With AllHipHop boasting one of the largest online hip-hop communities, because of the activity in its forums, I kind of expected that the online publisher would be the first out of the gate to launch a social network. And while there are may other hip-hop related social networks out there (many of which I’ll be writing about in future posts), there are none currently piggybacking off of a major media company (if you can call Harris major).
In that regard, this is going to be a good move for XXL, especially if both the timing and the feature set are all correct. Timing could be kind of tricky, as the target market may already be experiencing social networking fatigue. And considering the fact that hip-hop fans are some of the hardest to please, if what XXL produces can’t contend with the likes of MySpace or Facebook, it’s not going to get any dap.
“Within the next month, Harris will go live with the Web site XXLBlocktalk.com, where members can post their own blogs and profiles, and view videos of artists interviewed in the magazine. Executive Publisher Jonathan Rheingold says the social networking site will give members the chance to connect with “the global hip-hop community.”"
On the ability to connect with agencies and marketers, Harris is taking a page out of CurrentTV’s handbook, and putting the power of advertising in the palms of the users’ hands.
“The company has partnered with apparel maker K-Swiss, whose ads will appear throughout the site. Harris will also run promotions in which members create their own ads using music from five emerging artists, including Ivy League-educated Chicago rapper Naledge, who have signed on to help promote the program.”
It’s really beginning to feel like 2000-2001 all over again. While there’s a lot of activity in the Web 2.0 space, particularly in the social networking arena, there’s talk of an impending Web 2.0 bubble. But you’ve heard about all of that already, haven’t you?






Wed, Oct 17, 2007
Category: Celeb 2.0, Launches, News, Social Networking