Connecting Content and Technology

The ROI 2008 Summit brought together innovators from around the world to share their ideas on various topics. Arts and culture, environmental issues, youth education, and visions of Israel occupied most of the 120 participants while the geeks and freaks (including yours truly) came together to discuss content and technology. With fifteen laptops churning and outlets overloading, we got off to a rocky start as we collectively crashed the network, befuddled wondering whether we could present our work without the all mighty internets working…

With an Ha’aretz reporter in attendance and some of our track members shuttled off to do TV and radio interviews, we saw an apparent interest in what the techy Jews had to say. For a nice overview of what each of us presented to the group, check out this post by Leah Jones, a Chicago blogger and Digital Evangelist who also shares my minor obsession with Spanish/Latino culture.

Here are some of the projects that most directly relate to our work with YAVNET and the Tagged Tanakh. Each of the following projects or people represents a different opportunity for YAVNET to reach new audiences, partner with organizations in need of content, clarify our strategies and goals, and build our network.

Tomer Altman is into algorithm development. He also has a handle on the concept of hyper-locality, how to focus on geographically specific content that connects to larger networks. His Jewish New Media Network is in essence the gothamist network for MOT around the world. Check out their pilot hyper-local news site for the San Francisco area called OyBay. Tomer clearly gets Edward Tufte’s whole micro/macro structure to information design, thus making him an ideal ally for YAVNET. How do you tailor generally engaging content to specific grassroots operations? Go ask Tomer.

Leah Jones, as previously noted, is a Digital Evangelist for Edelman Public Relations, a mega PR firm with multiple locations around the world. I’m not sure what specifics her title entails, but I assume it means she translates geek to normal folk and acts as an in-house proponent of digital and new media—which means that she and I have A LOT in common. More specifically, Leah is embarking on creating a social website that allows people to come together not through religious practice or intellectual fancy, but through good deeds—IE mitzvot. Her vision is to provide a resource for people who want to create community through good deeds. Why is the ethical treatment of animals a Jewish principle, or why is hospitality so intrinsic to our culture and what are the sources and commentaries that shed light on these values? YAVNET can provide the content to fuel these types of online studies and investigations.

After about 10 minutes of observing Jacob Shwirtz in action I turned to him and asked, “Have you ever done any stand-up comedy?” He seemed oddly taken aback by my random question and demurely conceded, “Yes, I participated for two years with the Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC before I made Aliyah.” Jacob appears to embody the maxim, “He who knows need not speak,” and it became abundantly clear that this savvy dude who does media consulting for companies like Doritos and MTV knows his stuff. I’m lining up a brain dump with Jacob and his partner in Tel Aviv to get their take on YAVNET and our strategies and goals.

And finally there’s Nir Kouris, a quiet Israeli with piercing eyes who professes that leadership has no age. His hero is Shai Agassi and he hobnobs with 13 year-old CEOs and Indian tech upstarts. His vision is to make Israel a high tech magnet for Jews and non-Jews alike to hone their technical chops. And he’s already doing it with his international eCamp Israel set to begin on July 14th. What’s the connection with YAVNET? Can you say, User Testers?

Other members of the Content and Technology track at the ROI Summit had mad skills, including SEO gurus, Flash ninjas, and programming wizards, but this post would go on forever if I tried to highlight them all. The point is: our work with YAVNET is relevant and needed, and the future’s so bright we gotta wear shades.