Finally,I joined Ello, the new new social network that has positioned itself as an anti-Facebook platform.
Take a look at the welcome email I received from Ello. This is not just bad, but an example of an extremely bad product positioning and of a confused product.
“Thank you for joining Ello Beta. Updates and new features are released daily.
Please help us create a simple, beautiful, and ad-free social network.
Log in and have fun using Ello!”
None of the above excites me to join a new new social network.
You don’t wake up and say ‘hey! I will only login to a social network which rolls out new features daily; and is ad-free’.
People use web sites / services as utilities.
That is , ‘TO <DO x>”.
WhatsApp, which is was the actual Facebook competition and privacy friendly network never started off with a negative connotation.
For the privacy freaks, surely Ello is a great option – there aren’t friends to talk to. It’s as private as what you’d like it to (pun intended).
Are you on Ello? Do you find it useful?
3 comments
I signed up for ello and I was very impressed by the fact that my data will not be bought or sold by the platform. Ello will not gain popularity in India because we don't have any concept of privacy. Heck, we give our pan card number or phone number when some delivery guy asks for verification without thinking twice that the data is sensitive. Our neighbours are more interested in our lives than their own and vice versa. We store sensitive data on phones like pin numbers etc. without any protection then why the heck will I bother with Ello or why do I care if my data is sold for money.
Ello's main point is in their manifesto and not on updates. Its still in beta version and like any social media platform it will take time to gain users.
it's not about India. It's about basics of product positioning – i think they are overselling privacy part. If you care so much about privacy, don't use Internet – it's as simple as that.
A negative feature cannot become selling point, unless you are selling hatred.
This article doesn’t seem very informative. It’s purely based on your opinion and hinges on obnoxious, i.e., “privacy freaks” — why are people who prefer to preserve their anonymity in this increasingly digitized world considered freaks?
Ello’s purpose is simplicity, and the welcome email clearly depicts that. I was expecting more nuanced discourse on the “problem” or the “case of bad product positioning” as you have mentioned in your title, this just seems like you don’t agree with the ethos of the network and if that’s the case, don’t join it.