Posts Tagged 'israel'



The list: Israeli companies on twitter

Since Ashton and CNN battled out over who’ll reach 1m followers first, Twitter has been gaining ground in Israel. And although the micro-blogging service is still no match to facebook in terms of # of users, the awareness is definitely growing, globally and locally alike.

According to twittercounter there are about 2324 Israeli twitter users, my guess is a bit higher, closer to 3,500-4,000, as opposed to over 600,000 facebook users – some even say 750,000. Twitter is still relatively un-known in Israel, and we’re waiting for it to make its leap, but already I’m seeing more and more businesses entering this space, opening accounts on twitter. The reason is simple: it’s easy to manage and update, and doesn’t require too much of your time. The question is what value (or ROI) you expect from such activities, and the answers here vary, a lot.

In an effort to make some order in all the cluter, I’ve created a list over at newsgeek, of Israeli companies on twitter: media and communication, government and retail, hi-tech and VCs, leasure and sport, food and beverages and others. The list is dynamic, and 3 hours after the initial posting I had some 15 comments (and 20-30 new followers) of new accounts that needed to be inserted into the list. My goal is to create a place where people can find the company and contact person, that would enable them to start a conversation faster, meeting the demand of the ever-changing-business-world (aka – Innovation). The only 2 rules are:
a) an updated account (less than 20 days since your last twit) and
b) full bio available for contact and details.

Although the entire post is in Hebrew, by hovering over the names you can get the feeling of ‘who’s who’ in the Israeli E2.0 arena. I’m sure the list will continue to grow (by at least 1 more) in the future.

Link:
The List: Israeli Companies on Twitter (Hebrew)

Meet my new employer – Isracard

After 40 something days of job searching (and beaching.. 😉 I’ll be starting my new job coming Monday, June 15 2009, at Isracard as Head of Social Media, part of the Marketing Division. I’m very excited as this position is a new one at Isracard, and as I’ll be doing the things I love and understand, at a large consumer company, internally and externally.

Isracard is Israel’s leading credit card company with some 2.5m card holders and over 100,000 clearing businesses via 3 products: Visa International, Mastercard International and Isracard. The company was founded in 1975 and employs some 1,300 people, HQ in Tel Aviv.

As my role is a new one, I’ll post a more elaborate entry about my responsibilities in couple of weeks, but basically my daily routine (as I see it) relates to every aspect of the company operations, split into 3 major routes:

  • Customers – almost every citizen in Israel (inclusing me) holds at least one Isracard card and with 2.5m customers, I’m guessing the online conversation will be interesting…
  • Clearing businesses – major aspect of any company operation is its eco-system, and in Isracard’s case those are the +100,000 businesses accepting Isracard cards, across the country.
  • Employees – the human capital is any company’s strength, and with 1,300 people (300-400 of them at various call-centers) – they are the best evangelists to Isracard’s work.

So, even before I officaily started I can see some challenges and opportunities. Not sure I’ll get Obama’s grace period, but nevertheless I intend to do my best, as always. If you have any suggestions/requests/tips for my first day at the job, leave a comment or drop me an email.
And finally, I want to thank those who helped me in those 40 something days – thank you!

First 48 hours with Asus EeePC 1000HE

Picked up my new netbook the other day, the Asus EeePC 1000HE, black. Since we have a Toshiba 15.4 laptop at home, we looked for something small and affordable, with long battery life and above average performance. With a HUGE HELP from the master of netbooks in Israel, Nir, we opted for the Asus 1000HE, primarily because of its 9.5 hours (!) battery life (6-cell).

The first hours are spent getting used to the keyboard and touch-pad. Even thou I had a small factor laptop, Levono X60, the netbooks are something else entirely. With the 1000HE the keyboard has been upgraded, each key is separated and it feels more comfortable, but there’s still a learning curve. I was never a big touch-pad fan, and this Asus has a somewhat small pad that takes getting used to. This model has a multi-touch feature (like a MacBook), that enables you to scroll the screen and zoom in/out using 2 fingers – quite handy and cool.

The most impressive feature about this model is its battery life (the E at 1000HE stands for ‘Extended’), that can give you a full business day worth of power, without carrying the ac adapter. Using Eee Super Hybrid Engine you can control the different power scenarios, that under ‘Auto’ mode lasted some 6 hours of above average usage. I guess reaching 8 hours with Super Power Saver mode won’t be too hard – and that’s more than enough.

In terms of size and weight, you could find a smaller netbook – the 6-cell battery is taking its toll, and the overall weight of this model is 1.4Kg (3.2 pounds). Asus supplies a neat little envelope case for your 1000HE, that can also house the ac adapter – which is also small factor, and doesn’t add too much if you need to take it with you.

