Why ‘Nonstop?’

Since launching our site, several people have asked why it’s called “Nonstop Honolulu,” and how that name came about.

Coming up with a name — and most importantly, a domain name — was one of the first things John Garcia and I did after partnering to create an entertainment site. We spent a few days brainstorming, mulling over possibilities, and e-mailing each other our stream-of-conscious thoughts.

I wanted the name to be appropriate to the kind of website we were creating, yet not be overused or too trendy. Having worked on Metromix, I also knew the power of having one strong word that sticks. I remember typing in dozens of word combinations while searching for available domain names on Network Solutions. I even busted out my trusty “Synonym Finder” (the thesaurus I’ve used since my early years as a reporter), looking up words like “energetic,” “lively” and “fun” to hopefully come up with the perfect name.

“Nonstop” came to mind, although I have to admit, it did not feel perfect right away. I looked up the definition just to be sure I understood all the nuances of the word. “Continuous, constant, relentless, uninterrupted, steady, endless, unbroken, interminable, incessant, unending, ceaseless, unremitting, unfaltering.”

Yes.

If you’re familiar with anyone on our core editorial team — John, Melissa Chang, Catherine Toth, Ed Morita, Mari Taketa and Tracy Chan — you’re well aware that they’re constantly on-the-go, everywhere about town… basically nonstop.

But it’s not just them. Check out Twitter or Facebook at any hour of the day, and you’ll see your friends tweeting and posting from all over town, doing this and that. Doing one thing after another is just how we operate these days. We’re all nonstop.

So to me, our name simply describes a current lifestyle and reflects the energy so many people put into socializing, going out and having fun. It also suggests the kind of website we’d like to become — where new content is constantly posted and readers visit at all hours of the day. We also wanted to make sure people would regard our site as a local site, focused entirely on the local scene, so we added “Honolulu” to our name. Perhaps most importantly, nonstophonolulu.com was an available domain, so we quickly registered it, and well… here we are!

Some of you like the name; others don’t get it or just don’t like it. We’re hoping that it’ll grow on that latter group.

Anyway, that’s the genesis. No corporate meetings needed for approval. No reader surveys. Just an instinct that the name describes the audience we’re trying to reach — the nonstop set.