Adam Zyglis

A few days ago, a Twitter friend asked me if I heard about Ello. I responded: “Who hasn’t?”

Even though it’s obvious that the vast majority of internet users aren’t (yet) migrating en masse to this new social network, those of us who follow tech news on daily basis couldn’t miss this fresh, and seemingly viral, concept, even if they tried really hard.

As far as early adoption of new trends goes, I am not the best example. Back in 2008, I didn’t join Facebook just because everybody else did. And although I have never created a personal account there, I’m a frequent user of other social media, and I fully recognize Facebook’s contributions, as well as disadvantages of not taking part.

Still, the manifesto of Ello didn’t make me feel like “finally somebody got it”. The statement “we also think ads are tacky, that they insult our intelligence and that we’re better without them” sounds to my ears as cliché-laden as “money is the root of all evil.”

I consider myself an idealist and a dreamer. I do hold a firm belief that without visionaries, whose minds stretch beyond what most of us perceive as comfortable reality, the humanity cannot progress. But I’m also convinced that the internet has liberated us, mainly because it has provided us with boundless amount of vital resources, information and tools, which are now widely accessible. And anybody who has at least some elementary knowledge of economics knows that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

I browse my favorite news site for free and I must tolerate the ads populating the pages in exchange. I use Google search countless times per day, fully aware that everything I type is monitored to improve my user experience, and yes, also to sell the data for the company to be financially sustainable and profitable. I download a free app, but I know that its developer has to pay his rent somehow, so it doesn’t surprise me that I need to occasionally close some ads.

Ads may be, and often are, pretty annoying.

But they certainly don’t insult my intelligence. I know that to get something, I need to give something in return. With that in mind, the question doesn’t go: ads vs. no ads. The question is, if we were given the choice, what would the answer of majority of us be? Do I want to pay myself? Or do I want the advertisers to pay instead?

Many people certainly don’t have any idea how this whole trade goes, let alone does it ever cross their mind to ponder over it. Correspondingly, every time some hoax about Facebook to launch monthly fees starts circulating the internet, the first common reaction is disbelief and shock.

Now, can you honestly imagine that Facebook says: “We really have to do this so we don’t need to touch your personal data anymore?”…and the whole world responds in unison: “Oh, fair enough, take our money!”?

For example, if I think of explaining this to my younger sister, who is on maternity leave and counting every penny, it may go like this:

Me: Did you know that everything you click, everything you write, or every image you post, is tracked, recorded, and sold to advertisers?

She: Wow, that’s terrible!

Me: That’s true. Then Facebook lets these advertisers show you ads based on what you like.

She: Like what?

Me: Well, you often post pics of your children, so they may show you ads for a site selling children’s clothing, for example.

She: Yeah, that makes sense. I just saw that autumn sale offer for strollers.

Me: You see. But good news is that you can switch that off now. Just click here.

She: Sounds good… but… so then I can miss that sale next time?

Me: You don’t need them to rub it in your face, right? Just click here and you can keep full control of your private data.

She: If you think so… but why does it ask me for my credit card number?

Me: Hm, that’s the price for keeping your page ad-free. It’s only symbolic… for them to cover the operating costs.

She: Ehh, okay, I will think about it. Thanks. I need to go now…

I am positive that the fathers of Facebook and Google didn’t wake up one day thinking: “I will create something that will put millions under the yoke of advertisers.” I believe that they wanted to create an excellent product in the first place. Although they didn’t come up with something purely original. There were other search engines, other social networks. But we all use these two, because they turned out to be simply the best.

It would be naive to think that they would reach that point without money. A big amount of money.

They must have cared about their product enough to make smart business decisions. And by a smart business decision I mean something as trivial as simply being the most effective channel between supply and demand, with mutual consent of both sides.

While I admire the vision of Ello, as well as the courage to start a new social network when people are clearly overwhelmed by them, I’m not convinced that it presents a viable long-term alternative to the shortcomings of social networks that live on ad revenue.

Arguably, the root of all the resentment against these two giants is the low level of transparency and the fear that we don’t have a choice.

Ello brings us closer to having a choice by being a good quality alternative. But at the same time, it’s an almost identical product (building upon the success of the competitor it hates), except it strives to take “filthy” business out of the game.

But wait, wait. We are not only consumers, right?

Many of us are also trying to do business online ourselves. Even if you only own a tiny blog, you may have subscribed to an affiliate program to earn a couple of dollars on the side. Or if you run a small business, you were probably all over the moon when Google gave you a $50 AdWords coupon as a gift, so you could attract a few more customers.

Oh no, you cannot manipulate me! But come, and suck in all you can about my company. people simply can’t live without. I’m begging you. I have been dropping links all over the web to please you.

SEO, the huge set or practices to show higher in the search results, has become a science of its own. If you have ever tried to earn money on internet, you will have probably already become one of its masters. It’s also likely that you poured some cash into Facebook or Google ads to reach your target customers.

So why should we all of sudden pretend that they are so bad?

For sure, we all want the same thing. We want to understand what happens to our data and we want to have an easy way to opt out. Both Facebook and Google should definitely be more transparent about their policies and stop depriving their users of the choice by keeping them purposely blind.

By doing that, they make sure that there will always be thirst for unconventional initiatives like Ello. And then, why not keep our fingers crossed for them? Even if rebels don’t always win, they stir things up. And that’s right.