Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of November 20, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:
Host Bulletin, Week of November 20, 2022

Fund Drive

Thank you to everyone who has made donations, recorded promos, and otherwise promoted our Fall 2022 Fund Drive. We're at the midpoint, but we still have a way to go to reach our goal, and at this point we need to speed it up. If you haven't already, please donate through this link or send a check to ThinkTech Hawaii, 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 603, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. Your financial support enables our platform, and each host's show to exist.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Reminder: Thanksgiving is this Thursday and it's a building holiday, so we will not record any shows that day. If you'd like to schedule your show for another day that week, email hayley@thinktechhawaii.com. The next holiday is our winter break, which is from Monday Dec. 19 through Thursday, Dec. 29.

Time to Look at Yourself

You need to look at yourself on Zoom, and if you’re blurred or fuzzy you need to consider some new hardware. A new laptop will certainly help, but a new USB camera will cost less. Black Friday is this week and there are great deals. Google Black Friday webcams and you’ll see. Picking one up cheap will make you look better and will make our staff happier, too. Here are our recommendations:

• Camera https://amzn.to/3J8BerZ
• Small Light https://amzn.to/3vWYJ3h

Cancellations

If you or your guest can't make it to the show, please plan alternatives:

1. Have other hosts and/or guests ready as backups.
2. If host is unavailable but guest is ready, with some notice we may be able to find a substitute host.
3. If guest is unavailable, host can do a solo show, preferably with slides or other graphics.
4. Pre-record a show on your own Zoom account. You need approval for this option, because it doubles or triples the staff time and expenses for the show. If you do end up canceling, let us know ASAP so we have time to recover and set up an alternative show.

Promotion Tip

 Help us help you! Help us help you! Remember to tag and mention 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
• Instagram - @ThinkTechNews
• LinkedIn - @ThinkTech-Hawaii

You can share our posts with your followers as well.

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

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.

P.S. You're all invited to our Virtual Awards Ceremony on Dec. 8 at 6:00 pm, honoring Community Service and ThinkTech Hawaii award winners. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TWm1nclyTkKARXa8bsafaw.

Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of November 13, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of November 13, 2022

Distinguished Guest Election/Survey

Voting is open! Thanks to everyone who made nominations. Click here to cast your ballot for ThinkTech Distinguished Guest. Vote only once, but feel free to share the link. Last month's winner was Cyber Bunny, nominated by host Wendy Loh of "Taking Your Health Back". We also appreciate your response to our Current Events Survey. Voting closes Thursday, November 17, and we'll announce the results in our email advisories on the 20th.

Last-minute Guests

Reminder: we cannot accept any last-minute guests to your shows. They create problems for our staff. Your full list of guests and their information should be on your Show Information Form by the 10:00 pm HST deadline. This ensures that our staff and your guests have enough time to prepare for the episode.

Zoom Chat

Keep your Zoom chat box open throughout the show so you can watch for notifications. The engineer may message you about show timing (e.g., "5 minutes to close") or issues that need to be fixed during the show or a break.

Zoom Backgrounds

Blurred backgrounds create a special depth-of-field effect, and they help viewers focus on you instead of what's in the room around you. Please use the blur function in Zoom. If you have a green screen, you can use one of the blurred backgrounds we have prepared (see https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12f2IAFFdYX-lS7JMoq5RIaaa5ZnMHg80?usp=share_link). You can also send us a picture of a background you like and we can blur it for you.

Promotion Tip

Have you shared the link to your last show? You can text and email the YouTube and Vimeo links to your network - family, friends, coworkers, colleagues, and anyone else who would be interested. Feel free to use our template for sharing show links: https://thinktechhosts.blogspot.com/p/email-template-for-sharing-links.html

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 November 6, 2022

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of November 6, 2022

Distinguished Guest Nominations are Open

Click here to nominate a guest from one of your October shows to be selected a Distinguished Guest! Only the first 10 nominations will make the ballot. Nominations close tomorrow, November 7 and voting will begin on the 10th. Distinguished Guest Election results will be posted in our email advisories on November 20. The winning candidate will be profiled in a short video for our livestreams and social media. Last month's winner was Cyber Bunny, nominated by host Wendy Loh of "Taking Your Health Back".

Testing Sound

Single words or short phrases are not enough for testing audio before the show, so make sure to talk with your guests and our engineers so they can get enough sound to check the audio. The engineer may ask you a question (e.g., "How's the weather?") to help you along. Please answer in some detail, and keep on talking until the engineer asks you to stop.

Clothing

Clothes that are white, striped, seersucker or have small patterns like checkers or dots can create distracting video artifacts around your head and shoulders, so please avoid them. Instead, wear clothing that distinguishes you from the background.

Introducing Your Guest

Try to keep guest introductions to 1-2 sentences each. A long, detailed introduction is always boring and loses viewers. Tell your viewers who you are, connect your episode to your series, and then briefly introduce your guests and get to the point asap with your first question. 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

Use business cards to create a good impression as a ThinkTech Host. You can visit or email Professional Image to print 100 cards in one day. The current price is $27. VistaPrint.com prints 100 cards for a current price of $18. You can use the design from host Peter Rosegg's presentation as a template. Make the suite number 603 if you include the address. If you ask them to overlay a “PRESS” watermark, that will be even better.

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

Questions, contact hayley@thinktechhawaii.com.