Ello, the new private social network, has been making headlines due to its no-ads policy, minimalistic design and focus on privacy. Similar to Pinterest, Ello is offering spots on a first-come, first-served basis, placing everyone in a virtual queue, until Ello has enough space to accommodate more accounts.

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There is interest behind waiting, like pre-ordering a product or booking a holiday. The intensity rises while you wait. The difference in Ello's case is once a user gets past the virtual queue, there is a 75 percent chance they will not be active after a week.

According to metrics provided by RJMetrics, who managed to grab all of the raw data from Ello and compile it, 36 percent of all users have never posted and only 27 percent of users have posted more than three times.

Diversity is a big attraction on some social networks like Pinterest, due to the high female demographic. It gives advertisers a more valuable demographic to target. Ello has not had the same success with the female audience, with 37 percent of all Ello users being female.

In terms of volume, Ello is porting in 3,000 to 4,000 users per hour onto their social network, with 120,000 active accounts. This is great volume for a new network, matching the numbers Twitter and Pinterest were pulling in their first weeks.

It might seem dire that 75 percent of Ello users stop using the social network after a week, but comparing it to the early stages of Twitter and Instagram, it is not that unfamiliar. People have a tendency to drop social networks if their friends don't sign up, having 20 percent in the first two weeks shows promise.

Ello's co-founders have not talked about the future of the social network, but if it continues to grow at this pace, soon we will need to hear about business models and how the team expects to be paid. No-ads usually means either donations or user customisation, or pro-accounts.

TagsEllo, Social network