Prominent digital thinker Jonathan Akwue described a great analogy in his keynote speech at the Likeminds conference in Exeter a couple of months back. What is going on social media is very similar to the formation of the Hip hop culture of the 80s onwards.

He talked about social media as a sort of remix culture where content from many different places is combined and distributed.

It also potentially gives people who were previously voiceless a voice. He also made the point that when such people are given a voice we need to be ready to hear what they have to say and we might not like it!

I wanted to take this analogy further as I see a lot of similarities. For instance, take the issue of 'so-called self appointed social media gurus'; these are the equivalent of 'wack mcs' who jack other people's lyrics to make a quick buck. There is an unwritten rule in social media which is similar to hiphop and it goes a l'tle sumthin' like this:

"Keep it real! Aint no room for fake mcs!"

The social media story for someone starting out can often seem like a classic 'rag-to-riches' story where you go from nothing to making it big. Many a Hip hop video has been known to have MCs sporting jewellry, other bling-bling, women and talking about they became ghetto superstars! It all sounds a bit like Notorious BIG's tune 'Juicy'. How true this reality is always a matter of debate though.

Then there are the 'haters'. These are people who's main agenda is to rip your reputation to shreds and show you the maximum disrepect possible. These people may be jealous competitors or people who just do not like you. The internet and social media has many playa haters who hate seeing others with talent rise and shine brite. Whether it is hating on individual or company brand. They love stir things up and get a attention!

Eminem dealt with a MC playa hater very well in his battle rap at the end of 8 Mile by disarming the other MC 'disses' before he had a chance to use them. (if you are easily offended by explicit language please do not click link and watch video). Eminem knows the other MC will try and bring up his background. Eminem shrewdly disarms this and shows up the other MC and his crew.

When it came to the other MC's turn to take centre stage with his rap he has absolutely nothing to say. You often have to be as sharp-witted as Eminem is when protecting a companies online reputation or just generally dealing with haters online in real-time!

Ultimately good social media and Hip hop is definitely about 'being fresh', keeping it real', 'coming with your own style' and 'not biting other people's rhymes'! These are all things the late rapper Guru from Gang Starr always did very well! Social media could learn a lot from him...

RIP Guru....

It is with great pleasure that I welcome my second guest poster, another good friend of mine Nadia Auckburally. Carnival time is almost upon us again in Notting Hill, London but Nadia questions whether it is still relevent and authentic to its roots? NiteGlow..

As Notting Hill Carnival quickly approaches us, I wonder to myself if this will be another year of disappointment for me? I say this as I feel the carnival is no longer authentic to its roots.

Carnival began in January 1959 in St Pancras Town Hall as a response to the depressing state of race relations at the time; the UK's first widespread racial attacks (the Notting Hill race riots) had occurred the previous year. The carnival was a huge success, despite being held indoors. It first moved outside and was rescheduled to August in 1965. By 1976, the event had become definitely Caribbean in flavour. (Wikipedia)

The carnivals I have experienced in Trinidad & Tobago, Caribana in Toronto, Brooklyn and Miami have a mainly Soca presence to them. In fact Soca music has always been the cornerstone to all Caribbean carnivals. However, Notting Hill Carnival seems to have forgotten this. Since when do carnivals play homage to garage, hip hop, house, etc?

Other carnivals around the world have hundreds of organised floats blaring out music with masqueraders wearing costumes that have an impressive display of colours and creativity. You can watch the video below for a carnival in Trinidad.

All too often you only see the drips and drabs of parades and floats wondering along the streets of Notting Hill. I always feel like there is a lack of effort. Anyone who has experienced a real carnival will know what I am getting at here. This year London prepares once again to take on an estimated 1.5 million people during the bank holiday weekend August the 30th and 31st. I cannot help thinking what it would be like to have a full carnival parade like the ones in Trinidad or other parts of the world.

One of the other factors that disappoints me about the carnival is the substantial amount of crime and disorder which is always covered by the press. Some would feel is an unfair, negative and one sided view of carnival. Having said that there have been some serious violent incidents in the past and it is such a shame that a minority wants to start trouble. Carnival spirit is supposed about people coming together and having a good time.

This year the organisers have decided the procession will start earlier at 9.00am so that the judging of floats can be completed by 18.30pm and there will be more rigorous noise monitoring. All this is so that the police are able to control the crime throughout the day and riots at the end of the night! With so many measures in place I wonder if people will truly be able to relax and enjoy themselves.

I hope that somehow that Notting Hill Carnival can turn itself around for the sake of generations of people with Caribbean roots and all other cultures who come to enjoy the carnival.