From The Jerusalem Post, Globes and Haaretz, respectively; on-point stories on our core themes.

Analysis: Misunderstanding the rich American uncle

American Jewish giving, like American philanthropy generally, is based on a culture of personal generosity that Israelis have never encountered and don’t understand. The American philanthropic industry is so large and sophisticated that an entire profession of highly-trained professionals, with advanced degrees in economics and management, exists to assist wealthy people (and literally thousands of American Jewish foundations) in giving away hundreds of billions of dollars each year in effective ways.

The Haaretz article Haviv refers to in his story is from May 12th: Let’s be done with all the Talanskys

Jerusalem is full of wheeler-dealers, functionaries, lobbyists, donors and philanthropists. There are rich men and middlemen, envoys and delegations, many of them with good intentions, but some without.

They wheedle and schnorr and contribute to various causes. It’s the kind of schnorring that begins with Shaare Zedek Medical Center and could end in court.

Knesset adopts tough anti-spam legislation

The Knesset yesterday passed in its second and third readings of a bill banning the sending of advertisements by SMS, e-mail, fax, and automatic dialing systems without the prior consent of the addressee.

and two very different articles on Birthright Israel:

Does Birthright Deliver?

Millions of dollars, thousands of participants… but it’s not clear that programs like Taglit-Birthright and MASA make the impact the founders intended.

We want the non-committed Jews

Free trips to Israel? That’s exactly what Taglit-Birthright Israel was born to provide, it appears. But program co-founder Charles R. Bronfman isn’t dismayed by the hordes of kids who see the program as a vehicle for a free vacation. On the contrary.

“I think that’s great. That’s our target market. We weren’t after the committed Jews. Nobody needs to use public money on people who are already committed,” he says gleefully. “The people we wanted were those who were not committed. The only thing that would get them to Israel is a free trip. Then Israel does its magic, and all of a sudden they change as human beings.”

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It seems like yesterday, but it has been six months since we went live with eJewish Philanthropy. We set some pretty ambitious goals, and thanks to you - our readers, we’re well on our way.

We are gratified by the significant number of guests, from five continents, who visit our website every day; for those who have signed up for daily updates or RSS feeds, and most of all to the many who have offered valuable suggestions, leads, background materials, etc. to assist us in fulfilling our mission.

We are appreciative of the positive encouragement and support we have received from the organized Jewish communal world, foundations and leading academic institutions.

We would like to acknowledge recognition from Alltop, We’ve Got Non-profits Covered, for considering us a ‘Best of the Best” for our posts and picking up our feeds on a continuing basis.

And most of all, we are grateful to the incredibly talented and innovative new young entrepreneurs who have shared their dreams and stories and given us their time, along with unprecedented access to projects, both present and future.

For those who have been following us since the GA, you will have noticed our scope has broadened. We regularly check our web analytics (trying not to be obsessive!) looking for trends. Which posts receive the most interest, which the least. Trying to connect the dots and looking for patterns in your web views while crafting our near-term future direction.

We’ve developed a Resources section of links and articles in the areas we write about; check often as it is regularly updated.

And just this week, we launched, Symposia and Much More; a place for us to examine issues of interest and provide greater concentrated depth than possible in our blog posts.

So, this is where we are today; and as I wrote back in November, ejewishphilanthropy.com has ambitious plans; this will be our continuation.

Please visit us frequently as we share helpful tips on using the Internet to advance the causes we are all dedicated to and follow the latest happenings in our global Jewish communal world.

One final note; June is quickly approaching and with it summer. Here in Jerusalem, one of the harbingers of the season is the arrival of two outstanding and innovative programs: the ROI Summit and The PresenTense Institute.

So stay tuned for The Summer of Innovation featuring continuous and in-depth news about the young innovators shaking up our world. And along side, within the month, we will premier a major initiative, our most ambitious, and so far no-name project: a look at the new and innovative entrepreneurs, the endeavors they are creating and a reference library of the various organizations and foundations involved in Social Entrepreneurship and New Leadership Development on three continents.

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Some recent articles of note:

How to Make Online Donations Surge

Simple changes can often make a huge difference in how much money a charity’s Web site raises

Web 2.0 …
5 ways to make YouTube work

YouTube — the seventh largest Web site in the United States — entices more than 57 million viewers with everything from bloopers to puppet shows. Now the video Web site giant is making it easier for nonprofits to tell their story. And you aren’t just reaching the prepubescent set.

Web Analytics: Don’t Overrely on Tech

Over the past few months, I’ve encountered more and more companies putting too much emphasis on technology to solve Web analytics problems. Don’t get me wrong, technology is important in many aspects of the Web including analytics. But many people are struggling to realize: technology is not what keeps most companies from Web analytics success.

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There have been many instances over the years where innovation has risen from the non-profit community. More often than not, though, we discover new ideas and then adapt from either the private or more recently political sectors.

