The Digital Country Club
Exclusivity and high society aren’t just for smoking rooms and golf courses anymore – the upper upper class has moved to the web. The following offer a glimpse into the ways that those with thousands (or more) to spare can connect.
Netropolitan
It is Facebook for the 1% – an extremely niche market. According to The Netropolitan Club website, becoming a member costs $9,000.00 which breaks down as a $6,000 initiation fee and a $3,000/year membership fee. This initiation fee is designed to weed out the lower class and the bourgeois. The site is ad-free, and as the International Business Times notes in its article on The Netropolitan Club, “with the hefty subscription prices, Netropolitan can afford to be ad-free. And posts will be moderated by the company’s own professional moderators.” It’s a cleaner, more secure, and ohsoposh platform for the wealthiest to fill members’ news feeds with questions about yacht operations and with resort vacation, tan-legged selfies. Netropolitan launched in mid-September, and follows the veins of other services available for the rich.
Linx
A Silicon Valley- based, boutique matchmaking service, Linx charges up to $100,000 for its offerings that can include an image overhaul that involves selecting the right wine to stock, the best hand towels for your bathroom, new clothes, a new haircut, and even a new way of talking, Hitch-style.
Rich Kids of Instagram (RKOI)
RKOI is an Instagram account with the tagline, “They have more money than you and this is what they do.” It differs from Netropolitan in that Netropolitan is much more exclusive and discreet, and limited to peers-only. But RKOI features the cars, the yachts, the trips, the handbags…the stuff. Consumerism at its finest.
ASmallWorld
Launched in 2004, ASmallWorld has become “by far the most well-known and well-attended site for digital A-listers.” It has grown to include 320,000 members globally, and “has been even called ‘MySpace for millionaires’ by the Wall Street Journal” But it places great emphasis on privacy, and is still tiny compared to Facebook’s 40 million members.
As this Forbes article explains, “Some networks come with strict invite-only policies and a rigorous application process based on education, job title, connections and lots of virtual velvet rope. Others, such as Squa.re and Quintessentially, are more lenient, requiring simply an invite from any existing member.” More lenient, perhaps, but either way, these are exclusive clubs.
So, that’s a peek into the digital world available to the richest of the rich. If you have a few thousand to drop on your social media, and need a place where you can discuss yachting, Christmases in St. Bart’s, and Italian handbags, maybe it’s the place for you.