Though the question "What is Hip-Hop?" sparks all kinds of debate, a new website called State of Minds is using it as the initial call to bring people together to participate in what the About page describes as a "Hip-Hop community driven social content website".
To be honest, when I first heard that Leo Libiran was trying to start a hip hop related social networking site, I had a dubious response because I simply imagined a MySpace clone focused on hip hop. So I was happily surprised to find that his first public effort, created with Mike Hafalia and Jayvo Basilio, is both unique and interesting.
As you’ll see, the site currently focuses on postcards created in response to the question "What is Hip-Hop?" that can either literally be snail mail postcards or .jpg images that are entirely digital. The responses are interesting because they don’t all literally address the question but they all do address various meaningful aspects of hip hop.
Though my own tendency in a new project is to maintain fairly tight boundaries and loosen them later, I’m happy to see that State of Minds is taking a more open approach to responses, since a site relying on community created content should ultimately draw much of its direction from the community it facilitates.
My concern is that people initially visiting State of Minds will be thrown by the use of the term postcards, especially since, in a media saturated environment, even fairly simple ideas can be quickly misread and dismissed. On the positive side, that might weed out some of the silliness one encounters in many rap related discussion boards and comment areas.
For me, such concerns raise marketing issues related to reaching receptive sectors of the larger hip hop community via online media.
Many hip hop sites are working within fairly restricted boundaries and aren’t going to boost a site they view as competition, though the uniqueness of the site might get past such barriers leading to some kind of coverage and there are many sites concerned with defining hip hop, whether or not they forefront the question.
Hip hop bloggers seem likely to be receptive to such a project, especially since bloggers continue to come up with all sorts of interesting approaches despite working with fairly similar content management systems. But many hip hop bloggers tend to be closer to the cutting edge of tech and design and may be too quick to dismiss a project that offers a snail mail option. On the other hand, hip hop bloggers are a diverse group and some might really dig State of Minds.
While reaching out to folks in the Mail Art scene seems like an obvious move, that might actually divert the project from a core hip hop audience to an audience that is not inherently sympathetic to the variety of subcultures that have emerged as hip hop has grown.
Perhaps reaching out to graf writers and street artists, like the folks at the Wooster Collective might be a way to go, since these folks often create a lot of online art as well.
And, certainly, politically minded sites like Davey D’s and purist oriented projects like the Temple of Hip Hop should be considered possible allies since they are quite interested in finding meaningful definitions and understandings of hip hop culture.
If you’ve got thoughts about how State of Minds might successfully spread the word, from which communities to target to whatever strikes your fancy, please feel free to add them in the comments. If you write about the site on your blog or website, please also post the url in the comments whether or not you address marketing issues.
Disclaimer and Related Notes:
I consider Leo Libiran a friend and possible future business associate but have had no contact or association with Mike Hafalia and Jayvo Basilio. However, I’m trying to give such folks the same treatment I’d give anyone else so I decided that, rather than simply boosting the site, I’d give an honest appraisal related to my initial marketing concerns.
That doesn’t mean that every time I point folks to a new resource, that I’ll be critiquing that resource, but it does mean that when I dig in, I’ll be a bit more even handed than I have been at times in the past.
Images used by permission of State of Minds.
