Ello, the upstart social network founded last year as a minimalist, expressly ad-free alternative to Facebook, might not be holding onto its biggest promise after all.
An email Ello sent to its users today touting support for embedded sound and video from YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion, SoundCloud, and Mixcloud includes an interesting loophole that evidently permits those third-party, ad-supported services to bring their ads to Ello’s pages along with them.
If true, the loophole would represent quite a reversal for a social network once so committed to its ad-free mission statement that it signed a ‘Public Benefit Corporation‘ agreement making it virtually impossible for third parties to profit from its users’ data.
Either way, advertisements are an inevitability for any social network looking to become a major player. By their nature, social networks are a dream for brands and marketers thanks to their vast, oft-diverse user bases; couple that with the simple fact that those same users like free stuff, and ads — especially those displayed through a means similar to many a social network’s Promoted Posts — are an obvious choice for social sites seeking profitability and revenue generation.
For Ello’s part, the Colorado-based social network states it will uphold its commitment to an ad-free experience by allowing its users to opt out of select third-party posts. “Ello will never sell ads,” today’s email reads. “Hide posts that may contain 3rd party ads from your settings page,” it continues, with a photo of the relevant settings button included.
Mobile apps are also on the way this year for Ello, as they look to recapture a portion of the whirlwind of media attention they received last year.
