Diane Seo and Catherine Toth

Led by the talented and focused Diane Seo; a team of local writers, photographers, bloggers, and techies promise to deliver eating, events, and nightlife on Oahu — nonstop!  The Genesis  of Nonstop Honolulu is a story of determination, entrepreneurship, and hearts full of faith.  Earlier this year, with the announcement of the merger of the Honolulu Advertiser and the Star Bulletin, the fate of Gannett owned Metromix Honolulu — a partner of the Advertiser — was bleak.

Despite building a community that provided Metromix Honolulu with 62 million pageviews in less than 2 years, the site closed in early June 2010.  Well, it’s still accessible online, but a “Gone Surfing” message lets readers know that new content isn’t being posted.  Still, I couldn’t help but wonder about the void being left.  Leave it to Seo to already have a plan of execution in place and once she had the commitments of Catherine E. Toth, Ed Morita, Melissa Chang, Tracy Chan, Mari Taketa, and John Garcia it was only a matter of time, and that time is today!

If you’re wondering if they’re just going to copy and paste Metromix Hononlulu, the answer is no.  As Seo and Garcia explained their focus is on quality over quantity.  Events, eateries, and night spots have to have the potential to create buzz; it’s sort of like this online magazine rack that I evangelize for, Nonstop Honolulu is aiming for the top!

“Our coverage will be fun and innovative. It’ll appeal to people who like to find out what’s new, what’s best, what’s coming up,” said Seo.

Easy to navigate, conversations are powered by the new Livefyre platform which allows community members to connect and share via Facebook and Twitter.  Speaking of the social media powerhouses, follow @nonstophonolulu on Twitter and ‘like’ (trust me, you will really like them) on Facebook.

I could go on and on or nonstop about the reasons I’m so excited for Nonstop Honolulu, but it’s better that you head on over and explore on your own.  I promise, it will become the first stop for those seeking eateries, events, and nightlife in Honolulu! Oh and mark your calendars, the official launch party is on Thursday, September 16, 2010 at Ka!

“The NOH8 Campaign is a photographic silent protest created by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska and partner Jeff Parshley in direct response to the passage of Proposition 8. Photos feature subjects with duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing their voices being silenced by Prop 8 and similar legislation around the world, with “NOH8″ painted on one cheek in protest.”

In response to Governor Linda Lingle’s veto of HB 444 bill that would have legalized civil unions, the NOH8 campaign made a commitment to bring their silent message to Hawaii.  Set-up in the VIP room at KA restaurant and bar in Ward Center, Lilinoe, the kids, and I arrived freshly showered after a day traveling around the island of Oahu with our brightly white tops.

Upon entry, before you could sign media release forms, you had to complete voter registration forms first.  As all (or one) of you may know, our household are registered voters in the State of Hawaii.  On a side note, I found it refreshing to learn that the island of Hawaii has an all-time high of registered voters for the primary election on September 18th!  But, back to NOH8 in the 808.

We arrived, completed our forms, and got our tattoos on our respective cheeks.  We sipped on soft drinks or in my case a cold bottle of Coors light and waited for our numbers to be called.  I could feel the energy of the people in the room, there were smiles, head nods of unspoken ‘you’re doing a good thing’.  There were couples of all shapes and sizes, and I’ll add for the extra niele person, of all genders too.  There were families, mothers with their children, and even single people willing to do their part to send the silent message of NOH8.

Our photos shoot was a rush, for the four of us.  Not because of vanity for our mugs, but somehow it brought the four of us closer together.  We sent a silent message of NOH8.  You may not agree with the untraditional, unconventional, dynamics of our family; but we have unconditional love.  So, NOH8.

YouTube users upload 20 hours of video each minute which translates to an equivalent of about 130K full length films per week. Despite 2 billion daily views, that’s still a lot of virtual film reels to wade through for consumers. Fortunately, geniuses create hacks and tools to improve our YouTube experience.

• Want to watch every single music video of your favorite artist in one search and click? YouTube Disco is for you.
• Want to share the funniest forty-five seconds of a not entirely funny ten minute long video? Visit Tubechop.
• Don’t want the hassle of clicking through all of your subscribed videos? Then get YouTube Leanback.

Full story at Simply Zesty.

Start your YouTube experience here.

Posted via email from Holy Kaw!

Since their first 19-second video upload in 2005, YouTube continues to blow minds not just with its user-generated content, but with their statistics. Today, YouTube is localized in 22 countries in 24 different languages and exceeds 2 billion views per day. To understand what 2 billion views means, it’s nearly double the prime-time audience of all of the 3 major networks in the U.S.

Here are more unreal facts about YouTube:

• The most subscribed channel is produced by a twenty-something college student from Hilo, Hawaii. With more than 2 million subscribers Ryan Higa, known on the video networking site as NigaHiga parlayed his comedic talent into a wildly popular feature length film.
• A month after launching, YouTube offered its users embed codes. Today, there are tens of millions of YouTube players embedded across different websites.
• Google acquired YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion worth of stock. In 2009, partner ad revenue more than tripled!

Full story at Website Monitoring.

We’ve got all the top YouTube videos covered.

Posted via email from Holy Kaw!

In case you’re wondering, I do have a channel on YouTube. I use it more for hosting videos I want to embed in my blog posts than to satisfy the aspiring producer within me. For videos longer than 10-minutes (the maximum allowed for my free account on YouTube) I then use Viddler.

