Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of September 17, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:
Host Bulletin, Week of September 17, 2023

Lighting

Your light source should be in front of you so your face is evenly lit. Avoid lighting from behind you or directly above you - they cast shadows on your face.

Props/Objects

Have a plan ready if you want to show additional items. Avoid showing objects impromptu - Zoom will blur it (see below) so it may be cut out from the final video. Instead, take a photo of the item beforehand and submit it to us in accordance with the Graphics Guidelines.

Point-Counterpoint

Thank you to everyone who viewed Saturday's Point-Counterpoint program and submitted questions! If you missed it, you can watch it on Sept 23 at thinktechhawaii.com or on demand at https://youtu.be/cdOFEuJ-YiU. Part 2 will be live on Saturday, October 14 at 12 pm HST: https://youtu.be/r3UPnaBhMvA. It will be moderated by former governor John Waihe'e. Panelists Kristi Govella, Amanda Eliis, Harrison Kim and Suzanne Vares-Lum will cover Japan, Australia / New Zealand, Korea and the Pacific Islands.

Q. Host survey - Do you read our weekly Host Bulletins? If so, please reply “yes”. This will help us evaluate the usefulness of the bulletin.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of August 27, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:
Host Bulletin, Week of August 27, 2023

Live Open Forum

Our next Point-Counterpoint program is a two-part special on Hawaii's Developing Relationships in Indo-Pacific. Part 1 will be live on ThinkTechHawaii.com, YouTube, and Facebook on Saturday, September 16 from 12 noon to 1 pm HST: https://youtu.be/0fGqgQPPGSw. It will be moderated by former governor John Waihe'e. Panelists Chris Cottrell, Karla Cruz, James Moriarty and Srini Sitaraman will cover Southeast Asia, the Philippines, China and India.  Please tune in and send your questions and comments to questions@thinktechhawaii.com.  Part 2 will be at noon on October 14, and we’ll tell you more about that later.

Cancellations

If you need to cancel an episode, please give us as much notice as possible. Cancelling two episodes within 60 days will change your status to “ad hoc” host.  An ad hoc host can do shows when there are show times available on the production schedule, but does not have a reserved time, date or interval on the schedule. See https://thinktechhosts.blogspot.com/2023/05/bulletin-to-thinktech-hosts-week-of-may_14.html

Labeling Graphics

Unless you're presenting a slide deck, please label each graphic you want to use with a number and description as requested in our Graphics Guidelines so our engineer and editors will know when to display them. If you don’t label your graphics that way we may not be able to include them in that episode

Labor Day

Reminder: Monday, September 4 is a building holiday, and we will not be producing shows that day.  If your show is scheduled for that day, please let us know if you'd like to reschedule to another day in that week or the following week.  Note that the next building holiday after that will be Thanksgiving, November 23. See the holiday schedule at https://thinktechhosts.blogspot.com/p/faq.html.

Promotion Tip

Your views will depend in large part on how well you describe your episode in the show information you provide. Write a compelling description that includes thoughtful and descriptive keywords and phrases, so you can give viewers a good preview and understanding of what your episode is about and make it easier for search engines to find and recommend your content.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows. See our equipment suggestions at https://thinktechhawaii.com/equipment-suggestions-2/.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of August 20, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:
Host Bulletin, Week of August 20, 2023

Props/Objects

If you'd like to show an object during your episode, please take a picture of it beforehand and send it to us in accordance with the Graphics Guidelines. Showing the object itself during the recording is NOT recommended because Zoom often blurs  it. Photos of the object will look much better on the screen.

Standing

Please do not stand during the show. It's disruptive, and it's much more difficult to keep still while standing than sitting on a chair. If you tend to lean back and forth or swivel in your seat, change to a more stable chair. These movements create garish video artifacts, deteriorate your audio, and push you out of frame, cutting off parts of your face/body onscreen.  

Praise

When introducing your guest, guard against too much praise or lofty language “I’m so excited to welcome John Doe, the most important pig farmer in the islands.” Get to the facts and the crux of the discussion, and bear in mind what you want the audience to take away from your show.

