Global Entrepeneurship Week: November 16 – 22, 2009
For one week, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement of entrepreneurial people, to generate new ideas and seek better ways of doing things. Countries across six continents are coming together to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. To think big. To turn their ideas into reality. To make their mark.
On Wednesday, November 18, 2009 from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at ING Direct Cafe, I’ll be participating on the Young and Hip Entrepreneurs of Hawaii panel. With me will be Lorenz Sell of I Love of Photos and FindMeFit and Tiffany Tanaka of Fresh Cafe.
An entrepreneur for sure, I’m still trying to figure out if I’m young or hip enough for this panel, but if you have the time come down.
If you didn’t know, I love my home, Hawaii — unconditionally. Her beauty, her people, our community, our challenges, our success — I am proud, always. It’s no secret that we’re faced with economically challenging times, the toughest I’ve experienced as an adult. These challenges can cause communities to breakdown, feel hopeless, and make irrational decisions or worse yet, none at all. As for me and my household, we continue to paddle our canoe forward and as an entrepreneur, I am Co-organizing two events that I am certain will provide hope and inspiration.
[re]Think: Hawaii — “We’re creating an intersection – bringing an international group of people together who might otherwise never cross-paths – in the certainty that they’ll connect, share and learn from one another.” I am grateful to be able to travel to different tech, business, and social media conferences throughout the continental United States. Not every entrepreneur, small business owner, or social media geek is able to afford the same opportunity. My efforts with [re]Think: Hawaii are to bring to Hawaii, my community the opportunity to meet with leaders in technology, venture capital, social media, sustainability, and business. With less than a week to go, are you making the most of this opportunity?
TEDxHonolulu– (x = an independently organized TED event) “In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.” The theme for TEDxHonolulu is SHIFT — (v.) To change position, direction, place, or form. (n.) A change in attitude, judgment, or emphasis. As the license holder and Curator of TEDxHonolulu, I am putting together a group of local and global speakers to inspire the audience to SHIFT. This is a free event, if you’d like to attend TEDxHonolulu on Thursday, November 5, 2009, please request an invite.
The first week of November will be very important for entrepreneurs, investors, small business owners, and the entire Hawaii community. I am looking forward to seeing everyone.
Part of being an entrepreneur is having a creative mind that is constantly churning out ideas. Call it curse or a blessing, I’d like to think it’s the latter. I wanted to share the current portfolio of web properties owned and managed by Pono Media.
Local, self-described renaissance chick, Traci Toguchi provided Chris with an itinerary full of local, cultural flavor. And, I am grateful that even after returning to his hometown of Seattle, Chris continues to share Hawaii with his online community. I am truly grateful for his generosity towards Hawaii.
Traci interviewed me a few weeks ago for Chris’ site to talk about the technology I travel with. I must admit, I’m becoming a smarter traveler, especially since the airlines now charge for checked-in luggage. Here are my gadget suggestions when I travel, what are yours?
As 2009 rolled in, one of the conferences I had hoped to attend is SOBCon09: Biz School for Bloggers and today I am proud to announce that air, room, and conference has been paid in full! This will be my first visit to Chicago, however any tourist activities will have to be done on another trip – this one is all business for me.
One would think that after spending a week in Austin, Texas for South by Southwest, I’d be a bit burnt out with all things geek and tech. On the contrary, the fire is burning even stronger within! I am looking to continue to evangelize our newest feature, MyAlltop; gain readership for Hawaii Tech 5.0 and Hawaii Traditions; promote my internet marketing company Pono Media; and most importantly network with others. How will I do this? First, by learning and then by harnessing my passion and grinding it out.
Kahala Mall Center Tweet & Greet
Saturday, March 21, 2009
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Entertainment by Tempo Valley
Follow @kahalamallctr and @jlieu on Twitter
All of the events require RSVP, so please make sure you click on the links and follow the instructions. I look forward to learning more, won’t you join me?
More and more my life has me needing to have access to my files via the internet at any given moment. Last fall, before attending Blog World Expo, I purchased an iPhone. But, less than 6 months later, I realized I am needing more accessibility without the weight. And, the other day, in preparation for SXSWi I purchased a 10″ HP Mini 1000 XP Edition.
