While we cycle across Canada, we’ll be posting content nearly every day on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This will allow us to share stories and media across a huge distance, as well as to interact on an individual basis with our audience. But it isn’t lost to us that we’re injecting our work into platforms built for the sole purpose of advertising.
Facebook, for example, talks a good talk about wanting to connect people and share memories and all that, but we know their interest in us stretches about as far as they can sell our personal data. We know our Facebook Page is throttled to pressure us to push content for cash, we know our feeds are shaped by sponsored content. We wish it wasn’t that way.
Enter Ello. The origin of Ello in 2014 was a social network that rejected advertising and embraced a different philosophy.
Every post you share, every friend you make, and every link you follow is tracked, recorded, and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that’s bought and sold. […] We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce, and manipulate—but a place to connect, create, and celebrate life. You are not a product.Ello Manifesto
My anti-capitalism philosophy was what originally drew me to the site. Since then, Ello has evolved into “The Creators Network,” an engaged community of artists, designers, photographers, etc. who are shaping the world for the better. Ello is a Public Benefit Corporation led by a growing team committed to supporting everyday artists.
So I’ve loved Ello for years, and brought Asad into the fold. We are now excited to announce that we’re partnering with Ello in order to post our content in a specially curated category As the Raven Flies. We’ll still share in traditional social media, because that’s how engagement works, but you can expect the full collection of our work to be hosted and curated on Ello.