We View Your Shows

We established a Content Committee in 2021 to review the quality of our shows. We assess on a variety of measures, including video and audio quality, show information, hosting skills, and degree of responsibility. Our biweekly meetings inform our decisions for the Hosts of the Year, Show of the Year, and Host Bulletin topics. We’re currently working on feedback to each of you because we care about your shows and want to make them first-rate. You should review your own shows too, so you can improve on them.

Promotion Tip

Express your pride as a ThinkTech Host! You work hard to make your shows great. Tell colleagues and people you meet that you're a talk show host on ThinkTech Hawaii, a nonprofit that has produced over 14,000 talk shows and short movies, and streams 30 new live talk shows every week. Send them these links and a link to your playlist when you can.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows. See our equipment suggestions at https://thinktechhawaii.com/equipment-suggestions-2/.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of August 6, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:
Host Bulletin, Week of August 6, 2023

Distinguished Guest Nominations

Click here to nominate a guest from one of your July shows to be selected a Distinguished Guest! Only the first 10 nominations will be on the ballot. Nominations close TOMORROW, August 7th and voting will begin on the 10th. The results will be posted in our email advisories on the 20th. The winning candidate will be profiled in a short video for our livestreams and social media.  Last month's winner was Frederic Ruppert, nominated by host Mark Shklov for his appearance on "Law Across the Sea".

Prepare Your Guests

Send your guests the Appearance Guidelines and Graphics Guidelines when you first recruit them. They need to record in a quiet, indoor space with a table or other flat, stable surface--not a hand or lap--for their recording device. Last-minute emails and complications from uninformed guests is stressful for everyone, and we may have to reschedule the episode if their video or audio is not up to our production standards.

Slides

Avoid using excessive text or graphics on slides. The clutter can make them illegible and distracting. They should be minimalistic and complement--not repeat--your spoken words, allowing your viewers to focus on the key messages. We strongly advise the 5x5 rule: NMT 5 bullet points per slide, with NMT 5 words each.

Moderating

Hosts are responsible for moderating the discussion, so if your guest is rambling, failing to answer your question, or repeating their comments, interrupt them and guide them back on track. Keep in mind that excessive interruptions (affirmative interjections such as "right" and "uh-huh" or talking over them too much) can be upsetting, so try one or two soft interruptions. To have good audio on the substance, you may need to restart the question you asked--we'll edit the overtalk out in post.

Promotion Tip

Episode highlights are great for enticing others to watch the full video. Email your selected clip to hayley@thinktechhawaii.com  so we can post it on https://www.youtube.com/@ThinkTechHawaiiBriefs/ to get the word out on your show.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows. See our equipment suggestions at https://thinktechhawaii.com/equipment-suggestions-2/.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of June 4, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of June 4, 2023

Slides

Avoid using excessive text or graphics. The clutter can make slides illegible. They should be minimalistic and complement, not repeat, your spoken words.  This allows your audience to focus on the key messages. We strongly advise the 5x5 rule; NMT 5 bullet points per slide, with NMT 5 words each. Watch this episode with award-winning videographer Larry Jordan for more tips:  https://youtu.be/MU8LYOF-ft0.

Preparing Guests

Prepare your guests for the show by sending them the Appearance Guidelines and Graphics Guidelines when you first recruit them. Last-minute back-and-forth emails from uninformed guests is stressful for everyone, and we may have to reschedule the episode if their video or audio is not up to our production standards. Sending the guidelines to your guests before you complete your show information gives them more time to prepare themselves.

Writing Show Information

Run-on sentences can confuse readers and make it challenging for them to understand your writing. Use appropriate punctuation, conjunctions and sentence structure to break down long sentences. This improves the clarity, readability and impact of your writing.

Clean Lens

Dust, fingerprints and smudges on your camera lens  will produce blurry video. Take a moment and  clean your camera lens regularly for clear and professional video quality.

Promotion Tip

Reach new audiences through cross-promotion!  If ThinkTech Hosts from other shows are on your show, or if your episode is related to another show's theme, mention that other host and show. Promoting each other will predictably expand both of your audiences.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows. See our equipment suggestions at https://thinktechhawaii.com/equipment-suggestions-2/.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of February 19, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of February 19, 2023

Deadlines

Reminder: all graphics, permission forms, and show information (including your guests' info) should be submitted by 10:00 pm HST the night before your show at the latest. Last-minute submissions and guests are a problem because they create significant burdens for our staff. We and your guests really do need sufficient time to review what you are submitting and to prepare for your show.

