microbrewed beer and their own beards.

[BlodwynPig]

It's either this:

"U OK Hun?"

Or this:

"Detail shot of a new painting in progress for a show in New York City. Always been fascinated with wave physics, specifically light diffraction. This phenomena can visually create an emphasis on tactile texture in a digital context. Texture in art seems to be in retrograde due to new media and the internet, this bugs me a bit as a painter and process-based artist. Regardless, this has been a fun experiment. Medium used is acrylic paint and acrylic spray on wood panel."

[checkoutgirl]

People use Facebook to keep in touch with a lot of people who aren't hardcore internet users, the sort of people who don't given a shit about data harvesting or how various Facebook settings impact on anonymous sex workers or people with gender dysphoria. There's a huge user base who aren't going to budge.

That's the pretty much unique element of Facebook, even your granny has an account and she hasn't even got a computer. Around 500 million people are on it and I'd say 480 million of them aren't even the slightest bit bothered about advertising or data mining. The other 20 million will whinge and moan but put up with it because all their mates are on it. I have a feeling Ello might go the way of Friendster or at best just fart along like Myspace. Shifting Facebook would be like replacing the Pepsi/Coca Cola industrial complex, just about possible but a long shot.

I can see them cornering the social conscience hipster market, especially if the pictures of beards growth curve carries on in line with current trend projections.

[amnesiac]

[Uncle TechTip]

It's all about ver kids innit. As ver kids grow older, they will use whatever spangly site they've been using up to now. No-one will supplant Facebook overnight but its continued success is not guaranteed. This isn't a reason for people not to try though as competitors however small will push Facebook to innovate or stop fucking their users so much.

[amnesiac]

yeah pretty sure Facebook, which I don't have, is not run from a laptop in Zucker's bedroom, I think they have a lot of servers, a datacenter, everywhere, APIs everywhere, fucking BONO

[katzenjammer]

not run from a laptop in Zucker's bedroom,

No, but that's where it started.

What do people mainly use facebook for?  What are its most popular functions?  I haven't had an account for a few years but back then it was messaging, wall posts, photo sharing and games (scrabble in my case)  I'd have thought some smart arse should pretty easily be able to write a browser extension that utilises bit torrent or a similar peer-to-peer network for that lot, thereby making it free to run.

[imitationleather]

I mainly use it for the chat function as MSN is gone now and to post up things I think of that I reckon are funny but aren't strong enough to support an entire thread on here.

My missus hates talking on the phone so the chat function is quite important, really.

[Head Gardener]

never one to miss a chance to tart me arse - https://ello.co/head-gardener

[doppelkorn]

I find Facebook pretty invaluable for organising my social life for the various clubs and sports groups I'm in.

When I think back to how the team captain would have to spend hours on Friday nights ringing round to find out who's playing that week, and being that captain, FB seems like a massive step forwards. Even email's tricky.

[olliebean]

Although its organisational value is dubious given that I've rarely been to an event attended by more than a fraction of the number of people who had clicked "yes" on facebook to say they would be attending.

[lazarou]

Clickhole getting in on the action there.

[syntaxerror]

Accordian to the Guardian Ello is over already. Cba to link.

[chand]

Accordian to the Guardian Ello is over already. Cba to link.

Nobody I know has mentioned it on Twitter since that day when the invites went round. Pretty much the same as happened with Google+. Of course, it's possible that loads of people quit Twitter for Ello so I don't hear about it, but my hunch is...probably not.

[lazarou]

Well that went well. I got another invite from them today filled with the usual hubristic guff, but it feels like yesterday's news. No-one I know has even mentioned the name since those excitable handful of days after it launched, is there anyone on here who's still there or is it as dead on its arse as it seems?

[Onken]

My mate Joshua Davis just designed them a tshirt.

I reserved my name and never went back.