A group of friends from Vermont launched a new social network, Ello, dubbed the “anti-Facebook” platform because it carries no advertisements.

The social network is currently receiving up to 31,000 requests an hour from people wishing to join its platform, according to its founder, Paul Budnitz.

Ello was initially designed to just be used by about 90 friends of its founder Paul Budnitz.

Paul Budnitz, a bike shop owner from Vermont, opened Ello to others on August 7.

Ello is dubbed the anti-Facebook platform because it carries no advertisements

Ello has been dubbed the “anti-Facebook” network because of a pledge to carry no adverts or sell user data.

However, some experts have cautioned that it might struggle with plans to charge micro-payments for certain “features”.

The site has a minimalist design and does not appear as user-friendly, at first glance, as more established networks.

Ello has already survived a reported Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack – a targeted flood of internet traffic – which briefly knocked it offline over the weekend.

The network will eventually make money by selling access to features, Paul Budnitz added.

Ello members can already check out features in development on the page and register their interest.

[youtube 84nCBsx369Q 650]