Top 10 Israeli web 2.0 startups (and the runnerups)
Posted on June 27, 2007 • By Rebecca Markowitz
Category: Technology | Tags: | 2 Comments
This is such a great list of Web 2.0 startups. And even better, they’re Israeli! The list includes the likes of MetaCafe, WeFi, and Zlango. But I don’t want to give it all away, check it out for yourself at thealarmclock.com.
Party games and Helium energy balloons
Posted on June 25, 2007 • By Rebecca Markowitz
Category: Technology | Tags: | Leave a Comment
Previously used for decorating birthdays and anniversaries, or for some, to make their voices sound funny, helium balloons now have their own reason to celebrate. In what might be misconstrued as a life-long party, houses may start sporting helium balloons coated with solar cells to provide their energy. The Jerusalem Post says that researchers at the Technion Institute in Haifa, Israel, estimate that each apartment would only need 2 balloons. The long-term goal is for these helium balloons to provide environmentally-friendly energy to cities around the world.
Animal testing goes down - bunny logos set to leap… or sit… or squat…
Posted on June 25, 2007 • By Rebecca Markowitz
Category: Social | Tags: | Leave a Comment
Have you ever noticed that Israeli supermarkets carry your oh-so-favorite brand of cereal, but on closer inspection, you realize something is a little off. Multi-Grain Cheerios is called simply ‘Multi Cheerios’, Cinammon Toast Crunch Israeli-fies into ‘Cini Minis’. Well, now it’s time to look for the quasi-recognizable bunny logo that indicates a company does not test on animals. It may be leaping or sitting, bigger or smaller than what you’ve seen in the US, but either way, it will be a sign of progress in the cosmetic and detergent industries in Israel. But the trick will be to figure out which bunnies are legit.Unlike the Coalition for Consumer Information in Cosmetics (CCIC), which operates in Canada, the U.S. and the European Union, there is no animal-testing authority in Israel that distributes a standard logo. Haaretz seems pretty skeptical “Can one trust the Israeli companies that stamp their products with their own bunnies? ” In 2009, the following 2 laws will be in place that will crack down on animal testing:
One, which prohibits animal testing in the development of detergents and cosmetics in Israel, was unanimously approved by the Knesset in second and third readings about three weeks ago. The other - a more radical one that seeks to forbid the import and distribution of animal-tested cosmetics - was unanimously approved by the Knesset’s Education Committee before its first reading in the plenum. Read more
Until then, make sure to take your camera and keep an album of the leaping, squatting, or carrot-eating bunny varieties.
Clickz.com: High 5 to Israel’s ad tech achievements and work ethics
Posted on June 22, 2007 • By Rebecca Markowitz
Category: Art and Culture, Business, Featured, Technology | Tags: | Leave a Comment
Clickz.com has some pretty great things to say about Israel’s online ad technology and Israelis in general:
Israel may seem like a topsy-turvy environment to operate a business, but technology firms have started up and housed research and development facilities there for years. And it’s no different for the online ad tech sector. Companies serving U.S. advertisers and publishers, such as AlmondNet, CheckM8, Eyeblaster, Quigo — and even Google — have ties to the young country, where daily challenges make for deep common bonds and a strong work ethic.
According to Israel Venture Capital Research Center, 121 Israeli high-tech firms raised $406 million from venture investors in Israel and overseas in Q1 2007, up from $360 million in Q1 ’06. A variety of online ad technology outfits have ties to Israel, including behavioral targeting firm AlmondNet, in-game ad company Double Fusion, e-mail firm IncrediMail, online marketing tech firm Dotomi, performance-based marketing company Quigo, and Media Boost, maker of an AdWords campaign optimization tool. Google also has R&D facilities in Israel.
Kate Kaye, Online Ad Tech Calls Israel a Home, and for Good Reason , Clickz.com, June 22, 2007
Jewish Geography reaches a whole new level
Posted on June 6, 2007 • By Rebecca Markowitz
Category: Technology | Tags: | 1 Comment
Israeli start-up Famillion is giving its best attempt at world peace through a technologically advanced version of the cut-out construction paper family tree you made back in 5th grade. Your tree automatically connects to everyone else who shares genealogical ancestors. And pretty soon the whole world is connected - just like that. How soon will this project be finished? According to Israe21c’s interview with Famillion, “by the end of this year the site will have mapped the entire Jewish population of the world - some 12-13 million people, and within about two years will have mapped the Western world. ”
Famillion’s take on world peace: “We are all connected, wherever we come from, and once people realize that, it will change the way they think. People are always afraid of someone who is different from us, someone who is a stranger - it’s a basic trait of human nature. When people understand that we are all connected to one another, this sense of difference will disappear.” Israel21c
So if everyone is part of one big family, then no one will hate each other. Hello.. Cain and Abel?
Why didn’t someone think of this sooner: family trees = world peace? Let’s cross our fingers and hope that my soon-to-be-revealed relatives in Taiwan don’t stop talking to me because I didn’t call them on their birthdays. Talk about family feud… Now that I digress, that game show wouldn’t really have a point since if everyone is one big family then why feud? Some questions that come to mind - How would we make weddings? Are there halls big enough for the occasion?
But seriously, it’s a very cool project and I’d be curious to see just how many degrees of separation I am from Jon Stewart.
Quiet, shy, little Israel caught Smart Money’s attention
Posted on June 4, 2007 • By Rebecca Markowitz
Category: Business, Technology | Tags: | Leave a Comment
Smart Money says:
… we try to look beyond the widely owned names beloved by the herd. To that end, I’ve become increasingly invested in a number of Israeli stocks, which have demonstrated a quiet outperformance that investors world-wide should envy. Over the past two years, the benchmark TA-100 of Israel’s 100 largest stocks is up more than 60%. The currency, the shekel, is near a seven-year high against the U.S. dollar. Not bad for a tiny country in the Middle East that’s smaller than the state of New Jersey and surrounded by hostile enemies that are constantly calling for its destruction.
To some extent, the country’s economic growth should come as no surprise. Israel’s economy is highly entrepreneurial and its work force is extremely educated. Israel has the largest number of start-ups in the world outside the U.S. It produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation and has one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed world-wide. It ranks third in research and development spending in the world — quite impressive for a country of just seven million people that’s only been around since 1948. continue…
Jonathon Hoenig, “Israel Is an Emerging Market Ignored by the Herd”, Smart Money, June 4, 2007
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