Netropolitan – The Best Club Around
For many of us ‘common’ folk, it’s a wonderful feeling being let into a nightclub and being stamped with ‘VIP’, or schmoozing our way into a ‘strictly Oxford PPE’ social. Sadly, with the new elite social networking site Netropolitan, we can’t shimmy our way onto it as it will cost you £5,500 to become a member.
Founded by James Touchi-Peters, the world’s most exclusive online community seems to be a network which is made for millionaires, and those who wish to discuss the luxuries in life i.e. fine wines, country clubs and ‘lucrative business decisions without judgement’ – you know, the regular talk many of us can’t associate with. I wonder whether this platform is an elitist, money-showing network that keeps the paupers away from stinking the royal world, or whether the concept is ingenious.
I guess my initial thoughts when briefly reading about Netropolitan, is that it is an online platform which purposely pushes out and laughs at those on a salary under £50k. I assumed it may be a place where wannabe-new-money types would sign up just for the statement alone, and not actually for indulging in the rich conversation. But now that I’ve given it a bit more thought, I actually think the idea is rather brilliant.
Figures showed that we are seeing a record number of millionaires in the world today. In 2013, the USA saw 5,231,000 millionaires with a 9.5% increase in 2014. The nations under the MINT and BRIC brackets are predicted to continue staying strong and lead the boom in the number of millionaires. Of the 7 billion people on this planet, there’s a very niche but fantastic market for a concept like Netropolitan to feature in. It’s quite annoying that I didn’t think of it first…
The reason why Netropolitan can really work is that they know their audience so well, and there is a definite market for them to dive into. To be honest, the idea is an exact copy of any other ‘club’ that requires a high membership fee, except that this is more accessible as it’s global and it’s not your exclusive Mayfair nightclub. Additionally the founder even states ‘I don’t know if you’ve researched or know anything about fees to real world social clubs or country clubs, most of them charge many multiples of what we’re charging.’
Furthermore, it’s a great platform for those who want to connect with niche groups all over the world, whether it be for business or simply for making new friends. There is the argument that you can still hold a conversation that is tailored to your interests on a platform such as Facebook, but with Netropolitan you are most likely to hold a conversation that isn’t filtered with spam and idiots asking you to follow their page. The channel also excludes advertising and includes cloud storage for the user – how very neat and appealing. However, I think their concept could be even better. Take note…
You may have heard of a very similar platform to Netropolitan, called ‘ASMALLWORLD’, which was described as the ‘Myspace for millionaires’ or ‘the secret social network for the elite’, when it first launched in 2004. The network is an exclusive club, which takes its members on extravagant getaways and generally indulging in all things luxurious. The club aims to keep the number of members at a very low level; initially to become a member you would either have had to pay a high fee or you could be invited by an existing member. In 2013, they scrapped this as they wanted to create more of an elite system – it was a membership fee only, and there was only very limited spaces available. Their mechanism may seem incredibly harsh, but if you want to make something exclusive and elite – then MAKE it exclusive and elite.
If you want to have a small, privileged club with members who really want to be a part of the group, it makes sense for the club to be challenging to reach. That’s what makes it exclusive and worthy.
Netropolitan is portrayed as a platform that is special, but with around 1% of households around the world being millionaires, it’s not actually that exclusive – especially if they’re only charging £5,500 – as mentioned earlier, they could definitely get away with charging more and in hand, achieve a more exclusive club. The rich are more than happy to pay for something incredibly expensive – in their eyes, it guarantees them status and an even more valuable lifestyle.
Yes, Netropolitan may seem slightly snobbish and unappealing, but I think the concept is great. People WILL sign up to it for many reasons whether it be to show that they’re rolling in the bucks or if they genuinely do want to interact with those who can afford to strike up new business relationships. I’m just annoyed I didn’t make my millions sooner.