Blogging the Aloha State and Beyond
![What is Dabble.in? [Updated]](https://www.hawaiiweblog.com/wp-content/themes/hueman/assets/front/img/thumb-medium-empty.png)
This morning, Twitter was awash with messages reading: “I just reserved my Dabble.in username. Gets yours here.” My friend Burt Lum posted the first tweet I saw, and as an obsessive signer-upper, I raced over to register. My post sparked another half a dozen of my friends to sign up...
The story of Hawaii’s annexation deserves a wider audience. I’ve often thought the drama and conflict was tailor made for a Hollywood blockbuster, but I also know Hollywood well enough to bet such an “adaptation” could easily be the worst thing to happen to Hawaii’s history, instead. The reception for...
Once again, social media played a key role in reporting and distributing information during a crisis. In the wake of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake off Japan, communities around the Pacific Rim braced themselves for the inevitable tsunami waves. In Hawaii, the “#hitsunami” hashtag aggregated thousands of posts from news media,...
As an advocate for free access to government data, I was glad to hear about the City and County of Honolulu’s newly launched online transparency initiative, “Citizens Analyzing Numbers Discover Opportunity” (or CAN-DO). Indeed, based on the “About” and “FAQ” pages, the CAN-DO site seems to demonstrate a clear understanding...
By most accounts, global carmaker Audi’s high-profile Twitter campaign was a success. Great press, thousands of Twitter mentions, $25,000 going to charity, and glowing quotes to put in a press release. But for some of us, it was a failure. Which is a pity, because it could’ve been something truly...
Last year’s Oscar-nominated animation blockbuster “Toy Story 3” was emphatically described as the final chapter of the adventures of Buzz, Woody, and friends. But from Entertainment Weekly comes word of a new short film in which fans get one more glimpse of what became of these beloved characters after their...
Friday brought Honolulu’s second “Eat the Street” Food Truck Rally, held in Kaka’ako. The first, organized by StreetGrindz.com, drew a dozen vendors and over 1,000 people to a small lot on Kapiolani Boulevard. For this second event, Kamehameha Schools hosted everyone on a four-acre parking lot on South Street, and brought...
When I’m not blogging, I’m browsing. Here are sites and pages that I bookmarked on February 28th: Maui count shows humpback whale numbers growing: Volunteers and researchers tallied 1,607 sightings of humpback whales Feb. 26 from their lookout posts along Maui's shorelines during the Great Maui Whale Count. Bionic leg...
The House Judiciary Committee today unanimously voted to advance a bill that would remove the sunset provision in Hawaii’s so-called “Journalist Shield Law,” otherwise known as Act 210 (HB2557) from the 2008 Legislative session. The law gives the press (“journalists and newscasters”) some protections against being forced to reveal sources...
When I’m not blogging, I’m browsing. Here are sites and pages that I bookmarked on February 14th: Europa helps astronomers peer inside Jupiter’s missing belt: The ongoing turmoil inside Jupiter's missing South Equatorial Belt is now visible in unprecedented detail thanks to the Keck II telescope and the icy Jovian...
If three’s a crowd, the group buying space in Hawaii is an all out riot. In just the past week, several different group buying services announced new initiatives in Hawaii. Kanu Hawaii is preparing to unveil Kanu Values, in which the deals benefit community causes. A pair of local entrepreneurs launched...
Honolulu designer John Garcia has been named one of ten finalists in a groundbreaking social media campaign by Audi. He moves onto Round 2, which kicks off on Monday, and with the help of the Hawaii social media community, he and his supporters could win $25,000 for charity. I was...
What is HTML5? Who is using HTML5? And would you know what HTML5 is if you saw it? Ocupop, a boutique design firm with roots in Hawaii, was tapped to help the world find an answer to those questions. HTML5 is “the next major revision of the HTML standard,” essentially...
When I’m not blogging, I’m browsing. Here are sites and pages that I bookmarked on February 4th: Daniel Ho and Hawaiian Music at the Grammys: The reality is more complex, involving issues endemic to Hawaii: the tension between culture and commerce, authenticity and appropriation. So the last six years’ results...
After more than two years out of the public eye, Shawn Ching is returning to the news business. Hawaii News Now announced that he will join Stephanie Lum at the anchor desk for its 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. newscasts. “Having Shawn join Hawaii News Now is a game-changing moment...
“Where the Hell is Matt?” It’s a question for the ages. Or at least those of an age to remember the earliest days of web video. Who The Hell is Matt? Six years ago, former video game designer Matt Harding decided to travel the world. A video clip of him...
I wish I was enough of a foodie to say that I was always familiar with the background and talents of award-winning chef Philippe Padovani. But apart from knowing that he was one of the founders of “Hawaii Regional Cuisine,” I only truly became a fan of his after my...
The Online News Association was founded in 1999, and I signed up pretty early in its history, full of ideas for Islenews.com (which became HawaiiNews.com which is now HawaiiStar.com). My dream of building a robust grassroots local news site is still just a dream, but fortunately, the ONA has soldiered...
When I’m not blogging, I’m browsing. Here are sites and pages that I bookmarked on January 25th: Hawaii falls behind nation in science knowledge: Hawaii fourth and eighth graders performed below national scores on a national science assessment. The average score for Hawaii eighth graders in public schools was lower than...
Earlier this month, Jim Sink, CEO of Honolulu-based game firm Avatar Reality, announced that the company was shifting its strategy for Blue Mars, once touted as a next-generation virtual reality environment that would challenge Second Life. As a result, most of the employees were laid off, including Sink. Avatar Reality...
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