Maybe you've heard, Facebook has a new competitor. Their name is Ello and they're labeling themselves as the ANTI-Facebook. I'd say thats a rather large statement to be making. So what's the word on Ello you may be asking? What makes them different, and why should you join another social media site you have to check up on and update. Well first off, you can't just join. They are currently invite only! That's right. Just like good ol' Facebook was when they started out. I'm sure you don't remember those days. The days when 100% of your friends / followers saw your posts. Now, for some really cool features about Ello. First and probably the most awesome thing for us photographers is.... NO PHOTO COMPRESSION! or so it seems. I'm not sure if it's confirmed there's no compression of our pictures, but they look a hell of a lot cleaner on Ello than on Facebook, even if sized properly for Facebook. Another great thing related to photos on Ello is, like on google+ we're given a massive header image. Here's mine -->
The site itself has a simplified Tumblr like feel to it. It's very clean but also very Beta. There are lot's of minor fixes that could and will be made by the time they release the "final" version. Here's what your profile page looks like with your friends list displayed on the left side. You can find my profile here --> ello.co/brandontigrett
Stop by and say "ello" if you get an invite to the site!
Things you'll notice on this page. You've got a friends list, as well as noise. Noise can be explained as a 2nd tier of friends basically. When you go to someone's profile, you have the option to either place them in your friends or noise. Friends will appear as they're shown above, and on the home screen you will see every single interaction your friends make. This is kind of a cool / unique feature about ello. When you place someone in noise, they don't show up on your main feed, but you can find their info in a sort of summed up area when clicking on "noise".
A few little tweaks that could be made would be in the Discover section. I find it hard looking for my friends in there. When you type in the search for someone, it directs you to a number of different user names, but not specifically the real name of the person you're looking for.
Some quick tips on how to succeed on Ello:
- Interact with people. Comment on peoples updates and be friendly. If someone follows you and they have few or even no followers, reach out, and say something kind. It might make their day and you could find a new friend. I've met some great people through Facebook while I was in college, or when I moved to a new city. It's all about making connections.
- Use the site. This is the biggest thing. You have to be willing to use the site, and put Facebook aside. I'm tired of Facebook limiting the reach of our posts, which is why I'm starting to migrate everything over to Ello! Hopefully within a year, I'll have enough of a community on Ello that I won't need to pay Facebook another dime to spread the news about my photos!
- Give it some time. Ello is in beta. It says it right on the top of their website. Ello Beta. This means things are going to be buggy, and go wrong. But, it also means they aren't done with it yet and they will be improving it. So going back to point number 2, use the site, and find out what needs to be fixed, spread the word, and it shall improve!
- Lastly, spread the word about Ello in real life. The hardest part for a new social media company to do is come in and gain a steady user base when there are already some major players in the ring. Encourage your fiends and family to step away from the other sites and give Ello a shot. Even if they're skeptical or don't enjoy it the first time, encourage them to stay with it. It will improve!
Anyways, these are just a few points that have come to mind after being on the site for it's first big week! It's exciting, kind of pioneering a new social network. Let's do it together though! Spread the word and lets make this a huge community! And come find me on Ello! ello.co/brandontigrett
Lastly, here are a few really cool people I would suggest you follow if you do join. Besides me of course ;)
Jeremy Cowart - ello.co/jeremycowart
Renee Robyn - ello.co/reneerobyn
Pratik Naik - ello.co/solsticeretouch
Those are just a few. There are many more joining every day! See you on the other side.
