Get All Access for $5/mo

Hot New Social Network Ello Knocked Out By Cyber Attack... Already Just when we were saying our first hello to Ello, it said goodbye. Here's why. And, yes, the buzzing ad-free social magnet is back up and running.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Just as Ello said hello, it briefly said goodbye.

The ad-free, blatantly anti-Facebook social platform that debuted barely more than a month ago fell victim to a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. The knockout punch, which hit yesterday afternoon, caused an outage that lasted 45 minutes.

Related: Fast-Growing Ello a Facebook Killer? Not So Fast.

The site is up and running now, per its official status page.

The invite-only indie social network, still in beta mode, is rapidly growing in popularity. The recent spike in interest has been fueled in large part due to widespread animosity over Facebook's controversial new real names only policy, especially within the LGBT community.

Ello co-founder Paul Budnitz, a serial entrepreneur and artist, says some 31,000 requests to join the social platform pour in every hour, as reported late yesterday in USA Today. Invite codes for the fledgling service are so hot they're being auctioned off on eBay for up to $100 each.

Related: Facebook Rolls Out Site-Wide 'Privacy Checkup,' Revamps Default User Settings

Vermont-based venture capital firm FreshTracks Capital injected Ello with $435,000 in seed funding back in January, according to Ello's CrunchBase profile.

The alternative social network's manifesto voices what most of us are thinking anyway: mainstream social media isn't "fun anymore" thanks to rampant advertising and privacy-thrashing data tracking and sharing.

"We built Ello because virtually all of the other social networks were cluttered, ugly, and full of ads," the mission statement reads. "We came to realize that a social network that has ads is a social network created for advertisers, not for people. Every move we made was tracked and recorded, and every post we made was read and sold to other companies so they could show us more ads."

Related: Transparency Can Overcome Consumer Resistance to Sharing Data

On principle, Ello doesn't require real names, sell ads, nor "sell data about you to third parties." For now at least. It's also currently free to join and, according to Budnitz, it will "always" be. "But some people want special features -- they will have to pay for that," he said. "You're a graphic designer and want to control your personal login and your business profile, we're going to charge $1.99 for that."

Related: Protect Your Privacy With These Anti-Surveillance Frocks and Fashions

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Side Hustle He Started in His College Apartment Turned Into a $70,000-a-Month Income Stream — Then Earned Nearly $2 Million Last Year

Kyle Morrand and his college roommates loved playing retro video games — and the pastime would help launch his career.

Science & Technology

Why We Shouldn't Fear AI in Education (and How to Use It Effectively)

Facing resistance to new technologies in the educational process is nothing new, and AI is no exception. Yet, this powerful tool is set to overcome these challenges and revolutionize education, preparing students and professionals for a future of unparalleled efficiency and personalized learning.

Business News

Apple's AI Has a Catch — And It Could Help Boost Sales

Not every iPhone owner will get to use the new Apple Intelligence.

Business News

Elon Musk Threatens to Ban Employees from Using Apple Products, Says Will Lock Devices in 'Cages'

The Tesla founder sounded off on X following Apple's 2024 Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday.

Business News

Y Combinator Helped Launch Reddit, Airbnb and Dropbox. Here's What I Learned From Its Free Startup School.

The famed startup accelerator offers a free course on building a business — and answers five pressing questions for founders.

Business Culture

You'll Always Have Anxious Employees if You Don't Follow These 4 Leadership Tactics

Creating a thriving workplace environment hinges on the commitment of company leaders to nurture and inspire their teams.