Dates

Reminder: Don't identify the date during your show unless the date is essential to the content. Usually, you should make your shows dateless. For example, don’t say that it’s Valentine's Day when  you know the show will be played later. Don’t make references to the day of the week or the date of the month in your intros and closings.  Your show will be played the following day, and it will confuse viewers if you give them some other day.

Relevance

Please try to stay on your subject and on the takeaway message of your shows; that’s much better than wandering off from one free association to another.  Of course, you can and should drill down on details, examples, comparisons and anecdotes that come to mind; that enriches the conversation.  But viewers like it best if you generally stay in and around the topic and within sight of your chosen subject.

Introductions

Get to the heart of the matter as soon as possible. People will watch your show expecting the discussion to cover the subject in your title. They will lose interest quickly if you make them wait too long for that.  Don’t spend a lot of time introducing your guests; get to the crux of the discussion early in the show, and weave their bios into the conversation as you go. Don’t start out with a general question like “Tell us about yourself”. Try a more focused question like “How did you get into real estate development?”

Promotion Tip

Your views will depend in large part on how well you describe your show in your show information, especially in the keywords.  Put yourself in the shoes of the person who will be searching for your show on YouTube or thinktechhawaii.com, and take a moment to choose words and short phrases they are mostly likely to search for.  This is very important for initial and encore viewership.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows. See our equipment suggestions at https://thinktechhawaii.com/equipment-suggestions-2/.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of January 29, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of January 29, 2023

Show Promos

To keep things fresh in the new year, we'll be recording new show promos starting this week. The engineer will guide you through the quick process. Make sure to introduce yourself, briefly describe your show, and state when and where people can watch it. The promo should be about 15-30 seconds long.

Graphics/No Screen Sharing

All graphics should follow our Graphics Guidelines, which includes submitting your graphics to shows@thinktechhawaii.com with a permission form by 10 pm HST the night before the show. We do not allow screen sharing because it reduces video quality and creates editing issues. Instead, you can record a video or screenshot(s) of your screen and submit that beforehand: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-record-the-screen-on-your-windows-pc-or-mac

Recording Indoors

You and your guests should prepare quiet, indoor spaces to record the show. Outdoor spaces are noisy and unpredictable, and recording in a car is dangerous and way less than ideal. Ask others around you to keep quiet and/or close the door to your space, and set all devices to Do Not Disturb. If there is noise, you may need to move to a more isolated space. For more Appearance Guidelines: https://thinktechhawaii.com/remote-shows/

Introducing Your Guest

Try to keep guest introductions to 1-2 sentences. A long introduction is always boring, and loses viewers. Tell your viewers who you are, connect your episode to your series, then briefly introduce your guests. See our script suggestions at https://thinktechhawaii.com/hosts-guests-2/script-suggestions/. Then, as the show unfolds, weave the guest's background into the conversation.

Promotion Tip

Before your next show, promote your upcoming guest and topic on your website and social media. After we record, you can take a clip from the video links we send you the night before and share it as a preview for the show. You can also share those links as a screening for your family, friends and associates before the episode premieres the next day on thinktechhawaii.com.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of January 22, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of January 22, 2023

Graphics

Permission forms are required when submitting graphics (except for listed exemptions), so be sure to return them to us NLT 10:00 pm HST on the night before your show. All graphics should follow our Graphics Guidelines, otherwise we may not be able to accept them for the show. For questions or help, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Episode Titles

Episode titles are very important.  They draw viewers to watch your show, so you should make them short and catchy. Put yourself in the perspective of someone who wants to find your video. What words would they look for? Include key words and popular search terms in your titles. Here are some examples of episodes with over 1,000 views:

Is Coronavirus Just Another Hoax

Who is Shohei Otani

How to Beat Donald Trump

Android vs iOS Security

The Decline of Marriage in America

The Future of Wrestling

  

If you’d like feedback on the effectiveness of the wording in a particular title, just ask us.

