Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, accepts her role as the Mockingjay by visiting a refugee hospital in District 8 (Photo courtesy Lionsgate).
Saying ‘Ello’ to Clutter-free The new social media site Ello introduces simplicity, beauty and easy control to its users, despite being in its early stages. BY ELLIE SCHWARTZ NEWS EDITOR
For most, scrolling through a Facebook newsfeed has turned into a sorting session of advertisements and updates of ‘friends’ one might have never met all in order to find one or two relevant posts. Every like, click and friend made is recorded and sold to advertisers. Users become pawns in a ruthless marketing game. Contrastingly, the new social media site Ello rebels against the advertisements, clutter and money made off of users, embracing control over updates and an ad-free interface and simplicity instead. Before becoming a part of the growing network, potential users sign a manifesto rallying against ads and user manipulation on other sites
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and request an invitation to join by e-mail. Since Ello is still in “beta form,” computer talk for still developing, invitations go out in small groups and can take a while to receive. Being in beta form also means that there are few users and few ways of organizing posts on Ello. While Facebook brags about its worldwide community and ability to see what every person in one’s life is doing, the Ello community is small by choice and focuses on sharing one’s life with a smaller community in an aesthetically pleasing way. Ello users follow each other and group the users they follow into two categories: “Friends” and “Noise.” Best friends and favorite celebrities go in the “Friends” category, while the girl at camp four years ago and the third cousin that posts pictures of every cup of coffee he drinks go in the “Noise” category. That way, users only see what they want to see. Ello’s other major draw lies in its aesthetic. Everything aside from pictures is black and white, all text in a simple serif font. Explanations are clear and to-the-point, and there is, as promised, no clutter to be found. On a simple white background,
Ello’s plain logo matches its simplistic design overall. (Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons) text posts and pictures are the main focus, unobstructed by ads or complicated tabs. Ello is truly a platform to share one’s life, not advance hidden marketing agendas. Overall, while Ello is still developing, its charm lies in its simplicity and easy use. For those craving freedom from advertisements and excess friends, they are likely to imitate the Ello logo: a simple smiley face.
