1. Well, to make it more friendly for low-rent folks like you and I, perhaps they should have an alternate picklist.

Where are you right now?

- In the kitchen.
- In the bathroom.
- At the mall.
- Downtown.
- Renting a movie for the big date.
- At the doctors having my prostate checked, yikes!
- Buying some beer.
- Ordering a pizza.

Well, you get my drift I'm sure.

The sad part is, at least for me, I used to trot all over the globe for business purposes. I think that is the way for a low-rent kinda guy to see the world. On the plus side, everything becomes a business expense too!

Regards!

Posted at 12:20PM on Jun 22nd 2006 by Vroom

2. weak

Posted at 12:52PM on Jun 22nd 2006 by matthew coffin

3. Dang, I'm so uncool that I can't even find the server from your link, let along get invited in...

Oh, and Euro is overrated

Richard (born Euro, stricly middle class and proud of it).

Posted at 1:33PM on Jun 22nd 2006 by Richard Baguley

4. I'm actually pretty bummed out that you accepted an invite to this service Jason, especially since you're talking about it on your blog.

Exclusive clubs basically mean "if you're not rich, fuck off". I'm surprised with your reputation for open corporate blogging that you talk about being a member of this in such an off hand manner.

Sorry for being idealistic, but when I see Xeni Jardin (and now you) trumpeting the benefits of being able to mingle with an exclusive set of people (i.e. rich people) then I start to feel a little sick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ5V1GHHeUQ&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fasmallworld%2Enet%2Fpublicpages%2Fpress%5Fvid%2Ehtml

Isn't the internet about openness and equality? Private clubs fall heavily outside both the latter categories. I thought that clubs that judged people purely on the amount of money they have (and lets not kid ourselves, private clubs mean money) were a thing of the past. I guess I thought wrong.

Posted at 6:49PM on Jun 22nd 2006 by Conrad Quilty-Harper

5. Jason, we have some cool location services that were released last week with Open AIM. You can download the plugin for Triton here: http://www.aim.com/triton/license.adp?aolp=0&download=location

This plugin allows you to set your current location in the US and about 25 other countries. This is AIM's phase 1 of location services, there will be more "hotness" to come. I will be talking about the next phases of these services in a few weeks at MashupCamp2 in Mtn View.

Posted at 6:55PM on Jun 22nd 2006 by Greg C. from GregsBlog

6. Conrad Quilty-Harper: I accepted the invite, but I'm not hanging out there. I've got my own exclusive clubs: Weblogs, Inc, Netscape, and Calacanis.com.

To get in you have to know how to use a browser. :-)

Posted at 8:54PM on Jun 22nd 2006 by Jason

7. Fair enough! :-)

Posted at 3:33AM on Jun 23rd 2006 by Conrad Quilty-Harper

8. I hope they are not opening the nets again on aSW... it was fantastic 2 years ago, then a lot more people were accepted in, and it lost the original feeling. Now invitation are severely restricted, and I hope it stays like that.

Exclusive club have always existed and I, for one, I'm grateful for aSW existence. I have been a member of aSmallWorld for 2 years, and always had a lot of fun with it, meeting a lot of interesting people and getting to some great parties. In fact, I contacted other members or left a message saying I was in town while travelling in Europe, Asia, LatAm, US etc and always had a blast.

Sure, it is elitist, you are not likely to find anyone who isn´t "old money", it´s really Eurocentric (in Italy we used to joke that looking up on aSW, you could find whoever member of the private school you had attended), and it´s geared toward a younger and partying crowd, but it´s by far the most useful and fun social network I ever used.

My thoughts: not anyone would enjoy it, but if you have a certain background and interests, you will like it. I lost count of the number of nights "saved" by pinging aSW while travelling on business... always met great people, never went to bed before dawn. Eheh.

Cheers,
Giordano

Posted at 8:01AM on Jun 24th 2006 by Giordano

9. Well done Jason - aSW certainly isn't the easiest of sites to get in to :)

Posted at 5:35PM on Jul 15th 2006 by Daniel, Rogue Connect

10. What i don´t get: If you feel so out of place, why do you stay. And recently? I mean you are a member since 15. sept. 2005! You could have figured out already if you like it or not and that there are not only golden noodle eaters around.

Posted at 2:37AM on Jul 19th 2006 by Boris

11. You know what they say: " If you don't like it the world is very big: hang somewhere else". Or they have forced you to join?:-)
Personally i find it an amazing place where i found and met good friends.

marco

Posted at 5:12AM on Jul 24th 2006 by aswer

12. yummyturk@hotmail.com

Posted at 11:18PM on Aug 20th 2006 by egehan basturk

13. what do you mean "To get in you have to know how to use a browser", can you elaborate on that?

Posted at 11:15AM on Sep 15th 2006 by franz

14. yvyvyny.wordpress.com


Shameful and Cowardly aSmallWorld Management

As an FYI. This is with regards to my position on how aSmallWorld is being run. Let me know what you think.Its been well documented that the web admins on aSW are 5 women, named interiuer police by a recent French magazine, run apparently by Erik’s wife, Louise.

