MY URBAN KVETCH

Post # 2010 - Esther in The Big Easy

The Big Easy in the title is not a description of how simple it was for me to start blogging here again. I've been incredibly busy lately, with three part-time jobs that easily together take up 6 days a week if not more. Plus, this was going to be post #2010 for My Urban Kvetch, and I wanted it to be a post of quality and depth, humor and wit. But I was too tired. So instead, I thought I'd share some information about where I'm going. And yes, that's where the title comes in.

One of those aforementioned jobs has been planning an event for and blogging in advance of the annual General Assembly run by Jewish Federations of North America. This year, the conference - which draws thousands of Jewish professionals and lay leaders from across the continent (and, with a number of participants from Israel, we can say "from around the world" as well) - is happening in the home of beignets, jazz and lots of things kosher people can't eat.

My role at the GA is running the NOLAISM Schmooze-Up, a meet-up for GA-goers who are Jewish innovators, social media enthusiasts, or who are interested in either of those two spheres. While I'm in New Orleans, logging at my own "blog properties" will continue to be light, but please continue to follow me on Twitter, and check out my posts on the GA blog, where I'm going to be focusing my writing on Jewish innovation (with a minor concentration, as always, in social media and technology).

If you're not going to the GA, follow all the action on Twitter by following the #NOLAGA hashtag, and check out some of these resources offered by my former client, the Berman Jewish Policy Archive - they've compiled a helpful list of readings that are related to sessions that will be running at the GA. 

So in a few hours, I'm boarding at LAX to transfer in ATL to arrive in New Orleans. Only two planes? I guess that's why they call it "The Big Easy." See you all on the other side.

"Young Professionals"/"Singles"/"Young Leadership" - What's in a Name?

I recently signed up for an event using EventBrite – it offered an option to post to my Facebook wall that I had RSVP’d and was planning to attend. I clicked “yes,” sharing it with my network via my wall. While some people responded that they would be joining me, another discussion also popped up – around the language that event organizers use when they want to attract – let’s just call it – “young energy.” The discussion was remarkable both for its intelligent conversation and for its tone of respect – not always a given in “Facebook wall discussion.”

In my post, I had described the event as being geared for “young professionals,” hoping to avoid the conversation about the stated age range (25-39), because - really, how are a 40-year-old’s needs or ideas older, or less valuable, than a 39-year-old’s? – age ranges delineate the difference between young and old in a way that’s not always helpful.

Sarah Lefton, co-founder of G-dcast.com, registered her frustration with the phrase "young professionals", noting that “this is a pet peeve phrase of mine and Federations seem to love it.”

Susanne Goldstone Rosenhouse (she of Jewish Tweets and so much more Jewish social media), added: “[she and her husband] went to an event here in Dallas for 'Young Professionals' and were literally the only marrieds there. The attendees thought we were chaperones or something. At least in NY or LA its a more ambiguous term.”

I (unintentionally) fomented the discussion with a few words. “Just don’t call it a singles event.”

Sarah responded that her objection wasn’t about marital status, but about the implication of “professionals”: “Are grad students, teachers, artists and nonprofit workers unwelcome? Because to me, what is coded into the phrase young professionals is, ‘people with money.’" She noted that, if truly everyone young is welcome, why not say young adults? Speaking from her experience as someone who was “dirt broke poor” as an artist and non profit employee and felt excluded by Jewish events, she said that “whether they MEANT to feel exclusive is not the point. It's what the perception is on the outside.”

Another commenter responded with the observation that in a different time and place, "Jewish Young Professional" could have meant something different, and that moreover, in different neighborhoods and denominations, even the word “Jewish” has differing definitions.

So here’s EstherK’s question: how do we make sure that what we name our “young professionals” divisions reflects both intention and a feeling of inclusion, while making sure that our events attract the appropriate populations? 

Sarah (a former ad exec) suggests that “focus groups help us get outside our own experience…the phrase ‘young professionals’ seems to be at least a psychological barrier to entry to at least some people.” 

Most organizations struggle with these labels as well as with age cut-offs. On the one hand, you want to indicate that a certain event is geared with a certain age, area of interest or marital status in mind, so people don't come with vastly unrealistic expectations. But who is to say that a 36-year-old has different needs than a 35-year-old when it comes to programming, socializing, etc? Take me as an example: I don't mind mixing with people who are already married, and who have children. But if an event promising an "exploration of the Passover seder" turns into "how to engage your children during a late-night Jewish ritual," that probably wouldn’t be something I’d make time for in my schedule. 

Additionally, the term 'young leadership' may also be a challenge for people who might be looking for a way to engage, but as a participant and not necessarily want or have time for a leadership track. And you don't have to be a commitmentphobe to dislike this term. Unless we say "young leadership" is the same as "young adults" - which makes everyone a leader, whether or not they want it to.

I always vote for inclusion, and for events that are so wildly important and compelling that they include people from across different demographics in a perfect symphony of community...but which events (not the one-offs, like DAWN or even Limmud) can continually, successfully engage all demographics? The reality is that some events are more appropriate for certain populations than for others.

