Nonstop Honolulu Coming Monday

"If there’s buzz, we’re on it." So says Diane Seo today, in announcing NonstopHonolulu.com, which she hopes will be the city's "main online source for eating, nightlife and events."

The site is rising from the ashes of a former shining star.

When the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin morphed into the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, one of the former newspaper's most successful online initiatives didn't survive the transition. Metromix Honolulu saw over 62 million page views in its 22 month run, but it was dropped by the merged publication earlier this year.

Most of the Metromix Honolulu team are now aboard to launch version 2.0.

The new site will be an independent effort, free of the constraints of a mainstream parent company. Of course, it will also lack the backing and considerable exposure that a daily newspaper can provide. But with the accumulated contacts and track record of the people involved (and a cross-promotional partnership with Hawaii News Now), I'd say their chances of success are pretty good.

Seo was the manager of the weekly "TGIF" weekend feature at the Honolulu Advertiser and managing producer of Metromix Honolulu. Joining her at the helm is John Garcia. Garcia was the paper's Digital Supervisor of Design, and has a day job as a digital designer at Kamehameha Schools.

Their team will include local media star and blogger Catherine Toth, PR diva Melissa Chang, photographer and baking guru Ed Morita, photographer and writer Tracy Chan, and foodie Mari Taketa.

And while it's no Star-Advertiser, it looks like NonstopHonolulu.com will have some dead-tree connections through Chang's InsideOut magazine, which launched earlier this month.

Metromix was a constant presence at local events, documenting the local arts and music scene, Honolulu dining, and especially island nightlife. Its photo galleries were a constant and major draw, some seeing half a million visitors. Considering how popular it was, its closure hit its many contributors pretty hard. In June, Seo wrote a farewell letter from the Metromix team, and Chang penned her own sign-off in her blog.

Now they're back. I'm excited to see what these talented (and exhaustingly hyperactive) people can do on their own. The site launches next week, but you can connect with NonstopHonolulu.com now via Twitter and Facebook.