it's aSmallWorld after all...

when there is something for the masses, there is inevitably something for the high & moneyed. and vice versa. nightclubs with VIP guest-lists, highly sought after golf club memberships, business class/first class and american express centurion cards...it's not like it stops at social networking.

riding the facebook phenomenon, comes aSmallWorld.net. businessweek defines its users as "the glitterati" and deems the network "facebook for the fabulous" (aug 20 & 27, 2007). however you like to define it, the copy on the homepage makes no mistakes that they require a picky-click-y (cliquey) crowd:

We have imposed certain criteria in order to keep the network exclusive. To join, you need to be invited by a trusted member.

If you have not received an invitation, you can ask your friends to invite you. If you have no friends who are members yet, please be patient.

and its no surprise that its real-world scene is alive & kicking here in zuerich.

non-members are calling it "snobbery", but i (currently a non-member) find it genius. as far as i know, they have 260,000 members across the globe with a 647-person waiting list. and to control their online population, aSmallWorld constantly monitors your site-activity. word has it - if you are denied a "friendship" connection three times from different members, you are kicked-out of the network. damn gina! it recalls the disgrace of being the last kid picked in dodgeball only virtually.

but the obvious-inevitable part is that as the membership count grows, competitors are launching new sites with even more exclusive-promises. my favorites are beautifulpeople.net, modelshotel.com, and diamondlounge with a core audience of millionaires, undeniably botoxed people, and of course, all those ladies & gents who sip top-shelf martinis in A-list lounges admiring one another's diamonds. the nytimes is referring to this new breed of community as "the gated social network." there's no neighborhood friendliness here: apparently, you can be denied membership on looks alone.

(sigh) maybe one day when i build-up some social capital and a substantial net-worth, i too can be one of the cool kids. ah, the day when my conversations start revolving around my subzero refrigerator, how BMW's iDrive is still scheisse and the mind-blowing return on my swiss bank account...