--->This is an important note: The quality of people on aSW and diversity is undisputed. Good people all round. Unfortunately something is rotten in the state of Denmark… and management must realize that what was built on such great grounds is now handled with one of the poorest rudest style of management I have ever come across.

Well, many aSWers have seen my postings across various threads in aSW either as a tongue in cheek/ “boundary-pushing” author or as a genuine participant in the community contributing to informative threads, connecting people and directing folks where I think they can find information.

I don’t need verification or pats on my back for that. But here’s the unknown part of my story, that I will tell everybody which will reveal how unprofessional and cowardly the management is.

In Feb 2007, I approached EW proactively with some advice and some feedback re; murmurs about how he or Louise is being too strict with the community. In my words, I said there is too pervasive a culture of fear in the community. I know theres value and I love the value of the community, but I said it mimics too much the feeling an Old Communist state has. I said, as the founder, he should be the brand ambassador, the goodwill gatherer who is like the grand old father of a network, and not be accused of any heavy handed regulation of what is in itself a vibrant community.

Through conversations, I began to develop, pro bono, a complete set of recommendations on how the network could stem the blood loss, the membership leakage through an iron-fisted web administration. A web admin that seemingly harks of new age/ Internet age ideals, but run like some old rusty Nazi like mechanism. The web admins, I know, are people too, but because they choose to conduct themselves as cold merciless second rate readers of English, I will treat them like the tools they are.

– e.g., When I would be sarcastic and played the persona of what were some aSWers’ cheezy pickup selves, I was pointed out as being a cheezy slimy pickup artist. There was no attempt to read what preceded that “statement” or comment.

– e.g., Some people might have discomfort in jokes made, but lets regulate ourselves. A fellow member should be able to say, hey, that was not too nice and such. A graceful person that I am trying to be, will admit going too far if I did. There was never such kind of feedback. Instead, it was always “thread deletion” or “warning” imposed. Measures that every modern forum moderator today will tell you is not the way to do it.

At the same time, I recommended the following, some of which were executed but the advice never acknowledged with a kind thank you.
1. Members who were helpful in organizing get together should be rewarded with invites - check.

2. List more emails and forum threads per page, “for goodness sake” if your web design team can’t do anything else - check.

3. Create channels of recourse with Member Advisory Board, whereby members had local representatives across geographic or time regions, who understood the people, could dissemintae corporate messages or provide feedback to management. These members would serve as arbiters in the event the wed admins executed what were erroneous judgements and punishments. - Not Done. No Check.

4. Make web admins consistent in interpretation of all threads. Members could tell whether 2 would like this, or 5 would like that or frown on what. We should never be able to tell them apart because the standards are consistent, clear and easily understood. “Quality we expect” is vague. Are we really conforming to what I understand are Middle East countries yardstick of what passes through their proxy servers? That doesn’t sound right?….
a. The membership and forum guidelines are no clearer than the rules specified in a neighborhood nursery pool. No jumping, no splashing, no running - safe yes, vague oh yeah.
b. I recommended elaborating on each and every single rule, e.g.
Section 3, part 1 (b) Use of profanity, words include fuck, cunt, bitch, asshole, retarded, pussy, cameltoe.. etc *list all*, should not be utilized in any context, paraphrased, quoted or altered to retain meaning *e.g., f*%k*
– Not Done. No Check.

5. I recommended the creation of an Office of Member Relations. A function to calibrate invitation standards, address member issues, manage the Member Advisory Board, serving the membership as its sole client. This office defends the community against finance/budgetary concerns, reviews guidelines continuously, staying on top of what is a continually changing society.
– Not Done. No Check.

Then the web rollout.
6. I said you should test it out with the super users to illicit feedback. — Not Done. No Check.
ASW Watch Enthusiasts tab, font color, still no search function makes me speculate if someone’s grandma was doing the programming.

7. Create group functionality so people can communicate better. No need for elaboration since every other group out there has this. — Not Done. No Check.

8. A dubious dropping of all LGBT related threads among a peppering of others. I went down hard on management on this. Why? Because I am a believer in non-discriminatory practices. I’m a minority. If gays go first, its women, and minority next.
– Why was a public admonishment within the community necessary? Because it gives any outsider looking in an impression that there is at least balance, or a conscience within the society. Had everybody stayed quiet in fear, we would have all been guilty of being homophobic. One would think professional diplomatic experience would have covered that. — Not appreciated.
– I played my part in trying to find out where the ball was dropped, appeasing certain LGBT parties to not go to press. I passed along emails and voicemails raising concern. — No response
– Magically, the LGBT threads are restored.

9. A few days ago, I said I was going to reward aSW if I found a business opportunity through there, a 2% equity stake as fomders fee. or if its project based, a 2% headhuntes’ fee, both to show my reward and potential gratitude. — Thread deleted because it was too “:commercial” — No brains. No loss to me.

