Ad-Free Ello - Too Good to Be True?

This week we discussed the ins and outs of data mining. I learned it's a thriving industry. At its core, data mining creates a win-win scenario for both businesses and consumers. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, big data can increase profits in the retail sector by 60%. By providing personal data, consumers benefit from greater business efficiencies and new products. This is a result of the consumer making contact with some well-placed ad in a targeted mailer, email, search engine, or promoted post on a given network. So what happens when the ads don't exist?

You get Ello.

Ello is the social network that prides itself on providing an 'ethical' ad-free experience. This article details how they've gone so far as to become a Public Benefits Corporation, legally binding itself to never data mine, make money from selling ads or sell user data. It's all a commitment to "benefit society as a whole, not just make money from its investors." This 'society' it claims to benefit, however, is limited since users can't join without an invite.  (Links to an external site.)

After a year of operation, Ello is still in beta testing. Just last month they were putting final touches on sharing video and audio media (Vimeo, Soundcloud, Dailymotion, etc.) into their posts. Ironically enough, Ello's cannot entirely eradicate ads from their platform... specifically those embedded within YouTube videos. Ello polled their users to find out what their opinions were on the matter. 

You know what they found out? Their users didn't care about the occasional ad - they just wanted to share the content with their friends. I'll admit, I was surprised to read that since this blatantly goes against their no-ads policy (isn't that why the users are there in the first place?!). I just imagine social networks like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram sticking their noses up and saying "I told you so" to Ello for thinking they could truly rid themselves of ads on their site. And who is to say that these other video and audio mediums will not also incorporate embedded ads somewhere down the line? 

Ello was thoughtful enough to further compromise by allowing users to manage their settings - providing the option to toggle off from embedded media - to protect themselves from even accidentally seeing an ad. Perhaps social giants can take a page out of Ello's book and add some of these settings to their own platforms, cutting down on the "noise" that bombards users' timelines. 

My thoughts on Ello's future? It may not be the next Facebook, but it'll work for those who use the platform as well as any other. Robert Wringham says, "(Ello is) superior to its competitor but failing to win popular traction...[but] a social network doesn't need approval from everyone to work." I certainly agree with that. 

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"A blog well worth reading..."

This week I'll be exploring three different blog styles, providing an example of each and analyzing their content:

1. Per this week's lecture, Pandora is a professional blog that focuses on the company's news and features. It acts as a supplement to their music streaming and automated music recommendation service. It is unique because its posts are sorted in one of five categories: The Pandora Story, Pandora Innovators, Inside the Collection, From the Artists, and Listener Experience. This allows for a plethora of writers and dynamic content. The blog initially reflected its brand as they published news about their latest product enhancements and company milestones in product and technology leadership, but has become much more interactive since March 2014, when Tom Conrad stepped down as Pandora's Chief Technology Officer. 

These days it's updated on a regular basis, shares the latest updates to the site and services like "Pandora Radio Comedy." Beyond its services, it keeps users apprised of interesting information about featured and lesser known musical artists. I appreciate how they include a Weekly Curator's Pick that showcases the newest music and genre station highlights on Pandora. Unlike its music-streaming site, there aren't any advertisements on the blog. Their content, though, acts as advertisement for their users to research the featured artists and potentially (legally) purchase the artists' work. 

To be honest, I'm not even sure how I stumbled across Pandora's blog. There isn't a direct link anywhere on the main interface, nor does it show up high on Google search - you will most likely find links to their Facebook or to the similarly named bracelet site. The blog is well integrated, however. They engage their audiences on social channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Youtube. They've created hashtags like #WhiteboardWednesday and use it across its platforms to stay consistent and build anticipation with followers. Avid music listeners, fans of underground artists or opinionated users are usually the people to read and comment on their blog posts.

According to this week's lecture, Pandora runs a relatively successful blog - posts are published often; the blog is linked to their Twitter account and conversely, Twitter streams updates to their blog; they create original content and have the longevity that's made them successful. What I would love to see is a subscription option to their content on the main Pandora page, and labels being used on their individual posts. I think both would positively affect their SEO.

2. Event Manager Blog is a group blog - a collaborative hybrid of different authors that provide centralized content. It is the number one blog worldwide for event professionals, covering topics such as event planning, social media and events, event technology, event trends, event inspiration but also destination management marketing, hospitality marketing. What makes them unique is how they offer professional advice, reports, and tools to alleviate one of the most stressing professions in the world. There are ads listed on the site for Wordpress themes and event solution software. They are building brand credibility by having relationships with these similar-industry businesses. I really enjoyed their "Inspire Me Now" section in between advertisements on the right side of their page. It allows for quick sharing options and provides high visibility for (perhaps) less popular posts.

As the number one blog worldwide for event professionals, it's obvious they're going to show up high on any search engine. Any kind of question/topic related to event planning, or a few good keywords will drive traffic to the blog. General interests or specific items pull people in to read their articles. You can "like" them on Facebook right on their homepage and subscribe to their newsletter, as well. Both of those channels draw people back to their blog for further reading. It makes sense as to why they're so successful as a blog - they truly love the idea of staying connected to their readers and don't isolate them on their blog. In my opinion, they've successfully covered all of their bases - there isn't anything that immediately draws my attention as "missing." 

3. Lifehacker's motto is "tips and downloads for getting things done." They make for an interesting type of blog. For the sake of this assignment, I will refer to it as a news blog. I say this because it has several authors contributing, each specializing in specific subjects, allows someone to be followed, and I often find their blog content being shared on channels like Twitter and Facebook. The blog posts cover a wide range of topics including: Microsoft Windows, Mac, Linux programs, iOS and Android, but I know them best for general life tips and tricks. The staff updates the site more than 15 times every day, with reduced updates on weekends.

The blog lives up to the brand of "getting things done" in a world that thrives on efficiency. It shares tons of information and content that could be useful to any reader. It's not the best designed blog, but you can find tips on how to get rid of garlic breath, how to find father's day deals, or a how-to guide on social media customer service (how fitting!). I think it's safe to say that it's their integrated presence on social media channels and constant posts that drive traffic to the blog and gets people to read their content. There is information to be consumed about any and every interest/subject.

Lifehacker is a successful blog because it's updated very often, shares posts via social channels, and is renowned for its original and useful content. I think it'd be most helpful if the articles' subject categories were listed at the top of the page. This is simply for aesthetics and organization, rather than an endless scroll. There are advertisers on the site. I have State Farm ads pictured here on their homepage. I don't think I have State Farm in my cookies, but I'd be interested to see if it changes based on my browser history. (Update: It doesn't - now it's showing Verizon ads, also not in my browser history, and that leads me to believe that these are placement ads paid for by the actual companies.)

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