The launch of iPad in the UK has caused lots of hysteria today with queues at Apple shops up and down the country. With every new piece of technology we are always told how it will revolutionise everything we do from business to personal life.

It generally stems around how much faster we can do everything and how we can be seen as cutting-edge or 'down with the kru' by our peer group. However, is having everything quicker and more readily accessible more valuable to your life experience or is it all just hype?

I think that technology and social networking can help up to a certain point and you can gain a great deal. Sooner or later though, you will hit the law of diminishing returns. At this point life experience is orientated in such a way that new technology or funky web apps will not really enhance it significantly. Furthermore, it may actually facilitate new inventive ways of you being lazy!

Ordering a pizza is as easy as going to the special app on your smartphone or other device. You don't even have to call the pizza company and speak to a human being any more! Having everything in the palm of your hand is a consumer's dream! It always sounds funky and fresh but isn't that just ego? Everything is available at a touch of screen. I find myself starting to get impatient with things if they don't work the way I expect. I then try and think to myself that there was a time when I never know such technology existed let alone know how to use it!

With new gizmos like the iPad are we heading to a future where we control our entire life through a technological box of tricks? If so we may end up no different then a bunch of spoiled technological brats! I am not sure that is a future I want....

The last few posts have been music related so I thought I would continue that theme a while longer. As you may have noticed from my twitter bio, I dabble in some Drum'n'bass and Dubstep production here and there. I have written a couple of posts on Drum'n'bass in the past but never really talked about what I've been up to music wise...

Well here's you chance to find out! I have decided to showcase some of my best demo tunes on SoundCloud and as part of this blog. This will yet add another dimension to the NiteGlow experience.

I should point out that none have tunes have ever been released before and are not signed to any record labels at the moment (hint, hint!).

Even if Drum'n'Bass/Dubstep isn't your thing I hope you'll still give it a listen. I produce stuff to get wider audiences interested too...

Without further ado here is the first Glowtune called 'Cascade'. It's a nice mellow summer roller for all y'all! As always I would love to hear what you think.....

Cascade by NiteGlow

Picture by deviantArt

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....