Performance-wise, Intel Atom N280 is doing a solid work with the 1.6GHz and 1GB of RAM. The 1000HE comes with Win XP Home, but you can reformat it with any OS you want – Ubuntu, Vista or even Win7 – but with the latter you’ll have to increase the RAM to 2GB. Unlike other netbooks, upgrading your RAM can be done at home via an easy to access panel at the back. I’ve installed Adobe Photoshop CS and as long as you remember what’s ‘under the hood’ – you won’t be disappointed. I think the only downside I’ve noticed is with the graphics card, Intel Mobile 945 Chipset with 224MB of shared memory. Viewing YouTube videos in HQ or HD that involves a lot of movement (like the NBA channel) can be frustrating at times. TED Talks are better, but there’s little motion in them, so the card handles them well. It does heat a bit, as with any laptop, but it’s not too bad.

Overall the Asus EeePC 1000HE is an excellent netbook, with super battery life and solid performance. For 2,250 NIS (about $500) it’s a bit expensive than others, but you get a full mobile package that will last a business day without blinking.

My Nokia E71 Story

Over the past 2 weeks I’ve been experiencing some problems with our new Nokia E71 device. It appears that the snooze option at the alarm clock is ‘unreliable when phone is switched off‘. We learned that the hard way, twice, by not waking up in time in the morning. The only thing I wanted to verify is whether the problem is model-related (all the E71’s in the world) or device-related (mine only). There’s a simple way to sort it out – by giving me a new device.

As a social media evangelist, I’ve decided to put the tools and services I know to the test, as I’ve done in the past. My cellular provider, Cellcom, received low score for not monitoring this space, failing to reply to my updates and twits. After 3 separate visits to the lab, trying to figure out what the problem is, a friend suggested I’ll ring Amos Shapira, Cellcom CEO, who in an effort to imporve customer service opened up a dedicated line for customers with a complaint. Recently they started showing some improvement, as my friend Hillel outlines.

As for me, during my 3rd visit to the lab on Tuesday, I was contacted by one of Cellcom account manager, as my number is a business account. When she heard I’m at the lab, she rang the lab manager, and 20min later I had a new Nokia E71 (that I’ve asked for from the beginning) in my hand. The next day a Cellcom rep called me back, following the voicemail I left at Amos’s phone, asking if the problem was solved with the new E71 and if there’s another device I might consider.

So, although it took 3 trips to the lab and numerous calls to the customer service, I finally got my request. I hoped Cellcom would have reached me earlier, as I was pretty annoyed during my previous visits to the lab, and my updates proved it, but hey, you can’t have it all.

BTW – the problem still happens. If you set the alarm clock and shut off your phone for several hours (like at night), the snooze won’t work. Changing sim cards hasn’t solved it, but I will try setting the alarm without any sim card (same as the lab technician did in my 2nd visit – and obviously the snooze worked fine) and let you know the result.

And here’s the proof for Nokia developers: set the clock for 07:30 and shut the phone off. Come 07:30 the alarm rang, I hit ‘snooze’ and the phone should have ranged again at 07:35. It didn’t. When I turned the phone on (manually, not the alarm) you can see the time is 08:04, but the phone thinks it’s 07:35, which means ‘snooze time’. A work around is leaving the phone on but putting it at ‘flight mode’, which shuts down all connections (cell/wifi/gps). If you hear of a possible solution, give me a heads up.

Twitter got me Alfa Romeo’s MiTo

This is a simple story of a car enthusiast (me) who just happens to be a social media evangelist and (some say) a prominent twitter user.

Some 10 days ago while walking Ramat Aviv Mall I saw the beautiful Alfa Romeo MiTo. The car, which was announced mid 2008, is a real principessa, and one can see the resemblance to her ‘parents’, the 8C Competizione.

Being true to my belief that social media is just as powerful as traditional media, I posted a twit (facebook too) saying I’m willing to do a lot for a test drive in the new MiTo. Quite frankly, I didn’t expect an answer, yet alone a test drive, but the good people over at Alfa Romeo Israel, led by Nir Ben-Shlomo, Alfa Romeo Brand Manager, proved me wrong. I picked up my MiTo this Tuesday afternoon for a 16 hour drive (!), the first ever test drive to be performed by an independent blogger.

Over the past months I’ve read several posts and articles dissing social media and its impact on consumers and businesses. This example here illustrates the power of this medium, and we’re only at a fraction of its full potential.

My full review of this magnificent machine will be posted here soon, as well as on newsgeek, my other blog, but I thought you guys deserve some sneak-pics – just for being my readers.. 😉
Oh, one last thing, for the local auto dealers: I’m available for future test drives – drop me a line here dvirreznik at gmail dot com or via twitter and we’ll work out the details.

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Mobile & Media Consultant. I help startup companies launch products to the consumer market. Reach out: dvir.reznik [at] gmail.com
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This is my personal blog. The postings here do not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my past employers or of my clients. It is solely my opinion.