Facial Expressions

It's important to look welcoming for your guests and viewers. A smile or relaxed look will make your guests feel more comfortable and your viewers more interested. Of course, serious topics warrant more serious expressions, but a constant hard look isn’t necessary.  Remember, you want everyone to have a good experience.

Promotion v. Prices

Though you’re welcome to promote an upcoming event, program or product on your show, and the place or website at which they can sign up for it, but please don’t  discuss the price on air.   We are not and don’t want to be a commercial enterprise. 

Promotion Tip

How about playing thinktechhawaii.com on a monitor or TV in your business or professional office?  It’s very watchable, as you know, and it’s easy to set it up to play.  In the case of a monitor, just connect the monitor to a computer with thinktechhawaii.com running on a browser.  In the case of a Smart TV, just select ThinkTechHawaii on the YouTube menu.  If you want help on either of these possibilities, just ask us.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of October 30, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of October 30, 2022

Fund Drive

Our Fall 2022 Fund Drive, Video with Vision: Always Learning, starts Tuesday! Please spread the word amongst your networks. Thank you to everyone who has recorded promos, promoted our drive thus far and made an early donation. You can donate through the button below, or send a check to ThinkTech Hawaii, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 603, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. We appreciate your help and support.

  DONATE  

Time Changes

Daylight Savings Time will end next Sunday, Nov. 6, 2021. Hawaii time stays the same, but clocks for most other time zones will move an hour back, so the time difference for them will be 1 hour less. Reminder to reconfirm times for your shows if you or your guests are on the mainland.

Graphics

As a ThinkTech Host, you are more familiar with our Graphics Guidelines and resources than any guest. For that reason, you are responsible for completing the permission form and ensuring that all graphics for your show follow the guidelines. If you have questions or need help, please let me know at hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Playlist Views

Have you checked your playlist views? As host Martin Despang pointed out during this year's Host Meeting, you can see them when you click the link to your show's YouTube playlist. use your show playlist see the number of times people viewed your show playlist. Please note that this is different from total video views: https://tubefluence.com/how-does-youtube-count-playlist-views/

Promotion Tip

Submit your episodes to online media platforms, such as local news sites and organization newsletters. For example, you can write an article for Civil Beat's Community Voices and include related information from your shows. This tip comes from Peter Rosegg, who presented on this topic during the Host Meeting. See his article at https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/09/a-two-wheel-revolution-is-happening-on-oahu/

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of October 9, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of October 9, 2022

All Host Zoom Meeting 10/21/22, 9:00 am HST

 Save the date! Register for our All Host Zoom Meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qf-mrqTwtE9R60n3yWFAQR8T6G7Yf7E0T. This is your opportunity to get together and compare notes with long-time and newer hosts, as well as our staff. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

Graphics / No Screen Sharing

All graphics must be submitted by 10 pm HST the night before the show. Screen sharing those graphics on Zoom reduces the video quality, so please do not display graphics that way. Review our Graphics Guidelines before submitting your graphics. We cannot accept graphics without a permission form and proper labels. This is, of course, to avoid claims by copyright owners and problems with upload platforms.

Connecting By Phone

Be ready to get on your phone and call the Zoom telephone numbers (listed with the Zoom link we send you) if there are connectivity issues. Have a phone stand, books, and/or some tape ready to get your device into the proper position. Also, make sure to send us up-to-date cell numbers for your guests.  They will be critical if there are connectivity issues.

Camera Settings

Want easier control over your camera video? We recommend iGlasses for Mac: https://www.ecamm.com/mac/iglasses/. The free trial lasts seven days and the full program costs $19.95.

Promotion Tip

Express your pride as a ThinkTech Host! You work hard to make your shows great. Tell colleagues and people you meet that you're a talk show host on ThinkTech Hawaii, a nonprofit that has produced over 12,000 talk shows and short movies, and streams 30 new live talk shows every week. Send them to your shows and a link to your playlist when you can.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of October 2, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of October 2, 2022

Distinguished Guest Nominations Are Open

Click here to nominate a guest from one of your September shows to be selected a Distinguished Guest! Only the first 10 nominations will make the ballot. Nominations close this Friday, October 7 and voting will begin on the 10th. Election results will be posted in our email advisories on October 20. The winning candidate for Distinguished Guest will be profiled in a short video for our livestreams and social media.  Last month's winner was J.K. Lin, nominated by host Mark Shklov of "Law Across the Sea".