Before leaving our home for the Honolulu International Airport, I downloaded the necessary applications to customize “The Mini” and packed it safely in my backpack along with my HP Pavilion, logitech orbital, headphones, and miles of cord chargers, AC plugs, and cables.
I am a seasoned traveler and in fact was working for Continental Airlines when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was formed, so I know the drill — shoes off, laptops removed from bags and placed in its own bin, no liquids, place anything that will go beep in your carryon, have your picture ID and ticket available and keep the line moving!
Both Noe and I made it through without sounding off any alarms and like the paranoid owner of gadgets that I am, I hustled to receive them as they rolled down conveyer belt. Now, this is where my memory isn’t quite keen.
I recall the TSA representative that was assigned to monitor the screen shouting something, stopping the belt and “did something.” At the same time, I was trying to slip my shoes back on and forgot that I placed my glasses inside the left shoe, so I took my eyes and attention off of my gadgets. With my shoes on my feet and glasses on my face, I repacked everything into my backpack. When I picked up “the mini” it felt strange, but I didn’t think anything of it.
Fast forward 10 hours later and I’m waiting at Gate 41 in a not so typically happy Neenz mood, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to whip out “the mini”. And that’s when I discovered, it felt strange because its battery was missing! Needless to say, I went from not so happy camper straight to bitch in a nano second.
I don’t know what happened to it, but here are our theories:
When I picked it up from the desk to place it in my backpack, without unlocking the battery it slipped off and will be there when I get home.
When I fell asleep on my flight to IAH, menehune climbed into the overhead baggage compartment and took it to fire up the cave since it’s been very cold lately.
The “something” that the TSA representative shouted and did, had to do with removing the battery and running it through the machine again, unbeknownst to me.
We are hoping that it’s theory #1, but are leaning towards theory #3 because every time we traveled with the kids, we always needed to remove the battery from their DVD portable player. To the untrained geek eye, “the mini” looks like a portable DVD player. I must add that I may have been required to remove the battery and therefore didn’t follow the rules, so I erred on my part.
We do not think it’s theory #2 because the menehune would have told me that they removed the battery, unlike the TSA representative who didn’t — if it’s indeed theory #1. Tomorrow is sight seeing, plus find a replacement battery.
In a few hours, Lilinoe and I will be on board Continental Airlines flight #72 en route to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Over the past few days, chrysalises have been hatching flocks of butterflies in both of our stomachs. The excitement of attending the South by Southwest conference for the first time, the anticipation of celebrating the 1-year anniversary of the official launch of Alltop, spending time with Guy Kawasaki, and most importantly meeting up and networking with the thousands of other attendees.
We’re looking forward to experiencing the sites and sounds of the capitol of the Lone Star state, and of course dining on the local cuisine.
I’ve packed enough gear and gadgets to bring everyone along. Here’s how to keep up:
Do you love a great story? I do, but I especially love the story behind the story. Lonely Planet was founded by Tony and Maureen Wheeler after they spent (literally) their entire honeymoon traveling across Europe to Asia and eventually to Australia. This may not be a huge feat for those who can afford such a luxurious vacation, however this was not the case with Tony and Maureen. They may have had no currency in their pockets at the end of their journey, but the true value was in their stories.
Their first book, Across Asia on the Cheap sold 1,500 copies which led to the launch of Lonely Planet and several more publications covering travel.
Lilinoe and I were fortunate enough to meet Sheila Beal, author of GoVisitHawaii.com and her husband, Internet Marketing expert, Andy during their most recent visit. As I shared in my comment on Erika Engle’s The Buzz article in the Star Bulletin, Sheila and Andy are truly genuine people with a fondness for Hawaii.
Vote for GoVisitHawaii.com in the following categories:
Mommy bloggers are an online force to be reckoned with. Their influence, their voices are powerful. I first heard about the Traveling Mamas from Lilinoe. She had been surfing the ‘net prior to booking our plans for Blog World Expo last year and had stumbled upon their website. We were able to hang out with Cajun Mama (Shannon Hurst Lane) and Desert Mama (Beth Blair) at BWE, and will do so again later this month at South by Southwest. Traveling Mamas gives great tips on places to visit with children and family vacations.
