Social media marketers and social media consumers are exposed to a littany of new products on a weekly basis. It seems that every time one blinks, a new social app is on the radar
making its rounds, claiming everything from greater privacy to more personalization to being a disruptor of Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
We know that this doesn’t work.
And, we know that the casualty is our ability to pay attention.
What is Ello?
Ello can best be described as a social networking site that promises to put the social back in social media. With an interface that looks like Twitter from 2007, the intention is to bring back that culture and feel, before social media marketers invaded with their marketing pitches and more. Though launched earlier this summer, Ello has really taken off, nearly to a fever pitch in the past week as individuals clamor for invites to get into the platform.
Despite it’s utter simplicity, Ello makes a few interesting design tweaks. First, Ello shows its users how many people saw a particular update, showing just how much reach a particular post has. Second, the product offers end users the opportunity to place new connections in either a friends bucket or noise bucket, the latter likely for connections who are acquaintances or who talk too much. In Facebook as you know, you get a mix of both worlds and the ability to create lists.
Will Ello Succeed?
It’s never right to say never, but when it comes to social networks it’s always difficult to say. Since LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have existed we have seen those three become the de facto choice for the mainstream user, while smaller more specific platforms like Snapchat and Vine have catered to a specific audience (read: teens). Scalability is huge, and while privacy has been a huge talking point for a number of years (see News Feed, Mini Feed, Messenger controversies), those have not truly hurt any of the large social networks. They have the stickiness of audience attraction and retention. While Ello has the early adopters buzzing, it will likely have a greater challenge of making things stick — and make user privacy concerns really matter.
Oh, and not to forget: technical glitches too.
What About You?
As a business owner it’s too early to think about the impact that Ello will have. Beyond really good PR, Ello is nothing yet but as with any company, there is potential. In a digital world where there is so much noise right now, it’s important that focus is the main part of any social media marketing strategy. Potential does not translate into actual juice, so unless you truly enjoy adopting platforms in their infancy, the best decision would be as a business owner, to avoid for now. Of course, the future may change.
Happy socializing!