Virtual Social Climbing

Digital culture is famous for its democratic principles, and social
networking sites such as Friendster, Tickle and Tribe.net are no
exception: Anyone can join. But surplus doesn't have nearly the
lure of scarcity. At sites like Google's new Orkut.com, the
open-door policy is replaced by a velvet-rope approach: Only those who
have been invited can join. Supposedly, Orkut will provide higher-quality
contacts, screening out the e-rabble that clogs up many online
communities. But exclusivity is certainly part of the appeal.
"There are lots of old-style country clubs that operate in exactly
the same way," says psychologist Chip Heath, a professor at
Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

Will the resulting social network really offer a better way to make
contacts? Probably not as much as site creators hope. "An important
part of real networking is vouching for somebody who is
introduced," explains Heath. "By automatizing that process,
you make it less effective." While the sites may speed up
connections, the ease of adding "friends" to your online
circle makes the quality of those links dubious. The genre is also rife
with exploitation and fraud. Some Friendster members claim tens of
thousands of "friends"; others devise fake profiles like
"Pure Evil." Invitations to join Orkut are already being
auctioned on eBay. "All this suggests it's a game people are
playing," says Columbia University sociologist Duncan Watts, author
of Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age.

Orkut advertises itself as "an organically growing network of
trusted friends," but exclusivity in online networks never lasts
long, says Watts. After all, a key premise behind social networking is
that everybody is connected. So Watts suggests the invitation-only model
might actually serve a different purpose: destigmatizing online dating.
"You can say to other people, 'I didn't join at first,
but after people invited me, I said, "What the hell." '
You're offering people a rationalization to do something they would
be embarrassed to do."