These days Facebook is the staple of most of our social interactions. It’s reached the point where we get uncomfortable when someone admits to no longer having an account and references to Facebook in our daily lives are just common practice.
Let’s be real — many of us are growing more and more frustrated with Facebook’s potentially invasive methods of tracking our information, such as the rapidly spreading rumors about the new messenger app that Facebook harasses us all to download.
“Facebook’s flaw is that it’s too public, between anybody being able to creep on you and businesses putting up ads and fake accounts,” Tom Towey, a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said.
“I think the forced download of the messenger app is bullshit, along with Facebook giving data to third parties,” Alex Letizia, another student of the university, agreed.
In the wake of Facebook’s anticipated downfall — up to 80% user loss by 2017 — up-and-coming networking platform Ello seems like a potential candidate for taking over the center stage of the social media arena.
Right on the front page, the makers of Ello declare, “Your social network is owned by advertisers. Every post you share, every friend you make and every link you follow is tracked, recorded, and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that’s bought and sold. We believe there is a better way.”
Ello’s founder, Paul Bunditz, has no interest in competing with Facebook. If you decline the private invitation Ello sends, the networking site even directs you back to Facebook. But his approach of no ads, no data-tracking has its appeal, and his simplified business tactic is worth investigating as sign-ups double every few days, well into the thousands.
Ello has its major appeals. It is straight forward about its policies and it’s easy to follow — it even includes a noticeable “delete account” link to make it as easy as possible for users to opt-out if Ello undergoes any privacy changes like Facebook and Instagram.
Why can we believe that Ello will stay true to its ad-free roots?
“Ello converted to a Public Benefit Corporation,” the website announces. “A Benefit Corporation is a new kind of for-profit company in the USA that exists to produce a benefit for society as a whole– not just to make money for its investors.” The company openly admits to the legal elements binding Ello to the approach.
For more details about Ello and how to join, visit the official website at www.ello.com