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There’s been a lot of buzz about Ello on Twitter and elsewhere* and, according to the BBC, the new social media network is currently receiving up to 31,000 requests an hour from people wishing to join its platform.
Ello was created by Paul Budnitz of Budnitz Bicycles of Vermont, USA. Budnitz Bicycles makes custom-built commuter bikes.
The new social media platform carries no ads, an attraction for those turned off by Facebook’s targeted advertising. How does it make money? At the moment it doesn’t but as it has received $435,000 in seed funding from a venture capitalism firm (FreshTracks of Vermont) there must be a payback somewhere down the line. Designer and social entrepreneur Aral Balkan said "When you take venture capital, it is not a matter of if you’re going to sell your users, you already have." He advises people not to join Ello, if they value their online privacy.
* Insert own joke here about the new police social network, Ello Ello Ello.