Vote for TravelingMamas.com in the following categories:
I first began communicating with the SoulTravelers3 via Twitter. They (it’s one account, but 3 souls) are featured on Alltop and have been wonderful supporters. Read about their journey around the globe, it’s not a race but a marathon in which they will absorb the culture of each destination.
Vote for Soultravelers3.com in the following category:
The author of Nerd’s Eye View is Pam, a witty, ukulele strumming, cross-country skier who recently wrote a guidebook about Hawaii. Pam will be speaking at South by Southwest, at which time I will have the opportunity to gain her knowledge.
Vote for Nerd’s Eye View in the following category:
Best micro-blogging
Lilinoe, the kids and I love to travel. We find recommendations via testimonies from those who traveled before us. But, we believe the best recommendations come from the residents of our future destinations. This is something I hope the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, Hawaii Tourism Authority, and State of Hawaii will implement in their tourism campaigns.
Our nation is in a recession. The State of Hawaii government is cutting an already slimmed down budget, the tourism industry is scrambling for creative campaigns to lure visitors, and small businesses are staving off impending closures. Not just businesses and organizations, but everyone is looking for solutions.
eCommerce and Social Media Workshop
February 21 & 28, 2009
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Kapiolani Community College, Naio Building
$75 + fees Computers and internet access will be provided.
“It is critically important at this time for businesses to engage their customers. When I say engage I mean to interact and communicate with their customers,” said Bytemarks founder, Burt Lum.
Since its launch, Bytemarks has been growing with technology. It began in 1998 as a tech column in the Honolulu Advertiser. After a six-year run, in order to keep in touch with his readers, Lum launched the Bytemarks Yahoo! Group and eventually converted online discussion to real life relationships.
“Our monthly lunches were a way to nurture community and helped to spawn similar communities. The tech community in Hawaii as a result has galvanized and is now a much stronger, more cohesive group,” explains Lum.
Lum consistently uses social media tools to further the Bytemarks audience with its own blog, Flickr and Twitter accounts that has over 1,000 followers worldwide. Most recently, Lum launched Bytemarks Cafe, a weekly tech radio show on Hawaii Public Radio that is also available via iTunes.
Lum emphasizes, “In this economic downturn the most important thing is your customers. You need to stay in touch with them and continue to build your value in their eyes. If not, they will go elsewhere. The sooner you establish your online presence the better. With this workshop we hope to kick start that process.”
Lum will be teaching the 2-day workshop with his Bytemarks Cafe co-host and social media leader, Ryan Ozawa.
The Twitter community continues to grow and some have estimated their users range between 4 – 6 million worldwide. When I first joined Twitter in July 2007 the number of active Hawaii users were very modest, but over the past 6-months the numbers have exploded with people from different professional backgrounds and industries. I have a great appreciation for my network because there’s always a relevant conversation or five going on at any given time. Additionally, it allows me immediate access to many of the leaders in social media, business, marketing, public relations, and one of the influential groups – Moms!
One event that has brought together the Hawaii Twitter community is the very popular Tweet Up! For my readers that are not on Twitter, it’s Twitter-speak — adding a ‘t’ and ‘w’ to any word, twy it! If I recall correctly my first tweet up was last April when we hosted Forrester Senior Analyst, Jeremiah Owyang at Highway Inn for some authentic Hawaiian food.
To say that the personal and professional connections that I’ve made on Twitter are valuable would be an understatement, so much of my connections are priceless.
Next week Thursday will be one of the biggest tweet ups ever, a global event aptly named, Twestival. Honolulu will join more than 170 cities around the world raising money for charity: water. charity: water brings clean and safe drinking water to the 1.1 billion people who don’t have access.
This is not just an opportunity to contribute to a worthy cause and to begin building your own network with some of Hawaii’s social media leaders. It’s a local style pau hana event with food, drinks and a fantastic music line up put together by volunteer committee member, Vernon Brown of 808Talk.com.
