Remember Ello?
Digging through SEC filings, I discovered that the newly-launched indie social network had taken nearly half a million in seed funding from a venture capital firm, which seemed counter to its indie manifesto.
Wow. I completely forgot about Ello.
I remember when it launched, people scrambling to get access to it. There was a ton of buzz. Unless I’m mistaken, you needed an invite, similar to Bluesky.
I loved the minimal design. I also really dug the attitude of the founders, sort of a “fuck you” to the big social networks. It felt true. It felt authentic.
Turns out, it was anything but.