aSmallWorld
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
aSmallWorld is an online social network service similar to Friendster. Dubbed "Snobster" by critics,[1] it is an exclusive invitation-only network with roughly 320,000 members [2] founded by Erik Wachtmeister and Peder Dinkelspiel.
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[edit] Features
aSmallWorld shares many features with other social network services, such as profiles, an event calendar, and private messaging.[3] Unlike most other such services, aSmallWorld allows users to list multiple cities as their location of residence.
aSmallWorld offers 65 detailed "city guides" written by its members detailing and rating high-quality clubs, bars and restaurants.[4] Members can also buy and sell items, rent property, and find flatmates using aSmallWorld's private forums. Unfortunately, the website is "retro" quality and lags behind what users expect, a factor that shows in user-engagement metrics and in the need to increase member numbers to sustain existing user-engagement numbers.
[edit] Members
According to Wachtmeister, "members are people with large personal networks, frequent travel and highly active personally." Most aSmallWorld users come from European countries, but over the past three years emphasis has shifted to the US, in line with the company's relocation to New York and the staff hiring spree in 2006 and 2007 in that city. London, New York and Paris are the top three cities of residence.[citation needed] Wachtmeister was previously quoted as stating that only 8% of current members have the right to invite others (although this is no longer the case and a large percentage of members now have the right to invite others). According to Wachtmeister, aSmallWorld keeps "track of people's behavior and we actually do kick people out." Members are not allowed to discuss the inner goings-on of aSmallWorld on any outside website, and doing so may result in internal exile to "aBigWorld".
[edit] aBigWorld
aSmallWorld is patrolled regularly for suspicious activity or members who are not closely connected enough to its main userbase.[5] Problematic users are immediately exiled to a separate network called aBigWorld; when exiled users log in, they will find that the color scheme of the website has changed from blue to green, and they no longer have access to aSmallWorld profiles or forum posts.[6]
[edit] Funding
In May 2006, Harvey Weinstein's The Weinstein Company invested a significant amount in the site as their first online venture.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ "Bin Laden in 'Hell'" by Xeni Jardin, Wired Magazine, August 2005
- ^ "Five Social Networking Sites Of The Wealthy" by Nicola Ruiz, Forbes.com, 2 May 2008
- ^ "Teaching case on aSmallWorld" by Thomas Langenberg and Alexander Schellong (Program on Networked Governance, Harvard University), ksg.harvard.edu/netgov, June 2007
- ^ Gawker: Sneaking Around aSmallWorld
- ^ aSmallWorld Gets Even Smaller by the editors, Gawker.com, 6 October 2004
- ^ "Social Software Company Profiles Wiki: aSmallWorld" by David Teten, TheVirtualHandshake.com, July 2005
- ^ Films From the Weinsteins Falter, but the Brothers Stay Focused - New York Times
