Hive is a place for people to connect with each other through the things they love. It is a place where people can share, discuss, and discover. It is a place people can be passionate about their favourite things together, no matter who they are or how far away they are from each other.

Merges interest-based networking with ‘traditional’ social networking

There have been many new social networking websites appearing which focus on the user’s interests rather than go for the more traditional ‘Facebook’ method of representing your real-world social connections online. Rather than try to connect you through people you already know, sites such as Pinterest connect people with others who share the same interests. However, sites such as Pinterest are limited in that they usually cater to a single interest, and do not form lasting and meaningful connections between users. Users may follow other users or add them as friends, but it is unlikely a user will communicate with specific people regularly, or count them as a real friend. Hive aims to not only connect people with similar interests, but connect people with many similar interests, giving them lots of things to talk about, and to share new things with each other.

Make friends with people who you share the same passions as you

Within many social networking sites, users either add people they already know, e.g. Facebook, or add people who they don’t really communicate with on the level of traditional social networking sites, e.g. Pinterest. On Facebook, users will rarely find that most of the posts on their timeline interests them, and will ignore the majority.

With Hive, we aim to help users make new friends with people who will post content which will genuinely interest them, and therefore give them a reason to talk with each other. When meeting new people and making friends, people usually start talking about mutual interests. Imagine if you could find someone who was just as passionate about photography as you, likes the same unusual band that you do, and owns every single video game you like. There is a good chance you would want to be friends and talk about the things you like often.

Only see the content you are interested in

The friends you make on Hive will share many of your interests, but what about the interests you don’t share?

Every time a user posts, they have to tag it with keywords associated with what they are talking about. This way, other users can choose to only see their friend’s posts which are relevant to their mutual interests. You can even see non-friend’s posts if it has been made public. This tagging system will also allow users to filter their activity feed, so that they can see posts about specific things, giving them control of their experience.

Find people who love the same things as you, regardless of where or who you are

Hive will not only recommend you friends based on how many interests you share, but also

allow you to find people with specific interests or people with at least a certain amount of interest in common with you. One of the main goals of Hive is to connect people who love the same things, and to help form friendships between people who might never have met otherwise, regardless of who you are – it’s all about the interests.

Get recommended new things you’ll like

Ever unsure of what DVD to rent out next, or what video game to buy next? Hive is a place filled with real people who collectively, have had experience with just about anything.

Whether you want to know whether the latest blockbuster movie is really as good as the online reviews say they are, or you want to know which lens you should buy for your camera, the friends you make on Hive will have opinions which you will value because chances are, they are just as passionate about it as you are and want to share their knowledge.

We’re not trying to beat Facebook…we’re something different

While we will probably be compared to Facebook, Hive is something different. Facebook and other similar sites help maintain relationships people already have and connect people who may already know each other. Hive will help people make new relationships, and try to connect people who will likely have lots to talk about. A lot of interest-based site focus too much on the interest. We want to focus on communication amongst people thorough many interests rather than one.