Ello: some interesting follow recommendations for our new social network

Watercolor 2012, by @laura_d

There’s been some back and forth here in the last couple of weeks about Ello, the new social network. If you’re on Ello, or are thinking of joining, here are some people you might want to investigate and possibly follow.

Let’s start with the S&R folks. @docdenny is, as you know, god of macro photography, and lately he’s been experimenting with some new toys and techniques that visually bridge the space between photography and painting.

Our boy @sirpaulsbuddy is fighting the good fight. We’ve noted that Ello is great for visual artists and shooters but its feature set hasn’t yet built around in ways that drive conversation and writing. He’s plowing ahead anyway and is making Ello a more literate place every time he logs in.

Now, in no particular order:

One of my very favorite artists on Ello is @laura_d. Her charcoals are dynamic and compelling and her watercolors … they’re lovely, and maybe deceptively so, because underneath the surface of each one I think there’s an edgy charcoal trying to claw its way out. Wonderful tension.

Bicycles Will Be Removed, by @davidcosta

@davidcosta lives in Amsterdam and takes great shots. LOVE this one.

@lionroar is like me – working for the man and taking pictures of the world around him in his spare time. In his case, that world is NYC, and he also writes about it all, as well. Insightful guy, worth a look.

@tranwills – just fucking oozes style.

Visual artist @catherineharms loves color as much as I do, and she does wonderful things with it.

@mcdavid radiates a vibrant street energy. I really like that microphone series and I nearly fell out of the chair when I got to the Ted Danson piece.

@victorbezrukov is a photographer, and a damned fine one. His people shots are just superb, and if you aren’t a shooter you may not fully realize just how difficult an art that is.

@carlosbob is another color-loving visual artist. Whatever you do, don’t stop scrolling until you get to “Unfortunate Collision of Gum Balls and Adolescence.”

@dirkmarwig made this for his girlfriend for her birthday. So the message is that the rest of us guys need to step up our games.

Then there’s @artpunk. I mean, damn.

Ooh, magic hats from @rosablue – I think the cowboy model bottom center has me written all over it.

@drshelley has one of those pages where you’re not quite sure what’s coming next. Sort of an aesthetically informed culture gateway, and since one of Ello’s great values so far is serendipity generation….

@quinn is having issues with social theory. I feel her pain.

The theme for the day seems to be “color-loving visual artists,” so let’s mention @dcpensley. Jebus, what a vision. For instance.

@lueblue Diary of an Icelandic horse.

@graphiteshutter More fantastic photography, with a pulsing street edge to it.

Let’s see, do I have anything in common with @sobryan? Oh, right – content marketing strategist and photographer. Check out “Data Flow.”

@samwanvig lives in South Africa and takes wonderful pictures. Just seriously wonderful, and lots of them.

@lawton – fantastic surrealist art – I especially love this one.

I like how @neil’s photography challenges the sunlight. And his structural stuff is a study in interesting geometries.

Is it half empty or half full? @mimiwolske

There’s a lot of great design and art here on Ello, but @larossa is going further, encouraging us to think about the work and also about how we relate to the online world.

@matthaagmusic – fun, textural, atmospheric – be sure to check out the clips on his YouTube page.

I love design – as a young writer I never understood how critical great design was to my words. If the design sucked, no one was ever going to read them. So now I’m the most design-obsessed writer my co-workers have ever met, and I value designers whose work stops me and gets my brain to focusing and exploring new ideas. All of which is to say, check out @erichurtgen.

And since I’m trying to learn more about design, yes I’m definitely following @kidkyote, who’s a design professor. That Skyline Hotel shot is, in fact, breathtaking.

Sweet hell, I want a @budnitz bicycle. Specifically, the #3.

Been having some great exchanges with @carocrow, who’s just a really cool person of the sort I’m enjoying meeting here on Ello.

Loving some of the shots that @mayra has up.

@andreali is introducing me to some artists I have never encountered before, and they’re remarkable.

Die is Cast, by @exvagant

I mentioned @exvagant before. Now I’m mentioning him again. If I can ever get to Sweden I’m going to spend an afternoon sitting quietly watching him work. Okay, maybe not quietly. But watching.

Still trying to sort the gestalt of @evah – a very cool popart aesthetic at work, and a treat for the eyeballs.

Not only is @anna pointing us at some interesting content (the Dzimirsky photo just stopped me in my tracks) she’s also part of the team making Ello possible. Many thanks – we love you.

How do you feel about tech house and deep house? Give @jeff_with_a_j a listen (SoundCloud link on his page).

I really know almost nothing about fashion, but it’s design, and even if I don’t yet grok the nuance of what I’m seeing, I know what attracts me. So @lawnparty is a must-follow. Also, she’s in Boulder, and we fucking love Boulder.

@breethomas is also an interesting follow – the ethic is more street right now, I think, and a bit of tension in your feed is a great thing.

Another Boulderite – @el-theartist – really talented artist. I love the eyes in that piece at the top of the feed right now.

Finally, @_f7 is another great gateway follow.

If you make it over, feel free to stop by my page, too. I’m @doc.

Happy Sunday.