These days, hitting your news streams and social media platforms you will be hearing about, if you have not heard already, about Ello (www.ello.co).
But why am I interested? Well, the founder of Ello is Paul Budnitz (http://paulbudnitz.com/) - inventor, creator, designer - but most of all for me, he's the owner of Budnitz Bicycles - one of which has been on my wish list for a long time (http://budnitzbicycles.com/).
So - let's talk bikes and why I love the look of his bikes so much.
His bikes are beautiful, made with the best equipment, with the cleanest lines - simple, functional and boundlessly elegant.
Classically he makes urban bikes, with swooping elegant lines. Frames are typically titanium. Accessories are kept to a minimum, giving a light speedy ride. Single speed drivetrains are powered by a carbon belt drive - maintenance and oil free. Disc brakes give stopping power, and the saddles are typically from Brooks. And of course, they make a beer opener :) (http://shop.budnitzbicycles.com/products/budnitz-titanium-beer-wrench)
This is a bike I would love to ride, love to own, love to use, and probably most likely, would love own just to look at!
Back to social media. After making these beautiful bikes he has now dived into the world of social media by starting Ello. The brand is designed to be simple, elegant, and ad-free. Commentators are calling it the anti-Facebook. And, frankly it is time.
I have been riling against Facebook for some time now, really typified by the ice bucket challenge and most annoyingly the stupid seemingly non-sensical removal of the messenger function from Facebook and putting it in a separate app. I can't really understand the driver behind this - is it to gather more data, to find a better way to get their claws into us, or is it just to be annoying? Who knows?! Maybe this time we have reached the zenith, the nadir - maybe we have the critical mass to finally move away from Facebook.
Somewhere we need to strike a balance. Social media drives to bring people together, to connect, to share positive messages, to share real news away from the influence of some of the worst news reporters (Fox, and more recently the BBC seems to have lost it's way), and to allow people who are distant to stay in touch (this is particularly dear to my heart, having lived away from home for 5 years). All social media forums seem to start with a similar proviso - to connect, to be positive, to spread the word, to give a voice to all, and certainly to not be evil ("Don't be evil" - at the very heart of the Google ethics code http://investor.google.com/corporate/code-of-conduct.html). Sidenote: I really hope this is the case! Most business leaders I have known are driven, but with a very strong ethical core
Culture and values run deep through the core of every business. Some of them live and breathe naturally through the lifeblood of small businesses, and sometimes, it can be seen throughout every employee. I cannot possibly say that it is always like this. So, for now I am going to take the physicians code - Primum non nocere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primum_non_nocere) - at first do no harm, assume that all players are occupying their space to make the world a better place, and to be a good human being.
I was impressed by the words of Brian Chesky when advising the rapidly expanding AirBnB organisation (https://medium.com/@bchesky/dont-fuck-up-the-culture-597cde9ee9d4) - "Don't Fuck Up The Culture".
However, there comes a time when the pendulum has to swing - bills have to be paid, shareholders have to make money, social media platforms have to pay back millions of dollars to investors and venture capital has to be, well, re-capitalised.
As this happens, expansion continues, bottom lines are balanced more aggressively and the culture has to be re-embedded into new employees, and re-affirmed in existing employees. High level decisions are made to re-enforce the culture. In real terms - how does this happen? Someone at C-level sees a behaviour that is slipping in their organisation, insists that this must be re-enforced. The message filters through management levels and workstreams, possibly via external consultancies, and finally every employee receives another training to complete on top of all the others stored in the training management system. Certification is performed, typically at a workstation, whilst the employee is in another meeting, on a telephone conference, but rarely, oh so rarely, with dedicated engaged brainspace. Is this the way to balance the pendulum? Does adding another training address what the C-level executive was trying to achieve? Does adding another training embed the right culture and values in the organisation? Does it engage the employee or does it put them off kilter from the culture even more?
Ello are communicating their manifesto and it is a refreshing diversion from where Facebook has arrived at. Facebook is driven by data, by advertising, working with personal data to get click throughs, purchase and selling. Ello are saying they will avoid data usage, advertising revenue, and will aim to eventually drive revenue through in-site, voluntary purchases. The manifesto is here https://ello.co/manifesto
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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.
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I'm looking forward to following the story of Ello. At some point, if Ello is successful they will have to address the culture, be wary of the pendulum, maintain the manifesto and yet continue to keep the shareholders happy.
If Budnitz's beautiful bicycles are anything to go by he can balance the pendulum and maintain the culture. Good luck!
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