Me Against the World

Fresh from Paint the Vote!, this is the season for urban art whether it be muralists, fashion, or music.  A mix of popular local urban artists and San Diego guest artists come together for the first-ever collaborative art installation Me Against the World art show at Prototype in Pearlridge Center Uptownon Saturday, August 14, 2010 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Meet the Artists

• Pancho Abalos of Ewa Beach turned his lifelong passion for art professional in 2003.  Has been a live muralist with the Ground Up Movement and has shown in the Philippines and Los Angeles.  His collaborations include pairings with many well-known artists of the urban art genre such as Alfie Numeric and Dave Araquel of Beatrock clothing. Other showings have included charity shows in New York and being a Scion Hawaii featured artist for the 2006 and 2007 First Hawaiian Bank Auto Shows.
• Eukarest is a tattoo artist at Tattoolicious in Waikiki and a featured sponsored artist through 7th Letter and Known Gallery.
• Janel Natividad of Ewa Beach is an emerging surrealism artist/painter.
• Newkon is the lead designer for Kallusive Clothing and his own apparel line, Newkon Clothing.
• Spel One of Waipahu is one of Hawaii’s leading underground digital artists.’
• Takumi 10 is one of Hawaii’s leading street artists.
• Romali of San Diego is a former graphics designer for Wild Style Technician.
• DJ Yogurt of Kapolei is a popular local club deejay.
• Kazu the Gonzo of Ewa Beach is an up-and-coming local beat producer.
• DJ Jaba1 is a member dj through Homegrown Blends Crew and Armory San Diego

Bring the entire family and crew to Pearlridge to be inspired!

Photo credit: Ed Morita

Being involved in Hawaii Elections 2010 is a fascinating journey that has me not only learning something new everyday, but meeting and engaging with more people that truly care about the prosperity of their communities, islands, and entire State.  One of these persons is Sesnita Moepono, candidate for City Council District 6, currently held by Rod Tam who has tossed his hat into the ring for Mayor of Honolulu.

I first met Ses more than a decade ago at a dinner she hosted in her home.  One of the first things that struck me was her genuine sense of Aloha.  Over the years our families continued to keep in touch, but my support for Ses for her candidacy for City Council has little to do with a “calabash relationship” and more to do about her knowledge and commitment for her community.

It is with honor and excitement that I announce my role as Social Media Director for the Sesnita Moepono for City Council District 6 campaign.  I will be reaching out to my family, friends, and community to consider Ses, a third generation resident of District 6 as their next representative in the City Council of Honolulu.

Follow @sesmoepono on Twitter and be her friend on Facebook.

“Hawaii’s economy is in distress and serious obstacles stand in the way of recovery. What’s the status of that recovery, and how will our economy be transformed in the process? Which industries and organizations will disappear and which will survive? Who will be the losers and who will be the winners? What can Hawaii do to direct these changes and who among us should do what?“

ThinkTech and HVCA presents: RECOVERY AND TRANSFORMATION: Straight Talk on Rebuilding Our Troubled Economy on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at the Plaza Club from 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

The complete agenda is below.

Download (PDF, 138.28KB)

Earlier this week I shared with all (or one) of you that I had accepted an invitation to participate in a flight on the C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft as it practices dropping cargo to resupply ground forces as part of the Rim of the Pacific exercise.  I was not disappointed.  But, before we get to the Top Gun fun, I’d like to talk about our host, the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) a division of the US Pacific Command (PACOM).

Mission: Provide the US Pacific Command integrated expeditionary Air Force capabilities to defend the Homeland, promote stability, dissuade/deter aggression and swiftly defeat enemies.

To sum it up Guy Kawasaki style, they “kick ass on our behalf.”  With a team of approximately 45,000 based throughout the Pacific, PACAF is home to the only two C-17 units outside the continental US.  PACAF is also host to the Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC international maritime exercises.  Fourteen nations which includes 32 ships, 5 submarines, and over 170 aircraft.  More than 20,000 personnel participate in exercises to sharpen not only skills, but global partnerships.

For a few years now, PACOM has been embracing social networking and media tools to reach out and provide a resource of news for the community.  If you’re an active member of the Facebook or Twitter networks, often times you’ll know the news du jour before the 5 o’clock television news.  Therefore, as an attendee from the social media community, it’s important for me to get my blog posts, tweets, photos, and videos out in real-time.

Before we departed Hickam Air Force base, I had already published seven blog posts which chronicled each step of our adventure, until we were required to turn off all electronic devices, excluding video and photo cameras.

• Crew reporting for #C17HI #RIMPAC
• Sitting here in briefing
• Score! Air Force swag
• Boarding the bus #C17HI #RIMPAC
• Inside the #C17HI for #RIMPAC exercises
• This is our #C17HI drop for #RIMPAC
• The view from my seat on the #C17HI for #RIMPAC exercises

When we landed at Kona International Airport, I was able to check in on Foursquare and publish two audio casts with photos using CinchCast.  One about our landing and the other about our lunch.  But, the best part about our day was everything that I could not share in real-time, the actual flight and experience.  To convey this, I put together a video below.

To learn more about PACOM and PACAF connect with them on the following networks:

• Follow @PacificCommand and @PACAF on Twitter.
• Keep with @usairforce and @RIMPAC2010 on Twitter.
• Check #PACOM and PACOMTWEEPS on Flickr.
• Fan U.S. Pacific Command on Facebook.

Also, you can add their blog feeds to your MyAlltop by visiting our Military topic.  Enjoy the video, you’ll especially like the trek across the ocean before the F-16 interceptors make their appearance.