Host Meeting 10/21/22, 9:00 am HST

Our first virtual host meeting since last year!!  All ThinkTech Hosts are invited to a 45-minute Zoom meeting Friday, October 21, 9 am HST, to review productions and plans, share information and tips and get together with long-time and newer hosts.  Please save the date. You’ll receive a link and agenda before the meeting. We look forward to seeing you (virtually)!

Graphics

Permission forms are required when submitting graphics (except for the exemptions listed on the form), so make sure to send them in the same email or at the same time. We may not be able to accept late graphics or permission forms; they are due 10 pm HST the night before the show. If you need any help figuring out the form, let me know at hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Audio

Please familiarize yourself with the audio settings in Zoom. The most important ones are speaker and microphone selections, volume sliders, background noise suppression, and echo cancellation. Do not shout or yell during the show - it creates inconsistent and uneven audio.

Promotion Tip

Need help with potential guests, topics, and questions? Create an email address for your show and include it in the Website to Display field on your Show Information Form so we can promote it in your episodes and other platforms. Peter Rosegg made thetwowheelrevolution@gmail.com for his new show "The Two-Wheel Revolution".

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of September 4, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of September 4, 2022

Distinguished Guest Nominations Are Open

Click here to nominate a guest from one of your August shows to be selected a Distinguished Guest! Only the first 10 nominations will make the ballot. Nominations close this Wednesday, September 7 and voting will begin on the 10th. Election results will be posted in our email advisories on September 20. The winning candidate for Distinguished Guest will be profiled in a short video for our livestreams and social media.  Last month's winner was David Larson, nominated by host Chuck Crumpton of "It's Time for Responsible Change".

Paul Chung Lecture

Tom Cooney of General Motors will join Jay Fidell next Friday, September 16 to talk about exciting innovations in the auto industry. "Transformations in Transportation," is this year's Dr. N.H. Paul Chung Memorial Lecture sponsored by PAMI at UH's Shidler School of Business and starts at 10 am HST. Please register for this informative webinar and circulate this promo among your network.

Labeling Graphics

Unless you're presenting a slide deck, please label each graphic with descriptive words as requested in our Graphics Guidelines. This helps our engineers know when to put them onscreen. Note that we will display graphics only when they're relevant to the discussion -- otherwise, they will confuse and distract the viewer. Also note that if you don’t properly label your graphics (e.g. IMG_9821) we won't be able to accept them.

Form Exceptions

Some graphics do not need permission forms. Please send shows@thinktechhawaii.com book covers, album covers, DVD covers, and movie posters for the media you'll discuss so we can display them during your episode. Permission forms are not necessary for these graphics.

Promotion Tip

Do your colleagues know you host your own show? Send your favorite episodes, and even the link to your show playlist, to your friends and associates! Our content is meant to be shared as widely as possible. They may be very impressed with your work, and may share the videos of your shows with their own networking communities.

Please regularly review past Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of August 28, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of August 28, 2022

Film Screening

You're invited! Please join us for a special live screening of our documentary "Scaling Up: Hawaii's Food Future" on September 8 at 6:30 pm. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmaker, local farmers, and agriculture advocates. Register for free at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/399769008867. Click here to view our flyer.

Accessibility

We upload the audio of your episodes as podcasts (without the video) to Spotify and Apple Podcasts, so please keep that in mind when you do your shows, like by reading and describing the websites and graphics you refer to so that listeners will know what you’re talking about even when only audio is playing.

Deliverables

Email us sooner rather than later if you're having trouble with deliverables such as show information, graphics, and permission forms. They are all due 10 pm HST the night before your show. If you submit them after that time, we may not be able to produce your show or use your graphics. The links to our Show Information Form and Graphics Guidelines (which includes the permission form) are always the same, so we recommend bookmarking them and submitting as soon as you can, even before the deadline.

