For the rich and well-connected who do not want to rub elbows with those who are not, exclusive social networks pledge to keep out unwanted guests
Roger Allen Conner Jr. has little use for the common folk who frequent MySpace and Facebook--you know, the clubs anyone can join. "A lot of social-networking sites are very low-quality," says Conner, the 22-year-old founder of a North Carolina consulting firm named SiloIQ. "The type of individuals that are on these social-networking sites are generally not well-networked themselves."
Not even a business-oriented network like LinkedIn will do. To put it bluntly, Conner wants powerful friends: the kind of people who board private jets after cutting business deals. People who do not get stopped by the bouncer at New York's Bungalow 8 nightclub. People with connections who can open doors and get his company noticed. People with log-ins to aSmallWorld.
Better known "aSW" to its members, aSmallWorld is one of a handful of private online social networks where big is bad.
Online country clubs Membership in these networks, not unlike the exclusive country clubs where the rich and powerful hobnob, is carefully guarded. At aSW, only a subset of established members have the power to invite new users to join. In developing the site, founder Erik Wachtmeister rejected the prevailing Web 2.0 business model of attracting large audiences so you can sell ads to big brands. Instead, he confines membership to the relatively small group of people who travel in the same elite, often moneyed, social circles. "The site is not very valuable if it is polluted by people you don't know," says Wachtmeister. His goal was "to create a private place where people could be much more forthcoming with information".Critics are split into two camps: Some call aSW dreadfully elitist, while others say it is not exclusive enough. Nonmembers have nicknamed the site "Snobster", arguing that its invitation-only policy contradicts the premise of open communications upon which the Web was built. Then there are those on the inside who complain that, in an effort to become profitable, aSW is accepting less "valuable" members.
While there is little argument that aSW is growing fast, what constitutes too fast is open to debate. In the three-and-a-half years since its launch, membership has grown from 500 users to about 260,000. But MySpace has grown to more than 100 million members over a similar timeframe, making it a major recipient of the US$900 million that research firm eMarketer estimates will be spent on social-network advertising this year.
For now, aSW appears to be an online gateway to the upper echelons of the social stratosphere. Although Wachtmeister will not name-drop when it comes to aSW users, a search of the site's member lists reveals plenty of twenty- and thirtysomething investment bankers, fashion-industry types, CEOs, and recognizable last names: Firestone, Rockefeller, Forbes, Trump.
Cheating discouraged On InviteShare.com, a site where users seek invitations for Web services that are in testing or are not open to the public, there is a 647-name waiting list for invites to aSW. Conner is among those hoping that an aSW member will invite them. Some would-be members would even be content to borrow a member's log-in, an offense worthy of expulsion to Big World--a section of aSW where your privileges are sharply curtailed.Luxury advertisers, many of which shun the mainstream social networks, see aSW as a place where they can reach wealthy consumers and promote their products without losing brand cachet.
Notably, the site already features classified ads where people sell classic Jaguars, yachts, and Cartier watches. Advertisers include champagne producer Moet & Chandon and private-jet company Sentient.
Yet to make aSW a financial success, Wachtmeister has to balance demand for exclusivity against an advertiser's hunger to reach more eyeballs. Wachtmeister says aSW, which has 35 employees, is nearing profitability. And he rejects any suggestion that standards are being lowered as it grows. "The new members we get today could be as good, if not better, than some of the members we got a year ago," he says. "We can go a long way before we have to worry."
Some aSW members disagree. They argue that the site has accepted people who do not have much in common with the original group of 500, hand-selected by Wachtmeister, an investment banker and the son of a Swedish diplomat.
Disgruntled jet set On one of the site's discussion boards, a member lamented that a real-world party recently promoted on the site was attended by people whom he did not recognize as aSW members. In response, another member wrote: "I've been to a few aSW-only events that one would have thought were Facebook (or even MySpace) people." Another complained: "Here in Spain, a great share of people becoming members nowadays do not match the original profile of 2004, 2005 (admitted members). At all."Naturally, discontent among some aSW members has encouraged a handful of would-be competitors to launch social-networking and event sites pledging to be even more exclusive.
BeautifulPeople.net promises members the most beautifully, exclusive little black book in the world. "The site asks potential members to submit photos and profile information for review by existing members. Members pay subscription fees.
DiamondLounge, which bills itself as a private members' club for the rich, famous, and powerful, plans to launch Oct. 1. Arya Marafie, DiamondLounge's managing director, says members will be accepted by invitation or by submitting a Web application.
Rather than seek ad revenue, DiamondLounge will rely on subscription fees and extra charges for premium services, such as the use of online conferencing services. Marafie says the club will shoot for 5,000 to 20,000 members and plans to host members-only, "red carpet" events in the real world, perhaps with sponsorship from advertisers.
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