Uber rich bond online

What do you do if you want to sell your luxury lodge or hire a chalet in the French Alps? Normal people wouldn’t have this dilemma, but the uber rich do. Who to sell it to, how to contact them, where to talk about it are just some of the worries. Since the rich too need to network without their fans and other regular people butting in, a new crop of social networking sites have popped up that cater exclusively to the rich and famous. The most popular is asmallworld.net, where members network, rate restaurants and comment on topics that matter to the jet setting crowd. Other exclusive, by invitation only sites include luxuryratings.com, diamondlounge.com, squa.re.com and quintessentially.com. We find out the verdict given by well-to-do Bengalureans on this.

Owner of Spiga, Aparna Suri isn’t part of any such network but says that it sounds similar to organisations such as the young entrepreneurs association where membership is dependent on turnovers. “Networking with people of similar backgrounds is a good idea. A Bill Gates for instance will find like-minded people and possible clients on such sites. Personally, I’d rather meet a big wig in person than have them on my networking list,” says Aparna.

Designer Raveena Belani, wife of businessman Sunder Belani too feels that it is better to meet in person than network online. “I have heard about such sites but I think that it is just a way to show off your wealth. I wouldn’t like to be part of such networks online and when it comes to invitees only, I’d rather go for an exclusive party and meet friends and new people, who might not be super rich than network with only rich people online. But having said that, such sites will benefit the rich and famous as they will get more information on what they need and still have privacy when doing so,” says Raveena.

Actor Puneet Rajkumar too believes that it will help people professionally but is quite modest when he says, “I don’t think I am big enough to be part of such exclusive sites. But it sounds like a good way to maintain personal and professional connections with like-minded people. In the profession that I am in, it might help me.”

For others like entrepreneur Anjum Jung, the choice isn’t made as yet. “If I do join such a site, I will use it for a social cause and get people together for a good cause rather than just use it for personal benefit. But it sounds like a good way to find out information from like-minded people such as exclusive destinations and gourmet food for instance,” says Anjum.