Honolulu Twestival
Thursday, February 12, 2009
5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Oceans 808 at Restaurant Row
Emcee: Angela Keen Guy Cruz, Anuhea, Mailani Makainai, Jama Hang, and Sunset
$20 presale ticket gets you admission, pupu buffet and (2) drink tickets
If you’re looking for an opportunity to dive into a technology subject, dissect and discuss, and get specific answers, then pause from reading this post — and register for Unconferenz II now!
For my readers unfamiliar with the local pidgin dialect, the ‘z’ at the end puts a dash of local flavor on the name, and many of you may be asking, “What’s an unconference?”
An unconference is still a conference, except that the discussion is led by the participants. Additionally, the topics to be discussed are also decided by the participants and sometimes on the morning of the event. You’d think this would be a difficult task, but to minimize chaos you control the number of participants. Yes, if you didn’t register as I suggested in the first paragraph, you should do so now since space is limited.
Once you’ve registered, join the Unconferenz Ning Group and leave me a comment, I look forward to meeting you on Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 8 a.m. at the Japan American Institute for Management Sciences.
Editor of Geek News Central and local Oahu resident, Todd Cochrane will be kicking off his second annual 24-hour Podcast this Saturday, December 20th at 5:30 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time. The GNC team has put together a great list of guests which include Grammar Girl; 14-year-old podcaster, Jeremiah Pena; the host of Beachwalks with Rox, Kailua’s own Roxanne Darling and Hawaii’s uber geek, and co-host of The Transmission Ryan Ozawa and more!
You still have time to register for a Talkshoe account and call in to the show 724–444–7444 ID #10832 to join in the discussion. And, if you’re not doing anything on Saturday night from 8:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time, come listen to what’s cascasding From the Mind of NEENZ.
Donations for this year’s event will benefit the Disabled American Veterans.
Let’s face it, we’re all being affected by the current economic storm whether through lay offs, stock losses or churned up emotions about the bailout news. As a parent and partner, I’m concerned and a bit more burdened than I was before, but as an entrepreneur I’ve never been more on fire!
As part of their business educational series, The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii will be hosting, “‘Building Relationships and Thrive in the Economic Storm” on Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. at the Honolulu Design Center. The three member panel is Pono Shim, CEO of Hawaii Concierge; Evan Leong, CEO of Greater Good Radio/TV featured on the Hawaii shelf of Alltop; and our local social media expert, Ryan Ozawa.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Evan at the Social Media Club Workshop during Hawaii Geek Week. He is very passsionate about his business and just being around him is energizing. He is the co-author of The Greater Good: Life Lessons from Hawaii’s Leaders and the man who brought us Bubble Tea! What’s a blog post without me mentioning Twitter? Follow @evanleong!
Despite raising three young children; working as a fulltime webmaster; co-hosting Hawaii’s popular tech radio show Bytemarks Cafe; leader of probably the largest local tech social group, Manoa Geeks; manages HawaiiThreads, a forum that boasts over 9,000 members; serving up a weekly podcast, LOST Podcast: The Transmission for a modest audience of 20,000 that he co-hosts with his wife, Jen; (did I leave anything out?) — he still manages to stay on the pulse of all things social media and networking. Every moment that I spend with Ryan I learn something new.
I am bringing my gear with me, and if allowed I will be streaming the session live. If not, I will do my best to live tweet. I look forward to this session fueling the entrepreneurial fire within me, in hopes of stamping out the storm so that the rainbow can emerge. Will you be in the audience as well?
[re]Think: Hawaii
and miles of cord chargers, AC plugs, and cables.
gadgets. With my shoes on my feet and glasses on my face, I repacked everything into my backpack. When I picked up “the mini” it felt strange, but I didn’t think anything of it.
celebrating the 1-year anniversary of the official launch of Alltop, spending time with Guy Kawasaki, and most importantly meeting up and networking with the thousands of other attendees.
was not the case with Tony and Maureen. They may have had no currency in their pockets at the end of their journey, but the true value was in their stories.
my readers that are not on Twitter, it’s Twitter-speak — adding a ‘t’ and ‘w’ to any word, twy it! If I recall correctly my first tweet up was last April when we hosted Forrester Senior Analyst, Jeremiah Owyang at 
