Social networking for celebrities

November 6, 2005 3:10 PM

Social networking for the Jetset: While social networking sites like Friendster or Tribe are available to the common man, a new type of social networking has sprung up for celebrities . And no, you can't join unless you're invited. And once you are invited, one misstep (emailing the wrong people) or starting a flamewar and you are kicked out! . More inside....
posted by zia (14 comments total)

So what do the Jetset talk about? Burning questions such whether to do New Years in Marrakech or Beirut, finding a castle for a week in June in Austria (expense no object) or finding a house in St. Tropez. And reportedly you can rub virtual elbows with folks like Naomi Campbell and Tiger Woods. And, while bloggers always deplore it, somehow they seem end their posts begging for an invite.

But before you dismiss it, the rules of asmallworld do create some interesting dynamics: Because you can't connect to people until you actually KNOW (and have MET) them, and because you get penalized for connection requests that annoy others, its the only social networking site that actually makes you get out from behind your computer to go meet people.
posted by zia at 3:11 PM on November 6, 2005

I knew I saw this somewhere before

http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44232


posted by lee at 3:15 PM on November 6, 2005

My apologies for the redundant post -- I did a search and it didn't turn up.
posted by zia at 3:18 PM on November 6, 2005

I like your post it is a less caustic portrait.
posted by Rubbstone at 3:23 PM on November 6, 2005

ew. Just -- ew.

Sometimes I wish the Cold War was still on, ever dangling the possibility of a nice, cleansing nuclear holocaust bath.
posted by ori at 3:38 PM on November 6, 2005

Nothing screams "boring" quite like bragging about how exclusive you are...
posted by chasing at 3:44 PM on November 6, 2005

i am so exclusive i'm not even allowed in my own club.
posted by wakko at 3:49 PM on November 6, 2005

and it's a nice club too.
posted by wakko at 3:49 PM on November 6, 2005

Until I read the "[more inside]" I thought you were talking about MetaFilter.
posted by blue_beetle at 4:02 PM on November 6, 2005

It does seem from what I've heard that this site comes closest to creating a closed community that actually works. That is, you may dispute the intent, but the mechanics at least seem interesting to me.

I mean, weren't sites like these originally praised for their ability to create valuable closed networks? It seems like the only way to succeed in that is to make is restrictive - in this case so restrictive that there is a bit of a "backlash" by those that arent invited in...
posted by vacapinta at 4:07 PM on November 6, 2005

engineer scarcity, create demand...
posted by scarabic at 4:14 PM on November 6, 2005

chasing : "Nothing screams 'boring' quite like bragging about how exclusive you are..."

Are there any members of asmallworld that are doing so?
posted by Bugbread at 4:20 PM on November 6, 2005

Hahah, I love that when you get banned, the site turns into a social networking site for all the banned people.

Hilarious.

"I log on every day to see if it's still green, or if they've let me back into the blue," confesses 22-year-old Talal bin Laden of Geneva. Bin Laden,

Haha. Those pesky bin-ladens.
posted by delmoi at 4:22 PM on November 6, 2005

vacapinta -- other than the zia, you're the only one so far that i think is even trying to approach this without a lot of class baggage. (I'm not sure whether to include myself. I find it offensive, but intellectually i completely agree with vacapinta.)
posted by lodurr at 4:25 PM on November 6, 2005