Hawaii Bulletin

Hawaii Bulletin

Share this post

Hawaii Bulletin
Hawaii Bulletin
Blogger Dinner
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Blogger Dinner

Ryan Kawailani Ozawa's avatar
Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
Apr 11, 2008

Share this post

Hawaii Bulletin
Hawaii Bulletin
Blogger Dinner
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share
Photo by Burt Lum

Web strategist Jeremiah Owyang has been "on the grid" for over 900 days, and after a presentation to a Cisco partner conference in Honolulu yesterday, he began a much needed vacation. As he unplugged from the web, however, he spent the first hours of his time off plugging into the local geek community. I helped organize a "Blogger Dinner" to introduce local web heads to Jeremiah and each other, and we had a fantastic time.

Jeremiah specifically sought an off-the-beaten-path experience, so we ventured out of urban Honolulu into the plantation town of Waipahu. (On our way to the event, in fact, we visited the Waipahu Soto Zen Taiyoji, my family's Buddhist temple, which I suspect sees one tourist a year.) The mission was to find authentic Hawaiian food, and it doesn't get much more authentic than at Highway Inn. Situated in an small and unassuming strip mall off the highway and a stone's throw from the interstate, the eatery has been a local institution for over 60 years.

The food, of course, was fantastic. Among us, I think every dish on the menu was served. Laulau, kalua pig, pipikaula, tripe stew, poke, lomi salmon, and poi, of course. Gadgets of all kinds were in abundance, ranging from the Flip Video camera to a Nokia N95. And the conversation flowed freely and widely, from kids and family to cutting-edge web services. Of course, Twitter was a hot topic, as the event was as much a Twitter meetup as it was a blogger gathering. Twitter was how most of us were connected, and how I'd spread the word of Jeremiah's visit.

We were a large group for the small restaurant, but fortunately Neenz and family warmed the staff up early. The manager remembered me and my blog entry about the restaurant's 60th anniversary, and said it had brought some new customers. And our server, Mapuana (a.k.a. Malia), turned out to be an integral part of the evening. She was more than friendly and patient, she was completely fired up. Her tale of discovering MySpace had the group in stitches, and we helped flesh out her Internet acronym vocabulary. "LOL?" she said, incredulously. "Why not just type, 'Ha ha ha ha'?" We all vowed to make her a MySpace friend.

Jeremiah made a video introducing everyone (including Mapuana). He also and rallied us to post the hashtag "#hawaiiblog" to Twitter and to tag our Flickr photos with "hawaiiblog" so we could find each other online. Ian Kitajima was broadcasting live video from the gathering. And the thoughtful and resourceful Kara Baker ventured out to bring back a flower lei for Jeremiah... and a box of ice cream cones for everyone else.

It was a wonderful evening spent with wonderful people, many of whom met in person for the first time (despite knowing each other well online). We wished Jeremiah the best on his well-deserved vacation, and vowed to get together again soon.

Here's who was there (and their Twitter accounts):

  • Burt Lum (@bytemarks)

  • Cathy

  • Chris (@techustle)

  • Dave Zuls (@hawaiiseo)

  • Ian Kitajima (@ikitajima)

  • Jennifer Ozawa (@kilinahe)

  • Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang)

  • Joe Philipson (@jphilipson)

  • Jonathan Wong (@hawyn316)

  • Kara Baker (@xapa)

  • Lianne Kitajima (@lkitajima)

  • Neenz Faleafine (@infinitypro)

  • Roberto (@88hawaii)

  • Ryan Ozawa (@hawaii)

  • Welton (@welton)


Subscribe to Hawaii Bulletin

By Ryan Kawailani Ozawa · Launched 6 years ago
Island innovation in focus. Hawaii-based science, technology, startups and entrepreneurs, featuring local leaders, creators, educators, and more.

Share this post

Hawaii Bulletin
Hawaii Bulletin
Blogger Dinner
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Gallery: ThriveHI Pau Hana
A sold-out crowd of Honolulu-based tech workers (and their friends) packed the courtyard of Honolulu Beerworks in Kaka‘ako yesterday.
Apr 14, 2023 â€¢ 
Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
13

Share this post

Hawaii Bulletin
Hawaii Bulletin
Gallery: ThriveHI Pau Hana
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Preview: Hawaii Angels Turns 22
The leading investment network for seed-level private equity investors in Hawaii starts a new chapter in 2024.
Jan 15, 2024 â€¢ 
Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
3

Share this post

Hawaii Bulletin
Hawaii Bulletin
Preview: Hawaii Angels Turns 22
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Hub Coworking Expands to Entrepreneurs Sandbox
Cofounder Nam Vu looks back at the pandemic and shares his bright vision for the remote-work future.
Apr 22, 2023 â€¢ 
Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
7

Share this post

Hawaii Bulletin
Hawaii Bulletin
Hub Coworking Expands to Entrepreneurs Sandbox
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
2

Ready for more?

© 2025 Ryan Kawailani Ozawa
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Create your profile

User's avatar

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.