How to become "Culturally influential" enough to rate an invite... Hmm... This sounds like a great conversation to be had (not to mention a stellar blog post title). :-)

Featured @ Club Chaos

I am going to quote from the site: "ASMALLWORLD (ASW) is a dynamic invitation-only social networking site that uniquely brings together an international group of people of diverse backgrounds and interests. Member profiles are real and validated, relationships and friends trusted, and connections authentic. At its core this social network is a media company targeting international luxury brand advertisers seeking to attract valuable trendsetters and tastemakers."

Making it exclusive, but posting snippets of events to hint at what is going on behind the scenes is very clever. You automatically feel as if you are missing something really cool... it is part of the luxury market so you know they wouldn't dare be boring (LOL). :-)

So... how do we brainstorm an agenda to get Cher to be considered culturally influential? I am fascinated by the possibility of pulling this off. It seems so much more advanced than LinkedIn... I wonder if we can scan out LinkedIn connections to find someone already there... Hmm... Gotta go scan their on-line mag for the name dropping research (LOL). :-)

LOL @ Pat. :-)

Cher, I put a tweet out and I got a DM to his LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robinsonprofile

LOL @ Kathleen.

Cher, my advice is to send him a link to your blog and simply ask if he would liked to be LinkedIn with you. Men negotiate differently than women. Sidestep to the something which may be more attainable now so you can study his connections which may actually lead to opening up your sphere of influence and an invite later. :-)

LOL @ Gary. If they have a culturally quirky section then I'm down for taking a crack at it (LMAO). ;-)

Matt, from my poking around on the fringe trying to find Cher a common denominator, it appears to be a high end marketing mixer where people have the option to make things happen for other people. Because of the nature of the luxury market, it takes one to know one seems to be the secret handshake for cultural influence (LOL). I put out feelers with my music and art friends and turned it into a social media game. I think some of my peeps are trying to get in, which would be a good thing because I figure if anyone is gonna be able to get Cher in there it is going to have to be one of the money crew (LOL). Everyone in the group isn't rich, they are connected to the rich. We need two connections to find out what the deal is. :-)

LOL @ Diane, Gary, Scott and Tammy. :-)

The Star Trek angle has me thinking... That was certainly a trend setting project. Hmm... We need a cool project that generates great press for Cher... ;-)

My girl! Cher, I started with the 2007 press releases and am working my way through the list. I have 8 tabs up. I play with some British friends on JuicyRedApple.org and I am hoping I can use a London connection for you. :-)

Interesting quote from one press release: "Online clubs such as aSmallWorld.net are beginning to gain pace among young, thirtysomething wealthy individuals who want to network exclusively with other high-earning business and social contacts. Entrance to the site is by invitation only and half of members earn over $250,000 a year. A fifth of the site’s 150,000 users are millionaires. Sites such as these offer advertisers a much safer proposition, according to analysts. They also guarantee access to exactly the kind of individuals companies such as Cartier, Moet & Chandon, Tag Heuer and BMW want to target. Advertisers on aSmallWorld part with an average of between $20,000 and $50,000 a month in order to tap into its members who are purported to include filmmaker Quentin Tarantino and celebrity heiress Paris Hilton."

Hmm... we're gonna have to do our homework, eh? :-)

Okay... the skinny, according to the economist, is that small, exclusive sites do not benefit from "the network effect." (Think Facebook random friend requests) In sum and substance they benefit from what people bring to the relationships and members do not want to be spammed with friend requests, which is why they create small, exclusive social media sites for specific groups of friends...

What one brings to the relationship is very important. It would be very interesting to see if there are any first, second or third degree of separation people in common on LinkedIn. I started sending more invites to peeps I hadn't bothered to bother. I have a few social media friends in Chicago who are reporters. I am going to ask them to take a look at your post and give me some ideas that may be useful for you. This is going to take some time and effort.. Will be awesome if you pull this off. Seriously so... :-)

James, nothing beats a challenge and this is a networking challenge. To what end depends upon what relationships you are looking to cultivate. My end is always to surround myself with people that are smarter than I am. That's how I learn best, emulating people that are driven. They can teach you a lot and you can skip major mistakes if the right people simply give you a timely word.

A perfect example of this is a door that Susan Mangigian opened for me with a simple e-mail. I didn't ask, and didn't know this person even existed, but she realized my making his acquaintance would do wonders for me so she hooked it up by taking the time to tell this gentleman that although she herself could not attend a closed, exclusive event he might want to consider inviting me.

He did.

James, if a United Nations Ambassador asked you to be his guest because someone suggested you might like to be at a cocktail party knowing that you didn't drink but loved social media, would you go? That is what ASW is like. It's like what Susan did for me. It's simply being somewhere with a group of very interesting and difficult to reach people who can open your mind to the possibilities of what you may be able to do with your life. This isn't like Facebook where people are collecting random friends, this is a group of friends inviting other specific, targeted friends into a protected environment. If Cher gets in, then she has the potential to learn something new in a protected, exclusive environment. She can bring who she is and what she does to the table without spamming people or trolling for business in an aggressive, overt manner.

If artists call me because I create art and musicians call me because I make music, what do you think the people in ASW do with each other? Don't you think they call who ever they want for what ever reason? It isn't about trolling for business, it's about life style and operating your business model to accommodate life style. For Cher to even attempt it is amazing. How can we not help her? Because of her I have been talking more to my SoHo artist peeps than I have all year and am re-entering the New York art scene. My exhibition contracts are sitting on my drafting table as I write this. The rule is ask around for someone with the power to offer an invite. So I am asking. I want my friend to get in because Susan Mangigian taught me what the right introduction can do for a person.

Cher, I hope we get in as well. It is amazing the lengths people go to NOT to talk about this place. That alone makes me want to be there so I can not talk about it too (LOL). ;-)

Candice, it just wouldn't be the same without you so GET INTERESTED Candyland (LOL). Ask around... you may surprise yourself and a few others. My friends are knocking on doors and making phone calls because they are just as intrigued as I am. ;-)

Cher, you have to ask about what you need to know and they do instruct people to ask around to find your invite (LOL). No one on the outside knows what the rules are, so outsiders have to play it by ear and investigate the available data for clues and hints. What a stellar social media game (LOL). Think about it: It forces you to be more social. ;-)