Rejection.
Imagine your Airbnb booking being knocked back because you don’t have enough friends on Facebook.
Something like that happened last year.
A mother with a top credit history was turned down.
To be fair, Airbnb didn’t literally say ‘you don’t have enough social media contacts’, but the woman in questions claims it amounted to that.
So welcome to the new status.
It has nothing to do with your bank account.
It’s not contingent on an Ivy League education or say, the fact you may be a director of a powerful Wall Street firm.
The algorithms don’t care.
They just look for one thing. They want to know if you’re connected socially.
Are you linked to the point where people will be influenced by your choice? Will hordes follow you?
It looks like a new expression of online promotion is at work here for Airbnb.
Imagine being able to handpick your customers.
You decide who is worthy to use your service or own your product. You choose who represents your brand.
Airbnb appears to be in that rarefied position. They share that with Ferrari.
It’s tough to buy one of their low-volume cars if you’re not known to the company. Maybe it’s even impossible.
To get on the Ferrari waiting list for a car that’s one of just 400 you have to exert yourself.
You’ll have to attend Ferrari events like promotions, car shows, track days, Formula 1 races or be a current owner.
You’ll have to be known to the company.
Even then it’s difficult. If a Ferrari Dino is in your garage, that may not get you very far.
For many it’s not enough of a Ferrari as it’s a relatively low-cost offering meant for a wider market.
Not only do you have to possess the wherewithal, but you will have to demonstrate value to the company.
In short you have to be worthy of owning a Ferrari.
It’s a bit like CRM. But in reverse.
Meanwhile, if Airbnb doesn’t come through with a booking there’s always Craigslist.
And for a mode of transport more exotic than a low-volume Ferrari, try India.
They’ve had a spacecraft orbiting Mars since September 2014.
If all goes well they could be looking for spaceflight passengers in the not too distant future.
Share with us. Leave your comments in the box below Thanks for reading Whybetonto.com. Regards, Steve Ulin. LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/1Bey3Jl