Bloggers Lisa Walker, 32, of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Bloggers Lisa Walker, 32, of Cambridge, Massachusetts (L), and Tom Gerace, 37, of Boston, Massachusetts sit in front of computers while watching the Republican Debate from a bar in Manchester, New Hampshire in this January 5, 2008 file photo. Blogging by teenagers and young adults has dropped by half over the last three years as they turn instead to texting and social networking sites such as Facebook, a new study shows on February 4, 2010. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi/Files Reuters

Facebook is one of the most popular among social networking sites. Today this social networking site has become a place to interact with friends and family. Facebook has become the face of many people. It is the most convenient way of keeping in touch with people who are near and dear to us. Whether it is hated or liked, most people cannot stay away from it.

However, a social networking site which calls itself Ello has been making news as the rival of Facebook. This anti-Facebook, social networking site has suddenly become very popular and people are talking about it. Ello was created last year as a private social networking site and recently opened its doors to the public on invitation basis only. According to reports 31,000 people are signing up in an hour on Ello.

The social networking site is created by Paul Bundnitz and is devoid of any advertisements. The site is designed in simple black and white. The makers believe in beauty, simplicity and transparency. According to its manifesto, every post, link and friends made on social networking sites are recorded and converted into data. Advertisers buy this data and show more ads. In this way people do not remain people any more, but become commodities to be sold and this is unethical. Ello was started with an intention to keep advertisements out and make it hassle free and very simple to use.

The popularity of social network Ello has led people to buy invite codes on eBay for more than $200. The invite codes could be easily got with a few simple steps. Since it is still in its beta stage to join Ello, people need an invitation. Once out of beta everyone will be able to join the site without a code. To get an invitation to Ello the user needs to sign up by entering his email address and the invitation code will be sent to that email address. Otherwise, just follow the "Ello Invite Code" on Twitter page as people are tweeting invitation codes. On Google Plus too Ello invites are being given out. Invitation codes are also given on the Reddit page.

Once the Ello invite code is obtained visit the Ello joining page and enter the invite code along with all the details of the other required fields and you are a member of Ello.