October 04, 2004
Antisocial Software

Behold aSmallWorld:

aSmallWorld is an invitation-only online community which is not open to the public. It is designed for those who already have strong connections with one another and want to create new ones... Our goal is to become the leading global social networking community.

That's right, it's Yet Another Social Networking Service -- but this one has a TWIST! The twist being that you're not welcome there.

I imagine that they picked this gambit after watching GMail and Orkut "invites" spread across the Net. However, they seem to have missed the crucial differences between those services and this one, namely IT'S NOT FROM GOOGLE. (Not to mention that a GMail invite at least offers you something useful -- a free e-mail account with a big inbox. What does this service offer me that I can't get from one of the six trillion other social networking services?)

What do you think the odds are that this service is going right into the dustbin of history? Place your bets...

Posted by Jason Lefkowitz at October 04, 2004
Comments

Actually I think they learned from that fount of wisdom, South Park. To wit, the episode "Cartmanland."

http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/GuidePageServlet/showid-344/epid-60546/

Posted by: Sandy Smith on October 4, 2004 9:10 PM

I think everybody is getting mad cause ASW is very selective, therefore everybody want to be there.
I am a member, and I perfectly understand why ASW is selective, and IT MUST be that way.
See Linkedin and several others, lose their value cause there are millions of subscribers. Therefore you will never be able to strenghten relationships.

I love ASW and I am getting addicted, I reconnected with some 100 of friends from allover the world that I missed. Plus ASW parties are so amazing.

And is true, if you want to sell your plane, yacht, buy a Ferrari you can do so from a trusted friend.

I hope ASW will remain as selective as is now.

Posted by: Daniele on October 26, 2004 10:52 AM

I'm a member and I love the site.

The selectivity allows people to publicly share invitations, connections, etc. When everyone is a friend of a friend, members feel comfortable posting information regarding private parties and events.

"It is designed for those who already have strong connections with one another and want to create new ones"

Posted by: Phillip on October 27, 2004 7:21 PM

Daniele/Phillip,

I've asked around, but don't seem to know any current members. Any advice on how I can suss out if any of my mates are in the know?

From what I've hard, ASW sounds like its oriented around the subjects and needs that best fit my needs. Some of the other sites (orkut, friendster, etc) are just too... crowded, I guess.

Thanks for any advice,

Charlie
Beverly Hills

Posted by: Charlie on October 31, 2004 1:31 AM

If your friends were in ASW, they would have invited you already. If they are not, it means they are not in there. Why would you need to connect then? I have found at least 200 friends in the web site after I was connected and only invited 4. This is quite different from other web sites. I perfectly understand why it is selective and needs to remain so. I don't understand why it keeps growing so much. Or better, I know why: people don't understand its policy and keep inviting other friends inside, pepole never heard of. The thing is that if you don't need to invite work colleagues but only some tipes of friends.........

Posted by: anonimus on November 17, 2004 7:03 PM
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Ant's Eye View is edited by Jason Lefkowitz, a consultant and Web developer in Alexandria, Virginia. Got a question, comment, or concern? Let me hear it!

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