What is Hub Culture?
Hub Culture is a social network service that is the first to merge online and physical world environments. It was founded in November 2002. The Hub Culture group of companies is privately held with offices in Bermuda, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, San Francisco and Singapore. Dedicated representatives are in over 60 locations worldwide.
Hub Culture is built around three pillars: the network, the places (Pavilions), and the services (Ven, cloud collaboration, tools).
Network
As of May 2010, Hub Culture lists over 20,000 members and has exchanged over 1.8 million units of its virtual currency, Ven. Members create profiles with tags tied to areas of expertise and knowledge, sharing information to help others in the network with business related activities. Members may build working groups to manage collaborative projects with wikis, file sharing, discussions and event planning, or exchange the virtual currency to acknowledge favors and benefits that come from the sharing of information.
Pavilions
In 2008, Hub Culture began rolling out Pavilions, member based workspaces in key cities that offer concierge and consulting services, meeting space, on an internet enabled technology platform. Hub Culture Pavilions, both temporary and permanent, have appeared in London, Ibiza, Cannes and Miami.
Hub Culture believe in aesthetics: that being smart, sexy, philanthropic and world-aware are more than just hobbies, they are a way to accelerate our collective development. There are two levels of membership:
Membership
1. HubCulture.com members get access to news and events, private invitations to join Salons and events worldwide and the ability to manage groups and knowledge sharing for mutual benefit. Building groups for projects and sharing knowledge helps members collaborate and build worth. Members get their own profiles, ability to see and connect with others, publishing rights, access to the icons rolodex, rankings, and trading opportunities for business. Membership is free by invitation from another member.
2. Pavilion members pay rates starting at £10 a day for access to Pavilions around the world. Some Pavilions are permanent, such as London, while others are temporary, such as Davos and Ibiza. A single membership is good for all Pavilions worldwide, allowing Hub Culture's globetrotting network the ability to drop in and use facilities all around the world at any given time. See benefits of Pavilion membership here.
Services: Ven, Cloud, Tools
Ven is a virtual currency used by members of Hub Culture to buy, share and trade knowledge, goods and services with anyone in the network and can be spent at any Hub Culture Pavilion. The currency is currently linked to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 10 Ven to the dollar and trades against other major currencies at floating exchange rates. Ven first appeared as an application in Facebook on 4 July, 2007. In late 2008, the currency became tradeable to anyone with an email address, making it the first global digital currency to move from an online social network into the real world. In 2010, Ven moved to a market float and a weighted basket, making it independent of any single currency. All pricing in Hub Culture is calculated in Ven.
Cloud Collaboration is a suite of services available from HubCulture.com that allows network members to collaborate using disparate resources. Based around groups, these cloud services include discussions, event management, content feeds, file storage, micropayments, content production and project management.
Tools available to the community include a range of knowledge based services, from accounting to graphic design to consulting. Many of these services are sourced from the community at large.
Why can't I login or access a certain area?
Not all areas of Hub Culture are available to everyone. Membership is by invitation. We make a lot of content and opportunities available to those outside the network, but to gain full access you need to know someone who is already part of Hub Culture.
Access is not based on wealth, job position or status, it is based on the value that others feel prospectives can add to the community. Invitations are free for members, so just ask them to help you get started.
I am a member so why can't I login?
If you are a member and have trouble logging in, check your password link or ask for the Reminder to send you your info. If you don't know your username, email The Door and we will get back to you shortly.
What's the deal with Ven?
Ven is the a global digital currency used to manage exchange in the Hub Culture community. The price of Ven relative to other currencies floats on the markets. By trading and enhancing knowledge in micro-payments, members can build value and earn capital for the knowledge work they do. We provide a starter amount of Ven when a user joins, and the user can choose to earn or spend more as they wish. Once a balance reaches 0 Ven, it is easy to get more at specified rates against most major global currencies.
Members can buy, earn or spend Ven. If you have a question about a transaction involving Ven, please email us.
What's the deal with Pavilions?
The Pavilions are rolling out worldwide in permanent and temporary locations to help bridge the gap between virtual and physical. These venues require membership and slots are extremely limited. Premium Members gain access to the global network of facilities and can use them to innovate, work, lounge, connect and earn.
What's the deal with the Store?
All Pavilion bookings and transactions can be handled digitally through the Hub Culture Store. Therefore, items available in any Pavilion are also available on the website, allowing for seamless e-commerce purchases that simply deduct from your account. Bingo! No cash, no cards - just you.
Make a booking yourself or simply request from the Pavilion Valet, and anything from coffee to Cartier is yours, instantly.
Why isn't something working correctly?
Bugs happen. If you are experiencing problems using the site or encounter any bugs, please let us know by emailing us here.
Encountered something naughty or untrue?
If you wish to report a copyright violation, inappropriate conduct or content posted by another user, please let us know. Hub Culture does not own the content published by members and is not responsible for the veracity, truth, legality or other aspects of information made available by others. To help you find quality experts we've created rankings and social graph visibility to help you decide for yourself the quality of knowledge in the system.
Hub Culture is a 'known community' in that many of our members know each other face-to-face, and we aim to maintain and build those connection hubs to preserve intellectual and reputation quality. For information on our policies, please see our terms and conditions.
How is Hub Culture organized?
Hub is a kind of socially run company, a crowd-source network. We are a social collective, sharing opportunities and value creation with the members who drive our activities and acting as an agent on behalf of members. The functions of the website allow members to self organize, and we provide platforms, trading tools, commissions and connectivity to enhance the individual capabilities of this intelligent community.
That said, Hub Culture Services offers general trend and social graph information (NOT from our members) and manages the live events, salons, sponsorships and other activities of Hub Culture. Hub Culture Pavilions is a separate company managing the growth of the Pavilion live-venues.
Hub Culture Services Ltd.
16 Great Marlborough Street
London W1F 7HS
United Kingdom
tel. +44207693 1106
fax. +44 207 693 1695
Anything else?
Thank you for being a part of Hub Culture. The best way to get in touch with us if you have a question, comment or issue would be to email us or visit the contact page, where press, speaker and other engagement opportunity information is listed. We would love to hear from you, so don't hesitate to get in touch.
