Alternative social networking site Ello was apparently down for 45 minutes today from a Distributed Denial of Service attack.

Ello is a new social media platform that claims to be advertising free and is only open via invitation. It opened this August.  

According to an announcement on their homepage, this kind of glitch doesn't happen often even if it appears there's something broken on the website. The website recommends hitting the back button by trying again; heading back to the homepage or checking the site's status page for more information.

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Fortunately, the company was able to restore its site by blocking the hackers' IP addresses that attacked the website.

Ello's unique approach to social networking had some dub it as the "Anti Facebook" site since it champions its exclusivity. Ello has received 45,000 invitation requests per hour since its launch last August 7.

Members aren't required to sign up with their real names since they can opt be anonymous or use different names.

According to Ello co-founder Paul Budnitz, the inspiration for Ello derives from realizing that social networking sites today are no longer fun.

Budnitz wants to focus on telling stories via photos; bringing about high quality content and promoting meaningful dialogue among its members.

When asked about how many users are already on Ello, Budnitz replied with the unprecedented fast rate of user sign ups.

Currently, the service is free of charge. Users, however, will be charged a few dollars to avail of certain features such as designer emoji packs and multiple account log-in.

Budnitz has already received requests from users for different features they're willing to pay for.

Tags"Anti Facebook" Ello Attacked by Hackers, Ello, anti facebook website, social networking sites, paul budnitz, ello hackers anti facebook