"Ello" soon to be "Goodbye" again?

The creators rely on an individualistic design with many empty spaces. Colors like gray, black and white dominate the still very simple beta website. Yes, Ello looks downright minimalist. But what is Ello and what does the new platform really offer?
 

The NZZ, Blick, 20 Minuten and Viva reported. Since various U.S. media have been writing about Ello, the new social network has also been generating a lot of reading material here. Ello as the new anti-Facebook or maybe even the definitive Facebook killer? Questions upon questions.

The company is already talking about around 27,000 new users per hour. At present, the network still exudes an air of exclusivity, because only those who receive an invitation are allowed to register. The reason for the sudden hype was above all the criticism of the requirement to use a clear name on Facebook. It looks as if Ello will pick up its users where Facebook leaves them in the lurch.

Ello describes itself as a transparent Facebook alternative with data protection, but without ads and without the need for a clear name. And no one is afraid to say so; even nude pictures are allowed as long as they are marked as NSFW (Not Safe For Work), and Ello does not mince words in other respects either: The help section, for example, is called wtf (What The Fuck). As far as features are concerned, Ello resembles the big top dog Facebook despite its minimalist presentation. Nevertheless, there are small differences: friend requests are not accepted, users can be followed similar to Twitter, and profiles can be admired publicly. Users you follow are divided into "Friends" and "Noise.

Under "Friends", those people appear who are really close to our hearts and whose updates are then displayed enlarged. "Noise", on the other hand, collects all acquaintances and channels whose content you only want to listen to sometimes. Interaction between users is (unfortunately) only possible via comments and instead of "Likes" Ello offers "Views". Networking on Ello is not that easy, because searching for other members only works if you know their Ello name. A mobile app doesn't exist yet either. #fail. Well, before Ello, various networks such as Diaspora or App.net already tried to topple Facebook, but mostly these turned out to be short flashes in the pan, which then faded away again. That's why I think it will be "Ello & Goodbye" this time as well.

Manuel P. Nappo, Director of Studies CAS Social Media Management HWZ (Zurich School of Business).

www.fh-hwz.ch/smm