Beginning with the 2004 Democratic primary contests, the Internet as a fund-raising vehicle became front page news. It certainly appears this is still so with the Obama campaign.

From today’s New York Times, some insightful comments by Roger Cohen. The value is not just for the political junkies out there, but for all of us who utilize the web to deliver our message.

“More than any other factor, it has been Barack Obama’s grasp of the central place of Internet-driven social networking that has propelled his campaign for the Democratic nomination into a seemingly unassailable lead over Hillary Clinton. Her campaign has been so 20th-century. His has been of the century we’re in…

Obama has been a classic Internet-start up, a movement spreading with viral intensity and propelled by some of Silicon Valley’s most creative minds. As with any online phenomenon, he has jumped national borders, stirring as much buzz in Berlin as he does back home.”

Read the complete Op-Ed piece here.

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U.S. Internet users viewed 11.5 billion online videos during the month, representing a 13% gain versus February and a 64% gain versus March 2007. Google owned sites once again ranked as the top U.S. video property with more than 4.3 billion videos viewed (38 percent share of all videos).

From comScore, here are the latest figures for online video viewing:

• 73.7 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video, averaging 83 videos per viewer.
• 84.8 million viewers watched 4.3 billion videos on YouTube.com (50.4 videos per viewer).
• 47.7 million viewers watched 400 million videos on MySpace.com (8.4 videos per viewer).
• The average online video duration was 2.8 minutes.
• The average online video viewer watched 235 minutes of video.

According to a recent DonorTrends survey, 40% of post-Boomers, 32% of Boomers, and even 25% of pre-Boomers report having watched an online video from a charity or cause.

What is your non-profit doing? If you are not already on the video bandwagon, you need to be!

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Four weeks and counting. That’s the time remaining to opening days for both the 3rd ROI Summit and the 2nd season of the PresenTense Institute.

Their staffs are gathering in Jerusalem; many arrived last week for the Facing Tomorrow Presidential Conference.

It’s time for the last minute planning and decisions.

Meanwhile, past participants continue to make news. ROI just announced a list of previous summit participants who have received small program grants to help launch some innovative new projects.

Today, we introduce two of the new eclectic endeavors; both are Internet related ventures whose roots were planted respectively in Jerusalem and Kiev.

First: Jerusalemite.net, an English language culture guide to Jerusalem has just priemiered.

The goal for this brand new web site is to be a resource for readers worldwide: students, temporary workers, visitors, volunteers, olim and of course, residents and tourists. Also, anyone who cares deeply about our city and is unable to visit.

Jerusalemite also plans to serve as a hub for all things cultural in Jerusalem, both reporting on and assisting with the promotion.

As a fellow Jerusalem resident, Baruch Ha’Ba as we look forward to learning so much more about our incredible city.

BTW, the photo is of the controversial and just completed Bridge of Strings, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, and located at the entrance to Jerusalem. Check the link for more on the Bridge from Jerusalemite.net.

For more on the Summer of Innovation and to meet another ROI grant recipient, check out Jewlicious Goes International.

Stay tuned to eJewish Philanthropy as the Summer of Innovation begins. We have a lot coming your way, including some major news.

updated May 25: this crop of ROI grant recipients hail from the four corners of the world. You can learn about some of their endeavors at ROI120.com.

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One of the goals of eJewish Philanthropy is to assist non-profit organizations in their use of the Internet so they can more efficiently fullfill their mission. This is why we often post on the newer resources and tools available, such as youtube.com, and provide both links to interesting videos, speak about facebook groups, and provide news and resources about the growing popularity of the new media world. The same can be said for online fundraising along with other facets of the new and continually evolving Web 2.0.

Let’s face it, the established Jewish community is not effectively using this medium. Sure we have some notable exceptions, JNF being one for a deserved reputation increasing donations online. But by and large, just like the organizations that just “don’t get it” re: the younger generations, they also don’t get the importance of where the Internet is going.

The organizations most effectively using the Internet are the ones being established, or at least directed, by the cutting edge young entrepreneurs who are already changing our Jewish future.

For those of you old enough, think back to 1998 and your use, or more likely non-use, of email. A significant part of the non-profit world did not use this medium at all. Fast forward to today; you can’t survive without it. Now think video and social networking; but trust me, it won’t take ten years!

On Thursday, I blogged live from Facing Tomorrow’s presentation, The Revolution of the Internet and the New Media, focusing on Yahoo President Susan Decker’s comments. Today, a few thoughts from some of the other speakers.

Google’s Sergey Brin, despite all the talk we hear about Internet use and connectivity already being so intertwined in our lives, said: “the evolution of the Internet age has changed our lives, but this is just the tip of the iceberg, a hint of what is to come. Most people are still not connected, and going forward, easier accessibility to knowledge finding, as well as social communicating, is what will drive the future.”

