About

The Elevator Pitch

Podcasting in paradise — a husband, father, and web geek in Hawaii shares music and musings, tackles the news, wanders around town, and talks about himself far more than is really neccessary.

An Introduction in Too Many Words

Aloha, and thank you for visiting HawaiiUP, a personal podcast from Mililani, Hawai‘i. My name is Ryan, and I’m a married father of three who spends too much time, and puts too much of his life, online.

HawaiiUP isn’t about anything in particular, except (or especially) one man’s expression and exploration of his place — geographically and existentially. Though I’m still stumbling my way along the podcasting path, I’d like to think my show will be a mix of talk, music, adventures out and about, occasional audio experiments, and, inevitably, indulgent autobiographical updates.

Why podcast? My passion has always been personal expression through technology. While there are podcasts about technology, sex, food, jazz, politics and parenting, I’m most interested in people. Yes, hearing someone just talk about themselves and their day is not always, or even often, exciting. But I’ve always been interested in the connections people can make online as merely themselves, not just people who might share a narrow common interest or two.

From dial-up BBSes to USENET to the web, I’ve always loved building and being part of creative and colorful communities. This would explain, perhaps, why I’m now working in a cubicle at a small, family-owned company instead of leading my Silicon Valley tech company through its tenth straight quarter of strong growth.

Before there were blogs, I was publishing prolifically on the web. Only, I was writing about my life, rather than bringing down network TV anchors.

What’s In the Works?

As you’ve probably guessed, I don’t live a particularly snazzy life, so even though I say this is a personal podcast, I will mix a lot of things into my show. Things that I hope will make it worth listening to, despite me. Some likely segments you’ll hear include:

HawaiiUP Headlines: A recap of news from around the state, blended with personal updates. I’m not a very adept commentator on pressing public issues, so expect my focus to drift toward the latter — ramblings about my kids, my family, and whatever’s on my mind at the time. Keep in mind that I first saw podcasting as a natural extension to my written online journal.

Music: it is my hope to share with you the music of the islands. However, that doesn’t neccessarily mean “Hawaiian music,” but rather, the sounds from all kinds of artists who call the islands home. It may be slack key one day, techno the next, followed by punk, pop, and solo oboe. As licensing of commercial music is difficult, I see this as an opportunity to showcase some hidden or newer talents, independent artists and smaller labels willing to join in the grand podcasting experiment.

Food: Like music, one of the things that make Hawaii special is the food. My friends and I go out of our way to try different restaurants, exploring various holes-in-the-wall as well as more popular eateries. I’ll be bringing my voice recorder along, and we’ll share with you what’s on the menu, and our thoughts about what we eat.

The Pith of Pop: Podcast Edition: Originally titled “Annoy The Wife,” I now bring my wife, Jennifer, willingly into the show, to talk about whatever is on her mind in the wild and wacky world of pop culture. From movies to TV to celebrities, she’ll tackle the same things she rants and raves about on her media blog.

Blank Audio Postcards: As you might guess from the name, these are like “audio postcards” you hear on the radio, except rather than filling them with my descriptions of what’s going on, I merely share the natural sounds of whatever space I happen to find. From parks to malls to street corners to offices, I’ll try and let you close your eyes and momentarily transport yourself to random spots around town.

Geek Talk: Hundreds of other podcasters do this better than I, but I’ll still pipe up now and then when there’s something to report. More than likely, I’ll make mention of the goings on at various other local websites I run, including HawaiiThreads.com, HawaiiStories.com, HawaiiAnswers.com, and the like. Having jumped in with both feet with the Hawaii Association of Podcasters, I’ll also report on local podcasting events and developments.