Ello Is New Facebook? Next Big Social Network Is Ad-Free, Porn-Friendly [REPORT]

We've been hearing a lot about a new social media network known as Ello. While it is still extremely obscure and available by invitation only, Ello is exploding in popularity as users regard the social network as the anti-Facebook.

Here's some background on the Ello Social Network: It is designed by Paul Budnitz, a designer toy maker, mike builder, and author. Budnitz wanted to create Ello under a set of principles that goes against manipulating the users and treating them like a product. According to Budnitz, Ello is designed with the intent to empower the people.

“When a network is run for advertisers, the advertiser is really the customer,” Budnitz said. “That really goes against what a social network is. When you’re putting up artwork, or something you wrote or created, and there’s an ad for underwear, it conflicts in a violating way.”

“Rather than clutter up eveyone’s Ello with a bunch of stuff most people don’t need, we will let specific users select options they really want and lay down a few bucks for them,” Paul Budnitz added.

Ello quietly launched in July with a few sign-ups from a mailing list compiled by word-of-mouth. That said, Ello managed to consistently grow three times its size every day. What's more, we are noticing a trend of artists, performers, and the LGBTQ that are getting sick and tired of Facebook and have flocked to Ello instead. The Daily Dot caught on to the Ello buzz and reported the trend as the "great gay Facebook exodus." According to Budnitz, there are 4,000 new signups each hour.

So how exactly does Ello work? Think of its interface and community as a combination of Facebook and Tumbler. Thanks to the lack of ads to clutter the site, Ello is more clean and sleek than both. Panels and buttons are designed to be sparse, minimalistic, and unoffensive to allow for more white space on each page.

Like Facebook, Ello users can add friends, which fall into two categories: “Friends” or “Noise.” Newsfeeds from you Friends will feature large-format notifications similar to Facebook. Noise updates will feature smaller tiles similar to Tumblr archives.

As most users are visual artists, Ello is designed to display visual content. What's more, Facebook has been banning accounts with unverifiable names. For artists that create pieces of self-expression that require anonymity, Ello is far more forgiving and allows multiple accounts.

Speaking of forgiving, Ello understands that anything on the internet is evitably used for spying or sex. And while there is absolutely no tolerance for spying, Ello is totally cool with NSFW content. Even though Ello is still in its beta, the social network did address pornography in its official posting rules. Essentially, Ello respects diverse interests, but it also respects that not everyone wants to see pornography. If a user has a tendency to share graphic images, then Ello asks for the account to be flagged NSFW.

“We don’t have a problem with porn at all,” Budnitz said. “But we would have a problem with bestiality or porn that encourages people to hurt each other, or anything that has to do with children.”

So, Ello is ad-free, respectful to privacy, open-minded about pornography, and is available to users for free. Indeed, Ello sounds wonderful, but how does it make money if it doesn't have ads and doesn't charge the user?

According to Paul Budnitz, Ello will approach a "freemium model," which sets up available cosmetic upgrades and additional options or features at a price.

“For example, some users may want to manage multiple accounts from a single login — like a designer who has a work Ello account and a personal one,” Mr. Budnitz told Betabeat. “We also have users from Europe and Japan who have asked for an inverted screen — white text on black. Apparently there is a big movement over there who thinks it is better for your eyes.”

Now it's your turned: what is your impression of Ello? Would you be interested in joining? Let us know in the comment section below! Stay tuned as we learn more about Ello.