The Life of a Pop Culture Blogger

Welcome to part four of the 'Life of a Blogger' series where I look at the different culture in the blogging communities. I will be looking at areas such as books, pop culture, travel, film and interiors. Yesterday I looked at book blogging and today will be devoted to the diverse world of pop culture blogging. Nik Thakkar from mediacation  tells us all about the weird and wonderful world of pop culture community.

Why did you start blogging?
Most bloggers that I have spoken with have an answer for this question, but I honestly don�t remember. It was linked to a wave of inspiration in early 2009, where I must have felt the urge to document my views on pop culture for the world to see � it has just snowballed from there.

Why did you choose to write about pop culture?
I work in fashion and entertainment PR and pop collaborations is what I live and breathe, and where my passion lies. I love the space where fashion meets film or music meets art and design etc. Examples of stories that you might expect to read on mediacation range from details of the latest editorial shoot from an iconic photographer such as Ellen Von Unwerth or Steven Klein, to news of a collaboration between Lady Gaga and Terence Koh or Karl Lagerfeld-inspired Diet Coke bottles.

Are you a member of any bloggers groups?
mediacation is part of Vice Magazine�s Blogger Network, and I frequently attend independent fashion blogger events, but nothing more extensive than that.

Do you attend any blogger meet ups?
Yes, however these tend to be organised by a group of London-based fashion bloggers that I have a close relationship with. Alternatively, it might be something that I set up on behalf of one of my clients.

How do you find the pop culture blogging community? 

I would definitely say that there is an element of competitiveness in the blogging community in general, however the term �pop culture blog� can often be mis-interpreted. A lot of exclusively gossip blogs position themselves (incorrectly) as pop culture outlets, and these sites are in constant competition with each other. mediacation does celebrate celebrity culture, but is far from being a gossip blog � the content is more artistically inclined.

Are there any community blogging activities that you are involved in?
Just last week, I announced a weekly collaboration with long-established US celebrity and pop culture blog, popbytes.com. mediacation will feature a weekly column called FASHIONBYTES every Friday, so make sure to add popbytes.com to your favourites now too.

You can read Nik�s blog here.

Follow Nik on Twitter.

Become a fan of mediacation on Facebook.

Click here to read the rest of the posts from �The Life of a Blogger� series. 

Tomorrow find out what it is like to be an Interiors blogger.  

My Space - Nik Thakkar from mediacation

We all know that there are loads of fashion blogs, beauty blogs and celeb ones but there are not that many which focus on pop culture. At times I feel rather alone in blogsphere when ranting on about TV, magazines, books et al so I was delighted when I came across mediacation which covers all these topics in aplomb. Nik Thakkar describes his blog as a pop cutural zeigest through the eyes of an entertainment publicist. I caught up with him to find out more about his blog.

Describe the concept of mediacation
mediacation is essentially a pop culture blog, the content itself is totally accessible to everyone - but the detail appeals to a more media savvy audience. The blog comments on aspects of pop culture and the effect that media has had on it, or the effect that the content has had on media. Whether it be product placement in a Lady Gaga music video, critical reaction to a publicity stunt by a celebrity or simply something great that a fashion brand has done on the catwalk. The tone is quick-witted and what a friend once described to me as a "PR-smut-fest", but in a smart and zeitgeist kinda way.

Where do you scribe?
I squeeze writing in between ridiculously tight deadlines imposed through my job as an entertainment publicist, but mostly in the evenings when I have the opportunity to be more personally creative. My MacBook ends up being my best friend and worst enemy. Ideas for posts come to me on the underground or at the gym and I just note them down on my [enter gratuitous product placement here] Motorola MILESTONE Android phone (yes, Google Android is the future of mobile, even though I am an Apple-child born and bred). I also end up emailing myself ideas from work, if I don't have time to write them up in detail on the spot.

Why that place?
My place is everywhere. As long as I am connected to the internet in some way, I am content and know that my ideas can be saved and transformed into a post�eventually.

What is on your bed at the moment?
Nada. Although, when I have the chance to be messy, everything. Piles of magazines (I still love print, there is nothing like seeing a glossy feature or photoshoot from Paris Vogue, i-D or L'Officiel Hommes in print), my phone, iPod, MacBook�you get the picture.

What form of inspiration do you have on the wall?
Nothing. Does that make me a minimalist, or just really uncreative? I tend to store inspiration digitally or in my head. In all honesty, I spend very little time in a place that I can call home, so I need to be able to take it all with me, like some kind of travelling data bank of Ellen Von Unwerth photo shoots and Pedro Almodovar films.

Do you keep a tidy office or are you a messy worker?
Horrifically messy, it's shocking. Working in PR lends itself to reading a lot of publications, and my favourites end up living permanently on or under my desk. Collecting/hoarding style magazines has ended up becoming a bit of a hobby. POP, LOVE, Man About Town or anything imported - the fatter the better. 

You can read Nik's blog here.

You can follow him on twitter here.