EAVESDROPPING on two women in a busy cafe earlier this week I was baffled to hear them repeatedly say:
"'Allo, 'Allo". Was this their laboured attempt to sound continental chic and cosmopolitan? Were they overworked call centre workers with post-traumatic stress disorder? My heart soared. Could the brilliant 1980s comedy of the same name be making a comeback?
As it transpires, none of the above. They were in fact talking about Ello, a new social network which has burgeoned in popularity in recent days. Dubbed the "anti-Facebook" because of its pledge to not carry adverts or sell user data, Ello is currently receiving up to 31,000 requests an hour from people wishing to join the platform.
It was initially designed to be used by around 90 friends of its founder Paul Budnitz but the bicycle designer and shop owner, who hails from the US state of Vermont, opened the site to others on August 7.
At time of going to press, I'm still awaiting my invitation to join (cue tumbleweed ... ) although a part of me thinks this may be no bad thing. Arguably, I probably have a bit too much social media in my life already.
I enjoy Facebook but mainly for the pictures of cats. The ancient Egyptians weren't wrong on that count. Felines are magical creatures that should be revered. Photographs of Lego are equally welcome.
As well as Facebook, I'm also on Twitter (@SusanSwarbrick should you fancy a gander) and Instagram, although that has posed its problems on account of my embarrassingly short arms - it makes me rubbish at selfies. I have dabbled in Pinterest making a few boards of fireplaces, cute animals, inspirational quotes and such like before quickly losing interest. The app still sits on my iPad, gathering dust. I really must put it out of its misery.
Then there's Strava which technically isn't a social network but rather a means for cyclists to pit themselves against fellow riders on predetermined routes known as segments. The fastest man and woman on each are dubbed King or Queen of the Mountains, a hallowed prize.
Inevitably most of the communication these days comes in the form of the "Uh-oh, [insert name of faster cyclist] just stole your QOM" alerts which inevitably see me fly into a blind fury and then have to switch over to Facebook for a calming look at some cats.
Bearing this in mind, I'm not sure Ello is going to be the golden utopia it sounds.
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