Ryan's Blogger Blog

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Sunday, July 10, 2005

Aloha!

This is a placeholder blog on Blogger. My main blog can be found at Hawaii Blog.

Posted by Ryan Ozawa at 5:21 PM

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About Me

A self-professed life-long geek, Ryan Kawailani Ozawa has immersed himself in new technologies and online communities since the days before the web. From running a dial-up BBS in high school to exploring today’s dynamic world of “Web 2.0″ and social media, he has long embraced and evangelized the ways in which technology can bring people together.

He regularly speaks to and consults with professional and academic groups on technology, new media, and the social web. From leading workshops on online marketing and reputation management to media interviews exploring the latest tech innovations and their implications, he is passionate about educating and encouraging others.

Work

His day job is handling communications and advancing web tools and social networking at local real estate data firm Hawaii Information Service. But his activities in the community are his passion.

Ryan co-hosts "Bytemarks Café," a weekly a one-hour radio magazine that showcases the innovation and creativity in Hawaii’s tech community. It airs at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays on Hawaii Public Radio, KIPO 89.3FM. He is also a lecturer at the School of Communications at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, focusing on the web and social media.

Ryan also manages a number of websites devoted to the islands, including his blog, HawaiiWeblog.com, which one of the top five blogs in the state. Other sites include HawaiiThreads.com (an online forum that has seen as many as 1 million pageviews a month), HawaiiStories.com, HawaiiSocialMedia.com, HawaiiStar.com, and HawaiiGrinds.com.

Other projects include Zapatag.com, a site for reporting bad drivers that he built for SXSW Interactive 2009, and serving as community manager for Wondermill Webworks‘ rapid polling site, Ask500People.com.

Making Media

Ryan is a longtime advocate and fan of personal publishing on the web, and has been an eager participant in online communities since their earliest incarnations. Moving from local dial-up BBSes to Compuserve forums, from "gopherspace" to USENET groups, he posted his first web page in 1994. Since then, he has continued to post both poignant and pointless thoughts on the Internet since then — long before technologists coined the term “blog."

He founded Diarist.Net in 1998, one of the first resources devoted to ‘escribitionism’ or online journaling, and convened the inaugural JournalCon in 2000, a first-of-its-kind “real world” gathering of a then fledgling online community.

In addition to his obsession with the written word, Ryan is also passionate about "new media.” He started podcasting in March 2005, producing “HawaiiUP” (a Hawaii-focused show) and “The Transmission” (a fan podcast for ABC’s filmed-in-Hawaii series “LOST”), which reached over 30,000 listeners around the world.

He also produces regular videos, documenting community events and the ongoing evolution of the local technology space. Ryan was also an early local “lifecaster” — streaming live video over the internet while out and about in Honolulu.

His numerous online initiatives have merited profiles and mentions in dozens of media outlets, local and national, including the New York Times, L.A. Times, Seattle Times, National Public Radio, and Nightline.

Education

A 1992 graduate of Mililani High School, Ryan earned a journalism degree from UH-Manoa with an emphasis on Hawaiian Language. During his studies, he was awarded first place for investigative reporting by the Carol Burnett Fund for Responsible Journalism.

Outside the classroom, he served as the Editor-in-Chief of Ka Leo O Hawaii, the daily student newspaper at UH-Manoa, for two years (1995-1997), after holding the same post at Ke Kalahea, the weekly student newspaper at UH-Hilo (1994-’95). Ryan also edited the UH Manoa Student Handbook, and co-founded a short-lived independent student newspaper -- the distribution of which sparked a First Amendment debate on campus.

Personal

Ryan met his wife Jennifer, a Florida native, at UH-Hilo in 1994. They lived in Hilo, Waikiki, and Makiki, and were married in 1997. They now live in Mililani with three children: Katie, Zac, and Alex.

View my complete profile

Personal Links

Hawaii Blog
Leahi.net
Lightfantastic.org
Ozawa.org

Blog Archive

▼ 2005 (1)
- ▼ July (1)
  - Aloha!

As Seen On...

Hawaii Links

HawaiiAnswers.com
HawaiiNews.com
HawaiiPodcasting.com
HawaiiRoads.com
HawaiiStories.com
HawaiiThreads.com
HawaiiUP.com

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