We Don’t Want You Unless You Are Rich Or Look Like You Are Going to Get Rich: Elitist Social Networking at Doostang

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That
wasn’t exactly what the invitation to be friends with someone at Doostang said, but that seemed to be the unstated
subtext. I was disgusted to get this invitation yesterday, which appears
to be from a legitimate start-up. As a wise
venture capitalist once told me, “start-ups are like cockroaches, if you see
one, there are usually hundreds more just like it.” So I suspect that we will see more social networking firms aimed at linking together the best, brightest, and snootiest people in the online world.

Here
is what the invitation said (with the person’s name and invitation removed – someone I don’t think
I’ve ever met):

I’ve requested to add you as a friend on Doostang, an invite-only
career community started at Harvard, Stanford, and MIT. You can use Doostang to
find a job or internship, network, and access valuable career information from
peers and industry professionals.

Doostang members have successfully received offers from: Goldman
Sachs, Facebook, HBO, McKinsey, Google, Apple, Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, Draper Fisher Jurveston, Saatchi & Saatchi, NBC, Morgan
Stanley, Chanel, Summit Partners, U.S. Congress, Conde Nast, Nike, D.E. Shaw,
World Bank, and hundreds more…

It sounds like I am not of sufficient social stature to join
Doonstang anyway. I wonder if they would reject me because I never had a job
offer from any of those companies, and I went to UC Berkeley and The University
of Michigan rather than those elite private schools. And they would probably reject
me for sure when they found out that I went to a community college for three
years because I got such poor grades in high school. More seriously, I realize that there are
elitist networks, and I am probably part of some. But the sheer arrogance of
this, as well as what seems to be a barrier to entry for people who aren’t of sufficient
status, makes my stomach turn. Their motto is "where talent lives,” but perhaps
they should add “and where the unwashed masses can never live.”

For reasons that I can’t explain, it all reminds of my favorite
indicator that we are about to make a really dumb decision at Stanford. When someone says “after all, we are
Stanford,” I always take it as a sign that we are about to do something that
has no logical or factual basis, and is probably elitist as well. It is as if being part of such an elite
institution anoints us with magical powers that that make even the most idiotic
decision turn out well. Perhaps I am
overreacting, but the claim (see their website)
that they are an “invite only community career community that connects top
talent and leading employers,” followed by logos of various elite companies,
made my stomach turn.

Am I being too sensitive? Or
do others agree that this in bad taste?

P.S. Ironically, they list Facebook as one of the elitist
companies. It is hard to get a job at Facebook, but their success, I would
argue, is happening partly because they aren’t elitist at all about who can join.

Comments

10 responses to “We Don’t Want You Unless You Are Rich Or Look Like You Are Going to Get Rich: Elitist Social Networking at Doostang”

December 13, 2007

dimpels

Bob, another reason why I like you so much. and will keep reading and supporting you. It is so funny when people act this way. And this in the country where you can be anything you want to be – living the American dream. I’m living it and so grateful for professionals like you that I can look up to and that would be keeping those snobs in line.
Well done. Love your blog.

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December 14, 2007

CKG

You’re not being too sensitive… any time people feel the need to make themselves special by excluding or denigrating others (even implicitly), it’s not a good sign. I worked for a wonderful boss once, who had a label for groups that had these characteristics: “insecure units.” Such groups tend to value status over substance (often, they aren’t sure what the substance is, but they’re always very clear on the status), and to be consumed with pretty petty concerns. So, right on (again), Bob.

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December 14, 2007

Wally Bock

I like Groucho’s line that he wouldn’t want to be a member of any club that would have him as a member.

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December 14, 2007

Otto

Fully agree! I also second CKG on the insecurity issue. I received the same invite and was wondering whether I had overlooked it in my inbox for, oh, 20-25 years or so.

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December 14, 2007

Jeff

Just when you thought the internet was creating a level playing field…

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December 15, 2007

Rick

Bob–this is certainly a stomach-turning, disgusting display of arrogance and elitist thinking.
What is also true is that many of the institutions of higher learning which are among the elite–think Ivy League, for example–use this very arrogance as a means of recruiting high-performing students about to enter college.
This is not supposition on my part. My daughter was accepted to an Ivy League school which had touted, during our visit there, not only the value of the education, but the value of the connections you immediately had at your disposal with their name on your sheepskin.
I was put off by that selling point at that time, and I was not at all disappointed when she chose a public institution in our home state, rather than the Ivy League school.
This is not exactly the same sort of thing you describe in telling us about this new social network, but the exclusivity and implied ranking of the populace (there’s us, and the rest of the teeming masses, forever separated) is there in both cases.

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December 17, 2007

LivePaola

Many sites start out positioning themselves like that, only to realize later that the really glamorous people don’t have much time to spend online, and that the site needs to open up to get those page views and ad revenues to pay its bills. Look at http://www.asmallworld.net – it’s supposed to be an exclusive network and it carefully doles out invitation privileges, but 9,000 members in a town like Milano (Italy) isn’t really that exclusive, is it?

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December 17, 2007

Shauna Axton

I actually disagree with the take that this an elitist community, though I do agree that the solicitation begs to differ. I joined Doostang a couple months back, and while I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve only seldom visited and haven’t gained much in professional opportunities or otherwise, I think it’s a good idea. Regardless of which schools created the network, Doostang is the first of its kind that I’ve seen to cater to students and recent grads looking for a forum to connect and share business opportunities. Sure, LinkedIn and Facebook provide an aspect of this type of interaction, but neither provides recent grads with the support of like-minded individuals that are in a similar (and daunting, to some) life stage. Perhaps my affinity to Doostang is more theoretical than actual, providing the recent grad with a tool to embark on their search for a meaningful career. I certainly know countless individuals who have struggled during this challenging transition.
I should mention that I didn’t go to an Ivy League – UCSB hardly shares the level of prestige of Stanford or MIT. I was not put off by the invitation. In fact, I’m pretty impressed with the Stanford/MIT Venture Lab and looked toward Stanford’s entrepreneurial programs as UCSB developed its own Technology Management Program. I’d like to think that students and recent grads would welcome any opportunity to interact with smart people offering great jobs. One doesn’t have to be elitist to aspire towards a great career (regardless the payout). If I wasn’t happily employed, I may look to Doostang as one of many tools to help young people navigate the many career opportunities available to them.

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December 19, 2007

GRV

I attempted to go their website and found that the service is not available as of now. Thanks to Bob?! 😉

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October 18, 2009

RG

Ugh; My name is… and I am an elitist. I value my overpriced credentials. I went to MIT and Chicago and I am different from – well, everyone in the snowflake idea, but who I would have been if I hadn’t gone there. MIT especially, I think, where I got permission to be a nerd. I don’t apologize for the ways I am different from the “unwashed masses”, even though they would have me feel guilty for my geekiness. We may not be better, but we are different, and there is value to having those venues where it’s okay to be us.

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