What is Buzzhopper?
Have you ever read wonderful reviews about a place, only to be bitterly disappointed with your experience? If so, you’ll know why we created Buzzhopper. Like you, we’re frustrated with anonymous or even fake reviews sites, outdated guidebooks and rants from displeased customers. While we all we crave local recommendations, how do we know those places are exactly what we’re looking for?
We created Buzzhopper because we know the best recommendations and tips only come from our friends. So here we are. The friend you have, wherever you go.
How Buzzhopper works?
We’ve created a unique (and fun) BuzzFilter, so you can find exactly the kind of place and occasion you’re looking for. Whether you’re a hipster, musician, millennial, a wine and design Gen X-er or an adventurous CEO baby boomer – you’re assured to find great tips suited and curated to your age, lifestyle and interests.
Use the BuzzFilter to find tips from Buzzhoppers. Click on a tip you like and you’ll find more information, phone and web details and a map. Click on the name and you’ll read a profile of the Buzzhopper behind the tip. Checked out a place and love it? You’re more than welcome to leave a comment – we’d love to hear from you.
We know that it’s the little details that count. So the more specific our tips are, the better chance you’ll have of having a great time. There are lots of local guides telling you about ‘great places’ but we take it a step further. What to order? House specialties? Best times to go? Are you happy for your friends to pick a restaurant and order for you when you visit them in their city? Sure you will, because our friends usually know best. That’s what we rely on Buzzhopper for.
Most importantly, behind every tip, there’s a profile. There are no fake or anonymous profiles because Buzzhoppers have to be invited to its global community. We call this selective curation, or quality control. Feel a connection with the Buzzhopper? Then you’re probably assured you’ll enjoy their places. Feel free to reach out to a Buzzhopper and let them know!
Special features – Collections & Channels.
Check out these nifty features to make your travels and planning even easier.
Buzzhopper allows you to create your own ‘collections.’ This is essentially your personal playlist, where you save or ‘pin’ your favourite places in one place. No more bookmarking different links in your browser or wading through hundreds of tips to find a place you read about before. Create a list of your favourite places instantly so you’ll always have them handy. You can also share your collections with friends; swap collections when you’re travel planning and save them offline.
Create a collection in four easy steps.
1. Click on a tip that you like.
2. On the tip’s page, there are three icons underneath the introductory copy of the
venue/event. Click on the icon on the left entitled “Add to My Collections.”
3. A drop-down tab will appear. Either create a new collection in the New
Collection text field, or choose a pre-created collection from the Your Collections
drop down.
4. Click Add and you’re done.
You’re permitted to create up to ten collections of your own or save any collections you see have already been created by Buzzhoppers.
Channels:
If a Collection is your personal playlist, then a Channel is your real-time live personal stream. You can create your own channel/s using the BuzzFilter so you’ll never miss out on what’s being uploaded and you’ll always stay in the know.
Let’s say that you’re male, single and live in NYC and are interested in music, fashion, coffee, wine and want to avoid child-friendly places and always want to know when a female Buzzhopper (who shares your interests) has uploaded anything that falls within your preferences. Or say if you’re obsessed with Japanese food and craft beer and want to keep a collection of any new places and exhibitions uploaded. Save these to your channel preferences. If you like the places, you can always save them for a longer time in a collection.
Create a channel in five easy steps:
1. Click on the navigation icon in the top left of the Buzzhopper homepage (this is
the 3 horizontal lines stacked on top of each other).
2. Go to the Buzzhoppers section of the side-navigation. Populate the filters with what you are looking for.
3. Click the side-navigation icon again to close the navigation bar. You will see on
the homepage the preferences you selected on top of the world map.
4. On the right of these preferences is a button called “Save As Channel.” Click on this and a text field will appear from the top of the page.
5. Enter the name of the channel. It can be anything you wish. Press ENTER or click OK on the right of this text field.
From here you will see your channel in the My Channels section of the side-navigation.
3. Getting Started.
Start Buzzhopping now with these easy steps:
1. Choose your city.
If you don’t see your city in our filters, try the search bar. We’re growing quickly and have tips in Helsinki, Paris, Vietnam and other cities but we’ll only make a city ‘official’ if we have more than fifty tips.
2. Choose your filters.
Refine your search with the broad range of filters in Buzzhoppers section. Choose what age you want to search for. It can be your own age, or an
older/younger age. Whatever you want. Are you looking to get tips from guys or girls? Or both? It doesn’t matter.
How social and active are you? Choose your interests and occasion? Restaurants? Bars? Live music? Pubs? We want to ensure you’re matched to Buzzhoppers who share your lifestyle
Looking for Chinese food in London? Got a business lunch in NYC? Want to find parks and beaches in Sydney? Click on the search icon on the top left of the homepage and type in your preferences there and Buzzhopper will find places that cater to those preferences in a snap.
4. Who are Buzzhoppers?
Buzzhoppers are local insiders with a global outlook who span countries, cultures, industries and ages – but are all uniquely defined by things we love. Sure, almost all of us share a passion for eating and drinking (we tend to be a social bunch mostly) – but we’re all aficionados or keen followers of things we love whether it’s coffee, design, culture, comics, live music, brunch, yoga, tequila, ramen, shopping and more. Many of us are even obsessive in our quests to find the best burger in NYC or hunt down the best designer bargains in Milan and we’re very selective in telling you only our favourite places and discoveries. We’re loyal and local regulars at all the places that we’ve shared with you on Buzzhopper.