Our Mission

ThinkTech’s mission is to raise public awareness through civic engagement. We value all of our citizen journalist hosts, and we greatly appreciate when you engage and educate your viewership by posing compelling questions, addressing difficult topics, and evoking unique perspectives on local, national and global issues and events. Our hosts are the heart of our content.  Let’s make every day, every show, better.

Promotion Tip

Now that we're using the LTP (Live to Playlist) system, you’ll have more time to promote your episode before it airs the next day. For example, you can take a clip from the links we send you the night before and share it as a preview for the upcoming show. You can also share those links as a private screening for your family, friends and associates before the episode premieres the next day on thinktechhawaii.com.

Please make sure to review these Host Bulletins and other resources - it leads to better shows.

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of August 7, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:
Host Bulletin, Week of August 7, 2022

Distinguished Guest Election/Survey

Only a couple spots left! Click here to nominate a guest from one of your July shows to be a Distinguished Guest! Only the first ten nominations will make the ballot. Nominations close today, August 7 and voting will begin on August 10. The results of the election will be posted in our email advisory on August 20. The winning candidate will be profiled in a short video for our livestreams and social media. Last month's winner, Khendum Gyabak, was nominated by host Chang Wang of "A Nation of Immigrants.”

Episode Titles

Episode titles should be more specific than a series title; your episode titles should convey the precise topic of the episode (show content can be broader than the title). Including a "news hook" (something connecting the topic or guests to something in the news) should encourage viewers to watch your show. Questions, contact Jay at jay@fidell.com.

Reading Text

Avoid reading lengthy resources (articles, statistics, biographies, etc.) on air. That will bore and turn off viewers. Instead, quote the most important points (NMT three sentences) or summarize the resource. Slides with bullet points about the resource can be helpful visual aids. In any event, never read more than 90 seconds.

Lighting

Make sure your camera is at eye level and that your light source is in front of you. Avoid lighting from behind you or directly above you - that will cast dark shadows on your face.

Promotion Tip

Engage with your fellow hosts! Watch, like, share, and comment on their videos and social media posts. If you enjoyed a particular episode, share the link with your network through social media, email, and/or text messages. If you have suggestions on how they can improve their shows, please let them (or shows@thinktechhawaii.com) know!

Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of July 17, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of July 17, 2022

Live to Playlist

Reminder: our Live to Playlist (LTP) system starts tomorrow, June 18. Talk shows we used to play live as they were being taped will instead be played the following day and so on through the week. This will give our engineers time to edit every show for technical issues before they're viewed by the public. As a result, viewers will have a better viewing experience with improved production values and prompt starting times. Click here for more information. Hosts will tape new promos for your shows with updated airdates. 

Distinguished Guest Election/Survey

Last chance to vote! This month's Distinguished Guest election and Current Events Survey ends tomorrow,  July 17. Click here to cast your ballot. Vote only once, but feel free to share the link. The results will be announced in our email advisories on July 20.

New Studio Manager

We're pleased to announce that our broadcast engineer Michael Pangilinan has accepted a full-time position as our Station Manager! Michael Headshot.png He has been working hard on our transition to the LTP system, and he will continue to maintain our broadcasts across platforms. Congratulations, Michael!

Graphics

Please be sure to include a completed permission form when submitting graphics, so make sure to send them in the same email or at the same time. We will not be able to accept late graphics or permission forms; they are due 10 pm HST the night before the show. If you need any help figuring out the form, let me know at hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Promotion Tip

Include popular but relevant search keywords in your show information. These draw viewers to your videos by increasing the chances that your video will show up when people search on Google or YouTube. For example, effective keywords for the episode "Covid is Surging in India" would be covid, India, pandemic, variant, mutation, masks, vaccines, surge. 

Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of June 26, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of June 26, 2022

Webinar This Week

"Who’s Running for Lieutenant Governor? Evaluating the Major Candidates” will take place this Friday, July 1 at 10-11:30 am HST. Join us to watch their live discussion and pose questions. Please register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9yhQ6bqMQl6FUXoZpjtnLA and share the link with your networks. Panelist Bios: http://bit.ly/LG2022-Bios

Closing

Make sure to give a clean and concise closing. When you're ready to end the show, (1) thank your guests for joining you and thank your viewers for watching, and (2) briefly wrap up the episode and promote the next one if you can, and (3) say a crisp final goodbye (simply, “goodbye” or “aloha”). The engineer will be listening for this goodbye word and will immediately end the show, and this will give your show a clean ending.