Two days ago I posted something that was objectionable to another member. It was the perfect opportunity to strike.
a. I got my posting rights removed. I couldnt defend myself. Let alone retract, apologize, explain how the writing was purely in character. In character the persona whined about women, and blames his girlfriend for cheating on him with his pet dog (kissing for 10 seconds, thats where the reader should know its a joke) and that his gf knew Ferraris because she was shagged often in them. It was a persona below the quality expected.

I ask our Middle Eastern prozy servers and investors.
1. Blondes and Brunettes
2. My Oldest Toy
3. Whats on my mind?
—> those are high quality threads? vs mine accounting colorfully, the pickup strategies of cheesy men? Hmm. So another female member can say “meet you at Pole Position” and that is more tasteful that my writing? Ok, sure. No good judgement.

10. My friend staying with me told everyone online that she was sleeping over using my laptop and when she was passing it back to me, told the webmaster as well. When I logged onto, my laptop was pinged continuously for an hour. I couldn’t do work because the laptop kept getting pings for IP and MAC address. I PMed the web team to ask them to stop becaise I need tp work. My friend’s account got suspected of being dubious. ie. I’m Asian but I can also be a tall hot blonde. No such metamorphic skills.

She told them, and yet they still used the very same technique to conclude I was her and she was me.

Then I got kicked to aBW, and then I got my profile pick removed. I called Erik W and Joe R the new CEO. Both hung up in my face. That after doing some good work voluntarily. You’d think theyd address me given my contribution. No, Louise’s crack web team was the one standard we measure our response by.

I thought I would get a courtesy call today, but instead I got it from aSW support saying I should go find something else. Yes. Something else more professionally run. I truly believe if one didn’t think they agree with my behavior, that theyd explain it to me on the phone. It was an easily 100k job I did for free, I dont even get a professional courtesy call.

What ingrates. What cowards. What kind of people are those people. Find you want to paint yourself as more than you are. Then I will make it my mission to paint you in the real light you are. We will see who can SEO and outblog each other. I can spare another 50k of time revealing the true hypocrisy of the network. How management does not have the grace that it expects its members to have.

When you have cowards and ingrates at the top, and you try to attract smart people, you gonna get called out all the time. You only want good press but not real journalistic pieces on you? CNBC, Swedish DocuTV, Dubai TV Channels. — Let me show you what a fair and balanced report is. Let me also remind you I copyrighted my recommendations to a T. Its the print at the bottom.

You think all I am capable of is low grade humor. I will show everyone else how aSW mgmt is a a low-rent tux of a joke.

You have unceremoniously kicked out your last one night stand. Guess she got knocked up this time. And now you have the baby devil to deal with.

I quote my favorite fruitseller: How do you like them apples now.

~ by yvyvyny on May 26, 2007.
One Response to “Shameful and Cowardly aSmallWorld Management”

1.

Its a pyramid scheme/
Celebs who arent on it, if listed by press to be on it
aint gonna call themsevles out
they dont know what the consequences are?… so advised…

listen if they’re that cool they didnt need to erroneously list you as a member

yvyvyny said this on May 27th, 2007 at 5:14 pm (edit)

Posted at 11:46PM on May 27th 2007 by MyConsiglieri

15. Hi,

My name is Mirande. I am an ex-model and also an attorney who has authored a number of publications. I run a group called Models (Women of Beauty and Substance). The group is geared toward attracting and promoting women with broad and diverse interests who can be viewed as both beauty and role models. I would love an invitation to join ASW. I believe that my group of beautiful and accomplished women would add value to the events that we frequent.

I will gladly send you more information about me and my background if you e-mail me at mirande@modelsnyc.net. For example, all of my scholarly and professional literature is available and can be verified online.

Mirande

Posted at 4:43PM on Jun 3rd 2007 by Mirande

16. I'm on a quest for that elusive Asmallworld membership too. If anyone can help, my email is asebti1977@hotmail.com Look forward to seeing what it's all about and building that "social network"

Posted at 5:54AM on Jun 19th 2007 by Amine

17. What's particularly striking to me is that this concept defeats the very purpose of getting online and exploring the world. I find that the site has decided to restrict itself to an amalgam of "15 minutes" people and the type of self-complacent twats who will grow old at the Jockey Club.

I want my internet to expand my world, not constrict it to its already least pleasant present aspects.

Posted at 2:27PM on Jun 26th 2007 by Michel

18. can someone send me an invitation for asmallworld.net please..
my e-mail is
chris-dakota@hotmail.com
thanks in advance

Posted at 4:03AM on Jul 2nd 2007 by caglar

19. Hi there,

I would love to be added to asw website.

If you have a spare invite I would appreciate it a lot.

Thank you very much in advance.

My e-mail address is:

hope79@gmail.com

Posted at 6:23PM on Jul 25th 2007 by Nadia

20. Hello.

Can someone send me an invitation for asmallworld?
My mail is trackbytrack@mail.gr
I will be greatfull.

Thanks a lot

Posted at 11:55PM on Aug 2nd 2007 by Panos