Is A Small World Over?
On September 30th 2006, I joined asmallworld.net (asw) and I have to admit, it was pretty exciting. It was like I had the entire European world at my fingertips. At first, I spent more time on there than on Facebook and liked comparing the site to the “Bungalow 8 of the internet“….or at least the idea of the Bungalow 8...or at least the idea of what Bungalow 8 used to mean. Now, like Bungalow 8, I’m beginning to wonder if ASW has lost some of its luster and social cachet?
Founder Erik Wachtmeister is a friend of mine and, last fall, over drinks at Rose, I asked him some pressing questions: why did it take so long for you guys to start emailing us updates, when are you going to clean up the site’s blank pages, why are you letting so many people join? He answered all of these question and, since that time, asw has immensely improved as a website.
So, why am I not using it anymore? Is it because I am too overloaded with other stuff, (facebook, blogs, tumblrs, twitters, aprivateclub, hamptonsundercover, etc.)? Do I just not have any use for it as I am not globe-trotting much these days? (the site has always been extremely useful for me in the past when traveling internationally). Has the prestige of being on ASW melted away much like my mascara last night in the muggy heat of the city?
OR- has everyone stopped using it?
Gawker has been quick to point out the defects in Asmallworld’s business plans, yet I want to know what everyone else thinks….Are you guys still using ASW??? Has it met the same fate as all of its real life counterparts (those hardest to get in hot spots)? Are they short on cash?
[Paying Homage To Our Inspiration: Bungalow 8]
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I dunno, I think it’s just kind of that the real target demographic of the site isn’t really going to run to sign up for a site like that. You know, don’t want to be part of a club that would have them as a member and all.
And I mean, if someone like ME has a login, then the business plan is obviously broken. I’m a nobody!
I wouldn’t say ASW is over… As you have pointed out, they are making progress with updating the site. That said, there is still room for improvement.
I haven’t given in to joining any of the other networks like myspace or Facebook. I find that ASW Members are definitely more interesting– the others strike me as being more “stalker-ish” or more of a race to who can have the most friends.
Perhaps part of the problem is that more ASW Members are joining Facebook and myspace and, as a result, sharing a lot of the same information that was once just privy to ASW? Thus this access, combined with perhaps a less strict joining policy, is making ASW seem less exclusive?
Yawn, ASW over, yada yada, since 2004 people have been saying the same thing every 6 months and the site still appears to be with us. What’s a missing check here and there? They didn’t make a penny until a year ago.
I’m not sure about the fate of ASW. I was on it constantly when I was first invited and now, not so much. It’s great for traveling but other than that, Facebook is where I do my social networking/stalking
i wanna test ASW so somebody can help me with an invitation?