When I first got assigned a blog four years ago, I had no idea what I was doing.

Heck, I didn’t even know what a blog was, let alone how I was going to write one every day.

Back then I was a traditional newspaper reporter, someone who interviewed people — usually face-to-face — researched information online and wrote about it. The story was reviewed by an editor and pasted onto a page by a designer. The next morning, there it was, in black and white on the kind of newsprint that literally left its mark (on your hands and that expensive white top).

Blogs, though, were a completely different thing.

I was tapped to write — basically — an online journal about being a thirtysomething in Honolulu. What did I do that weekend? What did I watch on TV that night? Where did I meet people? And, of course, what did I eat?

And over the past four years, I’ve discovered what blogging really meant. It’s not a chronicle of my daily existence. (Though everyone knows what I like to eat — and how much!) It’s about creating a community of people who like to dish about anything, from relationships to reality TV to ramen. And that’s what this blog, The Daily Dish, has become.

I’m banking that this new site will be the perfect home for this blog, a place where people can talk to other like-minded folks who are interested in what’s going on around Hawaii, whether that’s an ethnic festival at Kapiolani Park or a jazz concert at a local pub.

My blog won’t change much, either. I’ll still document my off-island jaunts and complain about annoying people in line at the grocery store. And, of course, there will always be Fuud Fridays.

But now I can get a little more engaged with you. I’ll be posting more photos — yes, food pics! — and shooting more videos. So the blog will grow into something a lot bigger, a lot more meaningful than what it has been for years. (Let’s hope I can keep fitting into my jeans.)

So bookmark this page, tell us what you think about the site, suggest places for us to go and dishes to eat, and, like you would at your favorite restaurant, come back for more. We promise you’ll find something here to enjoy.

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To read all of Cat’s blogs, visit www.nonstophonolulu.com/thedailydish. Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at [email protected]