Guest Affiliations

When completing your show information forms, please identify your guest’s specific affiliation (e.g. "environmental lawyer with XYZ"). If your guest prefers to appear unaffiliated, then write a generic affiliation such as “civil rights advocate” or “local farmer” or “handwriting expert".

Props / Objects

If you'd like to show an object during your episode, please take a picture of it beforehand and send it to us pursuant to thinktechhawaii.com/graphics-guidelines. Showing the object itself during the live episode is NOT recommended. This can cause visual artifacts. Photos of the object will look much better on the screen.

Promotion Tip

Engage with other users to increase your visibility on social media. You can like others' posts, share them, leave comments, and reply to any comments you receive. This creates friends and relationships with potential guests and viewers. This kind of engagement is much more effective to promote your show and ThinkTech.

Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of June 19, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of June 19, 2022

Hosts Please Register!

“Who’s Running for Lieutenant Governor? Evaluating the Major Candidates” on July 1, 10-11:30 am HST will be a deeper talk on matters beyond platforms. Please join us by registering today and circulating one of our flyers to your community.

Flyer only: https://bit.ly/LG-2022-flyer

Flyer with video promo: https://bit.ly/LG2022-Flyer

Thanks for helping us increase attendance at this important and unique ThinkTech webinar. We’d really appreciate if all our hosts would promptly (a) forward our flyer (above) to your family and friends. and (b) register to attend yourself, even if you can’t stay for the whole program. Everyone who registers will receive follow-up information.

Graphics

Please send all graphics and completed Permission Forms to us by NLT 10:00 pm HST the night before your show. This allows us enough time to review and prepare them for the show. Please make sure to follow our Graphics Guidelines when you submit your graphics and Permission Forms. Thanks.

Promotion Tip

Do you respond to comments that are posted on your shows on YouTube and other platforms? You should. Engaging personally when appropriate enhances the viewer experience and encourages greater viewership. Even a simple “thank you” is an important extra step that can leverage your show and create longtime followers.

 Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of June 12, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of June 12, 2022

Distinguished Guest Election/Survey

Voting is open! Thanks to everyone who made nominations. Click here to cast your ballot for our ThinkTech Distinguished Guest for June. Vote only once, but feel free to share the link.  Our Distinguished Guest for last month was Theresa Y. Wee who appeared on "Taking Your Health Back", hosted by Wendy Loh. Also take a moment to respond to our Current Events Survey on Roe v. Wade. The polls close on June 17 with results announced in our email advisories on June 20. 

Screening Guests

When selecting potential guests, make sure you know who they are and that they're qualified to speak on the subject of your show. Please also confirm that they understand ThinkTech’s mission of raising public awareness and promoting civic engagement: https://thinktechhawaii.com/about/.

Preparing Your Guest

Please send your guests the Appearance Guidelines and the Graphics Guidelines as soon as they confirm their appearance on your show. If you give them enough time to review these guidelines and prepare for the show, they will be better able to participate in the discussion with you. Remind your guests to be in a quiet, indoor space and have a microphone and/or headphones in case there are audio issues.

Questions

It's very important to answer viewer questions that appear in your Zoom chat box. This enhances the live experience of the show, shows appreciation for viewer engagement, and helps us build a loyal followership. You can acknowledge those who submit questions by briefly stating “we have a viewer question.” There is no need to say who submitted the question. After you have your answer, you should say “thanks to our viewer for that question.” In any event, make sure your guest answers the question. If your guest goes off track, you should remind him that you are expecting an answer.

Promotion Tip

You should regularly post your shows, links or promotional graphics and comments on social media to increase visibility and build a relationship with your audience. Making new posts on a consistent basis shows viewers that they should follow you to stay current on your new content. If you have a website, be sure to promote your shows and links on that site.

Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of May 15, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of May 15, 2022

Distinguished Guest Election/Survey

Voting is open! Thanks to everyone who made nominations. Click here to cast your ballot for our ThinkTech Distinguished Guest. Vote only once, but feel free to share the link.  Our Distinguished Guest for last month was Anthony Chrisco who appeared on "Taking Your Health Back", hosted by Wendy Loh.  We also appreciate your response to our Current Events Survey. Voting closes on May 17 and we will announce the results in our email advisories on May 20. 

Joining Zoom

If you see one of the following messages when you join the Zoom call, leave the window open and wait for the engineer (the meeting host) to let you in. You can email shows@thinktechhawaii.com or call (808) 784-3426 if you have any trouble connecting.

"Waiting for host to start the meeting.” (Our engineer hasn’t started the meeting yet.)

"The host has another meeting in progress.” (The participants from the previous show are still chatting.

"Please wait, the meeting host will let you in soon.” (You are in the Zoom waiting room.)

Graphics

Graphics from social media and search engines are not necessarily in the public domain, so please do not assume they are ok to use.  Works in the public domain are usually labeled as such. Let us know if you have questions about a third party graphic. If it is not in the public domain, we need permission to use it.

Holidays

Mark your calendars!

ThinkTech’s 2022 Holiday Party and Annual Awards Ceremony is returning to the Laniakea YWCA for an in-person event (subject to changes in public health) at 5pm on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. We look forward to seeing you all there - it’ll be a great reunion. 

Here is the schedule of our holidays through the end of the year:

We are open and operating on Monday, Oct. 10 - Columbus Day
We are closed and not operating on the following days:

Monday, May 30 - Memorial Day

Monday, July 4 - Independence Day

Monday, Sept. 5 - Labor Day

Thursday, Nov. 24 - Thanksgiving

We are closed and not operating during our ThinkTech winter break:

Monday, Dec. 19 through Thursday, Dec. 29

Our regular operating schedule resumes on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023

Promotion Tip

Popular guests make for more popular shows, so reach out and try to get them on your show. Well-known guests tend to have larger followings. You can use the ThinkTech image (see below) in your email signature to impress those you want to recruit.

Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of May 1, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of May 1, 2022

Questions

It's very important to keep your Zoom chat open and answer any questions that may come in. It increases viewer engagement and makes your show more topical. Make sure to acknowledge and show appreciation to those who submit questions; otherwise they may be discouraged from viewing your show and sending future questions.

Pre-Show Checklist

The pre-show checklist will be onscreen when you join the Zoom meeting for your show. The engineer will help you run through it, but we encourage you and your guest(s) to go through the checklist when you enter the meeting.

Graphics

Want graphics for an upcoming episode? You can download free stock clips and graphics from the following sites. When you submit graphics from these sources, use our permission statement and fill in  "[  ]  The Works are in the public domain and came from [FILL IN WHERE THE WORKS WERE FOUND]."

   • Pixabay  • Pexels  • Mixkit  • Coverr  • Unsplash
   • Burst  • Kaboompics  • Stocksnap  • Canva

You can buy stock clips and graphics from the following sites. Please keep the receipt and/or license from your purchase.

   • Depositphotos  • Pond5  • Adobe Stock  • Alamy
   • iStock  • Shutterstock  • Getty Images  • 123rf

Distinguished Guest Nominations

Click here to nominate one of your guests from one of your April shows to be a Distinguished Guest! Only the first 10 nominations will make the ballot. Nominations close next Saturday, May 7 and voting will begin on May 10. The results of the election will be posted in our email advisories on May 20. The winning candidate for Distinguished Guest will be profiled in a short video for our livestreams and social media.  Last month's winner was Anthony Chrisco, nominated by host Wendy Loh of "Taking Your Health Back".

Promotion Tip

Help us help you! Tag ThinkTech Hawaii in your social media posts so we can share them with our viewers and followers. Type the “@” symbol and then start typing our page's name:

Facebook - @ThinkTechHawaii
Twitter - @ThinkTechHI
Instagram - @ThinkTechNews
LinkedIn - @ThinkTech-Hawaii

You can share our posts with your followers as well.

Questions, please contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.