Simple really. There is no where else currently on the web where you can post content without there being some kind of hidden agenda, and your information and data being used to further someone’s ends. This is the only place currently on the web where people are actively engaging with each other, and pursuing a meaningful dialogue. This is the only place on the web where the creators and designers are actively involved with their users.
In the short time I have been on Ello, I have made new friends, found new artists, gained access to new and exciting work, and seen a lively, exciting and thought provoking interaction and dialectic.
Ello has it’s detractors (though most of those seem to have their own agenda and subsequently can be ignored). Some people find the interface difficult to navigate, but there is a HELP section for that kind of thing. Also, it is not the job and/or ethos of Ello to sell itself to you.
If you want to be part of the Ello community, it requires some effort. This means that you get involved, add users as friends and participate. Comment on other users feed, and post interesting content. If you join and hope that people are going to flock to you and comment on your ironic and cryptic ‘one liners’, then your hopes will be dashed.
But, if you are genuinely interested in getting involved in something new and exciting that puts your interests first, and is about promoting community, dialogue, new ideas, then by all means…join.
Here is a POST I wrote on posting tips when joining Ello. Another good POST by Thomas Hawke about getting the most out of Ello.
Lastly, come and find me on Ello!
If you are interested in purchasing any original pieces, postcards and prints then please visit my ART SHOP.
Whilst I’m a big fan of Tumblr, I think that Ello has the edge over it in a couple of ways :
1. Tumblr’s post editor is pretty much unusable on mobile devices – the WYSIWYG editor isn’t available, and you have to enter your post as HTML. Ello, because it lets you use Markdown to indicate bold, italic, strikethrough, etc., is considerably easier to use on mobile in that regard.
2. Tumblr doesn’t have proper commenting facilities, and you have to set up and embed Disqus into your blog if you want comments. (That brings its own issues – suffice to say, I’m not a fan of Disqus.) Ello’s comments might be flat, but at least they work!
Think I might have to start giving Ello some more attention.
Hope you’re well.
Alan x
Hey there Alan…
Couldn’t agree more about Tumblr. Whilst I have always been a fan, it’s interface has always been clunky. The one thing it had going for it was the reblog feature and being able to post things from around the web using the toolbar button, but as you say its almost useless on the mobile. And don’t even get me started about Disqus!!!
I have found Ello dead easy to use from the get go (and get irritated when people complain about it), when I think about the shocking crapness of the Typepad interface!
Anyway, nice to see you. We are all good. Well, apart from falling dead the stairs (gain) and twisting my ankle, now turning a fetching shade or purple.
Cheers
Lorrie x