Bulletin to ThinkTech Hosts - Week of April 9, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of April 9, 2023

Distinguished Guest Election/Survey

Voting opens tomorrow! 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 Lee Sichter, nominated by host Jay Fidell. We also appreciate your response to our Current Events Survey. Voting closes Monday, April 17, and we'll announce the results in our email advisories on the 20th.

Time Management

Please wrap up when the engineer messages you about closing the show. Please avoid asking your guests further questions that will put the show over time. Ending late creates a domino effect that affects other hosts and guests, because they may be pushed to start and end late.

Joining Zoom

Please open your show's Zoom link 15 minutes before showtime. You may have to wait a few minutes for our engineer to admit you to the meeting. If you see one of the following messages when you join the Zoom call, leave the window open and wait for the engineer (the Zoom meeting host) to let you in. If not, email shows@thinktechhawaii.com or call (808) 784-3426 for assistance.

• "Waiting for host to start the meeting.” (Our engineer hasn’t started the meeting yet.)
• "The host has another meeting in progress.” (The previous show is running late; the engineer will start your meeting as soon as possible.)
• "Please wait, the meeting host will let you in soon.” (You are in the Zoom waiting room.)

Fund Drive

Our Spring 2023 Fund Drive, Discovering Our Future, starts at the end of this month, and we are therefore taping short host Fund Drive promos when you come in to do your shows. The engineer will guide you through the process. See the scripts at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EB5WZGeAaTRD49KZ5V7c55frXb_UPSKV8WAonpgsy7c/edit?usp=share_link.

Promotion Tip

Add your shows to your website if you have one. Here's a tutorial for embedding YouTube videos and playlists in your website: https://youtu.be/c74kMCOmP80?t=230.  Embedding allows viewers to watch videos without leaving your website, but you can always post the link by itself if you have trouble setting up the embed code. You can also encourage your guests to add episodes of your shows to their websites. Here are some examples of ThinkTech Hosts' websites with embedded episodes and playlists:

http://RustyKomori.com

https://twowheelrevolution.weebly.com/shows.html

https://hawaiicouncil.org/condo-insider/

https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/hawaii-together/

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 April 2, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of April 2, 2023

Distinguished Guest Nominations

Click here to nominate a guest from one of your March shows to be selected a Distinguished Guest! Only the first 10 nominations will make the ballot. Nominations close on April 7 and voting will begin on the 10th. Distinguished Guest Election 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 Lee Sichter, nominated by host Jay Fidell for his appearance on "Catching up on Kaka'ako".

Troubleshooting

Need help with your setup? Contact our studio manager Michael Pangilinan. He can meet with you 1-on-1 on Zoom to assist and provide guidance if you have any concerns about tech--your computer, Internet, Zoom, camera, microphone, etc. Email Michael at michael@thinktechhawaii.com to schedule a meeting, up to 40 minutes long.

Beverages

We'd like to keep our productions professional, so if you need to sip your beverage during the show, please wait until you're offscreen. The engineer's Zoom window shows you what's being recorded. If your face is not there, it means you’re offscreen and thus free to sip your beverage.

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 60 seconds.

Promotion Tip

Use our resources! ThinkTechHawaii.com is our most valuable resource and is full of information about our platforms and productions. You can send prospective guests a link to our Hosts page, Press Kit, ThinkTech Stats, About ThinkTech, and A Brief History of ThinkTech to let them know more about you and about ThinkTech.

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 March 26, 2023

Dear ThinkTech Hosts:

Host Bulletin, Week of March 26, 2023

Live Open Forum This Saturday

Join us! Point-Counterpoint Hawaii: Challenges to Public Transportation is this Saturday, April 1st from 12 to 1 pm. You can watch it live on ThinkTechHawaii.com, YouTube, Vimeo or Facebook. Actively participate with our panel of local host experts, let your voice be heard, and send your questions to questions@thinktechhawaii.com.

Show Cancellations

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

1. Keep an updated list of other hosts and/or guests to step in as last-minute backups.
2. If host is unavailable but guest is ready, and you can't find a backup host in time, with some notice we may be able to find a substitute host
3. If guest is unavailable, and you can't find a backup guest in time, 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. Let us know a week in advance.

If you do end up cancelling, let us know ASAP so we have time to recover and set up an alternative show.

Show Information

Make sure to triple check your show information before submitting it to us -- especially the title, tagline, and guest names and affiliations. This information is sent to thousands of people and is included in the video itself. Of course misinformation or misspellings appearing on the screen is embarrassing and not professional.  If errors caught after show is streamed, we can edit but with added time and cost. 

Zoom

Help us help you. Please familiarize yourself with Zoom's latest features and updates. Review this tutorial: https://youtu.be/LSUD5le5Y-w. If you need help with setup and troubleshooting, our engineers can assist you. You can read https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362623-Changing-settings-in-the-desktop-client-mobile-app for detailed descriptions. Virtual backgrounds without the use of a green screen are unacceptable. The one exception is the use of Blur, which we highly recommend.

Promotion Tip

Try to connect your episode to current events and popular subjects that people are following. For example, recent Global Connections episode "What Does Moldova Think of the Ukraine War" got over 1,500 views within the first 24 hours.

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.