Hello Ello, Goodbye Facebook: Social media network without ads woos US users

Can social networks products function without advertising? So far, the most successful example of a social media product that didn't rely on any advertising is WhatsApp, which was bought by Facebook for $19 billion.

While WhatsApp hasn't been flooded with ads for now and it looks unlikely in the future, a new social media website called Ello, which has been created by California-based artist and designer Paul Budnitz, is premised on the no advertisers policy. Ello is invite-only for now and according to this post on TheDailyDot is also attracting several members of the LGBT community.

The website's homepage says the idea is to not treat the user as a product and to keep user data and privacy safe. The page reads,

"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. We believe in audacity. We believe in beauty, simplicity and transparency. We believe that the people who make things and the people who use them should be in partnership.

We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce and manipulate — but a place to connect, create and celebrate life.

You are not a product."

Ello is currently in beta testing and you can only join if you get an invite. You can request one by sending an email. In an interview to BetaBeat, Budnitz, who incidentally also launched a luxury bicycles company in 2010, says that idea for the social network arose due to the disillusionment with other social networks.

He tells the website, "My partners and I had lost interest and were fed up with other social networks — exhausted by ads, clutter, and feeling manipulated and deceived by companies that clearly don’t have our interests at heart. We used Ello privately for about a year and invited around 100 of our artist & designer friends to join." The growing interest meant that demand was a bit too much to handle for the servers of Ello. According to Budnitz,"Facebook, Google+, Tumblr, etc. aren’t really social networks — they’re advertising platforms. They exist to sell ads. That’s it.”

The interview with BetaBeats also points out that Budnitz isn't a fan of mass consumption or production. Which probably explains the luxury bicycles. Before that Budnitz founded Kidrobot which sells limited edition toys (around 60 new toy projects are announced by the company each year) and the toys are sold in thousands of stores worldwide, according to Budnitz's website.