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The word “hive” is rich in meanings. It refers to a teeming multitude; a structure; a natural habitation; a collective body; and the movement of a group[1]. “Hive” has both natural world connotations and more abstract and conceptual meanings. In the natural world, a hive is a structure occupied by bees, which emerge, disappear, and re-emerge as the seasons roll by.
At a conceptual level, the word “hive” has broad application. A live event, such as a music concert, is a hive of activity. It is a swarm of people, organisations, logistics, sounds, visuals, and movements. A live event is a temporary assemblage of human and non-human actors, which forms and dissolves at a given time and in a given space. A live event is both fluid and structured.
EventHive have embraced the word “hive” as a concept and metaphor to guide its branding and design. It allows us to adopt playful imagery from the natural world to strengthen our brand identity. At the same time, we draw upon the hive as a metaphor for an event. Live events are hives of activity, swarms of human and non human actors that form structures that come and go.
In this blog, Jack will briefly elaborate upon how the “hive” as a concept and metaphor has shaped our branding and design. Jack will highlight the dialectic between the hive as a natural world phenomenon and a natural language concept that underpins the design of EventHive.
Event Pages: Hives and Structures of Activity
In our application, event pages, which are the hub of information about an event, are known as “event hives.” Event hives are the point-of-access for information about a specific event, including event descriptions, integrated social media content (tweets, Instagram etc.), user-generated content, attendee lists etc. These pages are structured and the event is the organising principle. In comparison, the activity feed – a key feature of EventHive – shows event-related activity based on friend activity, interests, and location.
In this way, the event hives are beehives. They are the hives of activity where information is structured and stored, like honeycomb in a hive. Event hives come and go as events take place and pass. Like honeybees returning to their nest, event hives are the space where EventHive users gravitate to find information, media content, and people associated with that event, or hive.
Capturing the Swarm: The “Buzz Count” Popularity Metric
A defining feature of the EventHive platform is its “popularity” metric, known as the “buzz count.” The buzz count is an algorithm that produces a popularity rating based on factors such as attendee count, social media activity, and page views.
The “buzz count” helps users effortlessly find “popular” events. The buzz count captures and gauges how large an event hive’s ‘swarm’ is – how many people are there and how much online discussion is taking place. For more information on the “buzz count,” see Jack’s post on this topic.
References
[1] http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/buzz
[2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/have_your_say/2002/11/06/manc_words.shtml
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