beyonce.comCalling all aspiring Beyhive members!
If you're looking to join the coolest fan group since the invention of the Internet, you shouldn't venture into it lightly. The Beyhive is an all-powerful, all-knowing being, and one should be fully prepared to enter into its throws. After all, we needn't remind thee, dear reader, of the fate that comes to those who dare to cross The Beyhive, now do we?
But now that we've intimidated all potential new members sufficiently, it's time to get down to business. There's no better time than the present to commit oneself to learning the gospel of Beyoncé, and no better place to start than the history of the Beyhive. Once one gains access to this sacred online land, there are many new words and phrases that might be encountered.
Perhaps the worst offense in hive-land is to show ignorance, so if the term "killer bees" evokes Thomas Jane in My Girl instead of a vengeful Bey fan hovering over her computer keys, then you had better study up.
4: The first album launch that included an invite for online fan site members to an exclusive listening party. This was a previously unheard of acknowledgement from a star to the little people.
@Bey_Legion: One of the foremost fan accounts, that live-tweets Queen B's concerts. It's run by a twenty-something in Egypt.
@Beylite: An all-Bey-all-the-time Instagram photo feed with over one million followers.
Beyhydration: Periods in between Beyoncé's music and/or album releases; times during which there is no new Beyoncé material to covet.
BeyonceWorld.net: The fan site that preceded The Beyhive—her followers migrated over from Destiny's Child Connection just before the group split for good. Bey's own team noticed the online gathering and she often gave the community shoutouts.
Car Fax: When digger bees produce a biography, of sorts, of one of the Queen's critics. This gives members of the Hive material to use against those critics on social media.
Designer: One of the members of the team working on Beyoncé's website began enlisting the Beyhive for input, and they soon started stalking him for access, information and to share their opinions (good and bad) on the website's content.
Destiny's Child Connection: The first major fan site where loyal watchers of the group would congregate in the late '90s.
Digger Bees: Occasionally referred to as worker bees. They search the Internet for Beyoncé news—some even have their own sources (culled from concert venue managers and choreographers and the like) and break news about the star.
Era: Periods in which Bey has creative output; she's released music or debuted a new persona.
Honeybees: Members of the Hive who focus their energy on praising Queen B's talents and accomplishments. They are mostly non-confrontational.
Jess Kemper, Michelle Naylor and Cody L.: The original fan team that launched the Beyhive.
Killer Bees: Those who attack the "wasps."
Moderators: Those in charge of keeping track of the threads on The Beyhive; they also control member registration.
Phishing: The act of defrauding an online account holder of financial information by posing as a legitimate company. Google often incorrectly labels The Beyhive as a phishing site.
Rick: The former webmaster of BeyonceWorld.net, who wasn't himself a fan. He posted unflattering concert photos of Bey and did irreversible damage to his relationship with BW members. Once The Beyhive formed, he tried to prevent fans from migrating over by blocking the link to the new site in discussion forums, but to no avail.
The Chart Hive: Member groups that track Beyoncé's progress and standings in comparison to other stars. They also do their own street marketing and encourage people to buy her albums.
Wasps: Queen B's critics.
Yellowjackets: Those who attack the wasps.