Dive Brief:
- Social network Ello announced it has hired Rene Alegria as its first CMO. Alegria is the founder and former CEO of Mamiverse, a site dedicated to Hispanic mothers.
- Founded in 2014, the invite-only, public benefit social network has promised not to carry advertisements or collect data on its users.
- Ello will have a marketing budget, but it is unclear what the path forward will be without advertiser support. “What I’m going to do with that budget is not going to be traditional,” Alegria told the Wall Street Journal.
Dive Insight:
The alternative social network Ello is set to adjust its strategy after debuting last year as an anonymous, ad-free, and invite-only social network. The site generated considerable user interest as an alternative to Facebook after the latter had a dustup with drag queens wanting to join under their stage names.
Ello hasn’t had much buzz since, but now claims more than 1 million users and seems to be retooling for growth. CEO Paul Budnitz told WSJ that he plans end Ello’s invite-only policy, monetize the site by charging users for custom features and release a mobile app, while still keeping the network ad-free.
