Category — Big Island Video News

It may not look like much, but there was a lot of work put into this new version of the website. The changes are far from radical, but I do hope they make things easier to navigate.

For one thing, you’ll notice a new recent news items section at the top of the site, next to the interactive Big Island graphic. This is where all the updated news links on the site will listed, so you’ll find them right off the bat when you visit the homepage.

We are introducing a slightly different approach to some of these news items. You will notice that by clicking on some of the headlines, you will be taken to a newly created summary page. These pages will have a small video window, usually looping some file footage, next to that same interactive Big Island graphic. A slightly different way to present the news of the day, and don’t worry: we’ll still be producing those longer video stories, too. The hope is that this will enable the site to present more content in a way that is unique but not too taxing on resources. As always, focus will remain on video.

Get used to that interactive Big Island graphic. It will make many appearances. Still in production: a tour feature, which (in time) will guide a visitor around the island. The regions of the island will be broken down to focus exploration. It will also help focus the news headlines to be of greater local significance.

Also lurking around the site are badges for a newly created networking site, Big Island Video Hui. It will be a place to share video or pictures of the Big Island with other residents and visitors over the internet. Sometimes, video uploaded to the Hui may end up appearing on the Big Island Video News site. Although the Big Island Video Hui is a not for profit social network, it was created by myself to encourage everyone to get some good footage and share it (responsibly, of course) so please consider this an invitation to join. It is free. And this IS Hawaii, perhaps the world’s most beautiful place… how hard can it be to get good video?

Enjoy the updates and keep visiting. News will be coming more often, now.

You may have noticed the site has been lacking in daily news updates the last week. This is because Big Island Video News is on the verge of introducing some new features to the site that will increase functionality, and bring visitors more video when they visit.

A “tour” section is in the works, and will categorize news items by region. It will also create a video high lite reel for some of the island’s unique towns and beautiful landscapes. The hope is that it will serve to answer questions for visitors, as well as present news items for locals who may be interested in specific areas of the island.

There will also be a link to a new “Big Island Video Hui” network, that will give everyone a chance to share video clips. Some of those clips may even find their way onto the Big Island Video News page, under the “hui” section. The hope is that visitors will enjoy the new interactivity that this will provide the site.

Stay tuned. This improvements will be taking effect over the course of the next few days.

I have tried to create a good Big Island news portal a couple of times already, but i think the best way is a Feed Informer rss digest. It is called Big Island Roundup, and you will find it below the website’s video links on the homepage, next to the feed for this blog. I have included a couple of the Big Island news sources, both newspapers and blogs, and clicking on the headlines will transport the user offsite to the articles.

I hope this will serve the dual purpose of alerting our readers to the news items that Big Island Video News hasn’t covered, as well as generating extra traffic for the supportive local media entities, many of which have also joined our blogroll.

I’m working on getting the headlines to update more often. It seems to want to update once or twice a day, but it should be more often.

… the operator of which added me to the site’s blogroll without my asking; a kind gesture from a well respected news source on the west side of the island.

I have thus added The Kona Blog to the Big Island Video News website blogroll.

If anyone is wondering, I am not satisfied with my site’s west side coverage thus far. I would like to pledge that I will do much more on the Kona side of the island once I get my bearings. I have calls out on setting up some interesting stories, some them already reported on but without video as far as I know.

In the meantime, I will continue reading sites like The Kona Blog to keep up to date on things. Thanks again for the support!

I’ve already been lucky enough to have a handful of bloggers and website operators support the cause by adding Big Island Video News to their blogroll.

Mahalo to fellow video enthusiast dustrotter.com, the well versed Coconut Girl Wireless, wordsmith Leslie Lang, and the well connected Puna journalist, Hunter Bishop.

The gesture of being added to their blogrolls is very much appreciated, and reciprocated on my end at the bigislandvideonews.com website.

Once I figure out how to put a blogroll on this blog, I will do that, too. I love this setup, but sometimes I get stumped on the simple things. I vow to figure it out.

The blogroll list goes in order of first response, so compliments to dustrotter.com for being the first to take the offer. I will continue to reach out to the local bloggers and media members as I try to spread the word.

One thing that strikes me about the Big Island media culture is the proliferation of blogs, and well written ones at that. Many seem to be operated by actual journalists, (or should I say experienced journalists, since I suppose we are all journalists of some sort in this digital age) … which is refreshing.

I’ve also noticed the support that the bloggers give one another by maintaining lengthy blogrolls in an attempt to cross promote one another. What a great way to spread the word on some great work!

Thus, I throw my hat into the ring, as I embark on a political quest to create a blogroll of my own. I’ll issue welcome posts as each entity agrees to reciprocate blogroll links. Who will be the first, brave, mini media moguls to accept my humble offerings?

Has ‘The Year of the Paniolo’ influenced the naming of this hand edited news blog?

Hosted by Google Blogger, Big Island Roundup will be a modest site that will try to keep up on the latest reportings by all the Hawaii County news from world and local media, especially the dedicated island bloggers.

I don’t plan on elaborating too much on the articles. It will mostly be a link portal. And I do plan on mixing in video links where I can, for the Big Island Video News website, as well as some embedded YouTube content.

The rss feed will be displayed on the Big Island Video News site and blog.

Enjoy!