Maurice Levy, of the Management Board, Publicis Groupe echoed both Segey, Susan and Terry Semel by saying; “It’s all about creating connections that are emotionally relevant, and this is one of the main challenges for Internet search engines Yahoo and Google.”

And lastly, this from Rupert Murdoch, News Corps CEO: “We’re on cusp of a golden age of information. Once, older people and young people did not want to share the same content, but today there is technology that makes it possible to provide everyone with a personal experience.”

So, there you have it; the word on high from the top media gurus around. Only Mark Zukerberg of Facebook was a no-show. He was expected until the week before the Conference and was then unexplicably found to be in India.

You can read more about what Rupert Murdoch had to say in Globes.

Also be sure to check out our Resources section. We have posted many new links in our Recent Article categories dealing with Marketing Online, Video, Online Giving and Website tips. We’re certain you will find some relevant to your organization.

updated May 26: Some brief remarks by all the participants in this plenary can be found on the official Conference website.

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About a month ago, I was privileged to be part of a small host group of Israeli bloggers invited to meet with the American Internet gurus visiting here for the Innovation Israel blogging expedition. Rebecca Markowitz, from illuminea (eJewish Philanthropy’s web marketing consultants), wrote a great post for IsraelPlug on their visit.

One of those visiting gurus in attendance was Sarah Lacy.

As part of our occasional off-topic Friday “Made in Israel” posts, here are Sarah’s recent blog comments about her whirlwind trip and yesterday’s article from Business Week.

“This was an incredibly hard column to write, because Israel is such a complex and contradictory place. At the heart of the column are a few questions for the tiny but very entrepreneurial country, which I think is at a bit of a crossroads: Will Israel always be Silicon Valley’s farm team or emerge as a tech hub independent of the Valley? Should it aspire to that? Can Israeli entrepreneurs make great Web entrepreneurs?”

Israeli Tech Sends Mixed Messages: Many of the country’s tech startups have moved to Silicon Valley or set up outposts there. Now they need to innovate and take risks at home.

about Sarah: gifted new blogger, an award winning journalist and author of the just released book, “Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0“. Sarah has been a reporter in Silicon Valley for nearly a decade, covering everything from the tiniest startups to the largest public companies. She writes a biweekly column for BusinessWeek.com called “Valley Girl” and is co-host of Yahoo! Finance’s Tech Ticker.

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem

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A few selected links we think you may be interested in.

Peres: Conference ‘promoted Israel around the world’

Peres sees the conference’s success, above all, in the image boost he said it gave the state. He also praised the value of the networking that went on at the conference.

Jewish Demography and Peoplehood: 2008

Sergio DellaPergola’s position paper.

Digital world leaders foresee ‘personalization’

According to leaders from the Internet and media world, the fast emergence of the on-line world is changing the way we relate to information, and in the future will provide a much more open, social and emotional experience.

At ‘Israel’s Davos,’ there to see and be seen

from Haaretz: “…in fact, it seemed that most of the conference participants found it difficult to forgo face-to-face meetings with so many people from the top international league. The ability to bring together hundreds of key people in a variety of fields is Peres’ greatest achievement. The heady atmosphere that the guests from abroad brought with them, the fine food, the wine that flowed like water and the discussions of major issues turned the ICC into a bubble divorced from the Israeli reality.”

So who’s paying for Peres’s big bash?

Big donors - and what’s wrong with that?

updated May 19: Two Audiences, Two Speeches

More from the nice Jewish boy from the Washington Post, Michael Abramowitz, on the Bush visit to Jerusalem.

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This is the final day and I have found the Conference informative and exhilerating. Also tiring; the days are long and I have been unable to post as I would have preferred.

This morning, though, I am reaping the benefits of our new technology and blogging directly from a particularly relevant presentation, The Revolution of the Internet and the New Media.

This plenary focuses on how society is dependent on the Internet and mass-communications, and guided by them. Where is it all going? How will future developments in this field further affect our lives? Are there perils along with the blessings?

We have just heard Susan Decker, Yahoo’s President, give us two key take-a-ways:

• The Web is becoming more open and social with trusted relationships very important to the future.
  
• In the future we will also see stronger connections between the on and off-line worlds.

As to Yahoo’s future, according to Susan, their next challenge is to focus on three targets: creating open platforms where consumers define how, when and where they consume content; highly personalized content; and establishing stronger connections between on-line and off-line worlds.

So, if you are interested in technology and where it is headed, along with being introduced to key innovations players from Israel’s world of technology, I recommend checking out the entire plenary, hear what Susan has to say along with Google’s Sergey Brin; Maurice Levy, of the Management Board, Publicis Groupe; News Corps Rupert Murdoch and Yahoo’s former executive, Terry Semel.

To read about other Conference sessions, please check my friend Esther’s blog posts this morning on My Urban Kvetch.

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