Every Buzzhopper has specific interests and a specific lifestyle to provide you that stellar connection so you find exactly what you’re looking for. After all, if you’re a coffee snob, surely you want to get tips on where to find the best coffee in town from fellow coffee snobs? So if you’ve clicked with one of our Buzzhopper’s profiles, you’re getting the insider tips from a friend in a way. Read about us in our profiles and don’t be afraid to say hi.
5. Want to be a Buzzhopper?
Are you one of those people who are forever writing lists of your favourite places to send to your friends? Are you the person in your group of friends that’s always asked where to go and what to do in your town? Most of all, are you deeply passionate and inquisitive about that particular interest you have – whether it be pizza, coffee, the great outdoors or shopping for designer bargains? And finally do you love to write? If you’ve answered yes to all the above, email info@buzzhopper.com to tell us about yourself and find out all the buzz and benefits of being an invited member of our global Buzzhopper network.
6. FAQ
I logged in with Twitter/Facebook and I can’t post tips? Buzzhopper is a curated platform and as such not everyone can post content. Currently only Buzzhoppers can post tips by logging in with their Buzzhopper accounts. Travellers logging into Buzzhopper can create collections and channels and comment on Tips but not create Tips themselves. If you think you have it in you to be a Buzzhopper email us at info@buzzhopper.com and tell us about yourself. We’d love to hear from you. You’ve only got six cities in your Cities navigation section? Are there more coming?
Yes, absolutely. The cities in our BuzzFilter have 50+ tips to ensure that users have a robust base to find tips from Buzzhoppers and exactly what they’re looking for. We currently have tips covering Ho Chi Minh City, Perth, Portland, Paris, Reykjavik and more. Type in your city of choice in our search bar on the top left of the homepage and hopefully you’ll find some helpful tips for that city!
Vibes, Tags, Interests… what?
Buzzhopper is trying to do things a bit differently. After all, what’s the point of copying existing systems and their limitations? So we’ve created a fun way in our BuzzFilter for you to tell us about the kind of Buzzhoppers you’d like to be matched with – those who share your interests and lifestyle. Here’s a helpful guide to the different Buzzhopper elements and how they work.
Channels & Collections? What are these?
Our nifty special features. Anyone can create a Channel or Collection, read about them above in Point 2 ‘How Buzzhopper Works.’ Ok, why is everything positive on this website? Where is the dirt? There is none. Buzzhopper is always and only about the good. We’re not about giving any place a bad review. If it’s not great – it’s not on Buzzhopper. Additionally, we strongly believe that many “1 star reviews” come from a one-off visit to a
place that might not deserve such a scathing critique and might actually be a great place if you know what to go there for. Familiarity and gleaming details are what Buzzhopper is about and not rushed generalized appraisals based on a single visit. Something is not working, or I don’t like it, or I want to give you a suggestion or ask a question. How do I go about it?
We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line info@buzzhopper.com
7. About Us
Melinda Chan Butts @melindaglobalpr
Founder and CEO
Born in Hong Kong to a Chinese mother and an Australian father and raised across three continents, Melinda has literally been Buzzhopping all her life – probably why her friend’s jokingly call her a “Professional Traveller.” Travel has indeed dominated her personal and professional life for the past two decades as she hopped across the globe first as a communications and media consultant for global brands and companies, and now as a mother and wife whose personal life is spread over two continents. So much travel has resulted in Melinda developing a keen sense of what travel should be like. Seeking new and off the beaten track destinations is her mission. Commercial tourism in mainstream destinations strikes fear in her heart and soul. Melinda knew early in her travel life that immersing oneself in a totally different culture is only possible by finding the best local places for the most memorable travel experiences, and it soon became apparent that the only places Melinda truly trusted on her travels were recommended by her friends, or friends of friends, a network of travelers sharing the same lifestyle as her own. Combined with being increasingly frustrated of reading about – and having bad experiences – with many anonymous reviews found on scores of websites, she recognized an acute need for a tool that combined the best of selected ‘local’ knowledge that is most importantly, curated and matched to people’s lifestyles and travel tastes.
Her Buzzhopper traits define her as an Asian food addict and a prosecco devotee. Healthy habits ranging from a love of shoes, yoga and green tea keep her balanced. In 2015 she launched Buzzhopper’s Open Beta. She oversees all aspects of the company with a dedicated core team of Buzzhopper working bees and Buzzhoppers from London to Australia.
8. BUZZHOPPERS and AmBuzzadors
Buzzhopper is a global social and professional community which connects professionals all over the world. Buzzhoppers are active members and enjoy many benefits that being a part of a fabulous global community presents to them. Our platform continues to grow due to the passion, creativity and spirit of Buzzhoppers. Buzzhoppers are the heart and pulse of Buzzhopper…and they’re all awesome!
9. Contact us
Should you have any questions that weren’t answered in the above or would like more info about Buzzhopper and its Buzzhoppers, feel free to email us at info@buzzhopper.com