Sarah light-heartedly suggested that I "tell the funders you're achieving your goals on Facebook, to hell with the events. :)"

Done. I’m pretty sure my blog is now eligible for a major Jewish continuity grant. 

What do you think, blogosphere? Is there a magic solution to this issue of language, inclusion and specificity surrounding “Jewish young adult” events?

"The Elements Song" With Google Instant

Google Instant launched over the last week, which searches for the things you're looking for as you type them. That's right. Google knows what you're looking for before your fingers complete communicating it.

This is leading to new creativity from the interwebs people; check out Tom Lehrer's "Elements" song, as visualized through Google Instant. Watch it if you dare and don't get dizzy easily - the thing is fast...

(via BoingBoing)

 

Social Media Helps JetBlue Reverse PR Post-"Beer Slide"

[Reprinted from EstherK.com]

We've all been at that point, when you're so frustrated with your work that you just want to grab a beer, inflate the slide and jump out of the aircraft, sliding your way to freedom. Those of us with a reality filter know we can't do that. We'll lose our jobs, be the subject of ridicule - there will be repercussions, not the least of which will be bad PR for our company, which maybe isn't so bad after all. But this week, one flight attendant threw caution to the wind and himself off an airplane, resulting in the company's mobilization of social media to turn the PR around.

And, as Fast Company Magazine notes, they did so expertly.

For the first 48 hours following Slater’s famous beer slide, JetBlue said nothing. Then, on Wednesday, JetBlue made the scantest of acknowledgments. On its “BlueTales” blog, it noted that:

"[...]it wouldn’t be fair for us to point out absurdities in other corners of the industry without acknowledging when it’s about us.

Well, this week’s news certainly falls into that category. Perhaps you heard a little story about one of our flight attendants? While we can’t discuss the details of what is an ongoing investigation, plenty of others have already formed opinions on the matter. Like, the entire Internet. (The reason we’re not commenting is that we respect the privacy of the individual. People can speak on their own behalf; we won’t do it for them.) "

While this episode may feed your inner Office Space, we just want to take this space to recognize our 2,300 fantastic, awesome and professional Inflight Crewmembers for delivering the JetBlue Experience you’ve come to expect of us."

It’s a wily little post, expertly done—mixing cheeky self-deprecation, ostensible privacy concerns, an apt and funny YouTube link (to the Office Space movie), and only the tiniest dose of PR pablum. What’s fascinating, however, is that these 140 or so words constitute almost the entire response to a story that has had every media outlet scrambling all week.

JetBlue has always been pretty good about establishing a casual, friendly tone, and using loyal social media base to get their message out - "Sure, there are blips, as in any business, but basically, we do a great job, and we respond to our customers and people like us because of it."

They created a Customer Bill of Rights that includes benefits like compensation to customers who are involuntarily denied boarding, free movies to customers whose planes are delayed by 3 hours, and $15 credits on future flights if the in-flight entertainment is busted.

Beyond the blog, JetBlue has nearly 1.6 million followers on Twitter, where their customer response ranges from "thanks for the tweet" and "you're our new favorite customer" to helping customers with specific questions ("Have you called the BOS baggage service office or the SFO office?")

Of course, once you're actively engaging with an audience, you run the risk of actively engaging with humorists like the extremely well-followed Andy Borowitz, who launched a Twitter war with JetBlue, all but egging on readers to accost flight attendants - JetBlue was not amused. But everything, even responsive and lighthearted customer service, has limits. JetBlue might be friendly, but they're also a company with liability concerns. Even if it's clear that Borowitz, a humorist, isn't serious when he hashtags a tweet with #shitmyjetblueflightattendantsays, once he crosses into suggesting (even in jest) that customers attack flight attendants, JetBlue has to be responsible and drop the humor, if only for fear of legal ramifications.

If you examine the comments on the post referred to above on the BlueTales blog, you'll see the groundswell of support for the airline, as well as inadvertent brainstorming on next steps. For instance, commenter Matt writes:

This is a goldmine opportunity. You should definitely hire this guy, and have him make a bunch of funny youtube videos about the do’s and dont’s of carryon luggage. Have him try to shove a size 10 carryon into a size 9 overhead, sideways. At the end he could have a little sign off (think Dan Rather’s “Courage!”) and then take the chute out of the plane, like Batman. If you don’t somebody else will, why not get the credit for being fair to someone who is viewed by many as a hero, and at the same time turn some lemon-like bad publicity into some earned advertising lemonade.

It's too late for this particular suggestion, but Matt was correct on the "if you don't somebody else will" front; Spirit Air has already released an ad which " they've e-mailed customers a $35 coupon that shows a guy holding two beers and jumping, Steven Slater like, down an inflatable exit slide. "Don't be blue, slide down to low fares," says the copy." (Via AdWeek's AdFreak blog)

To sum up...what excited me about this whole JetBlue story is that the airline illustrated that social media:

1) Can go beyond spin control and reverse the tide of less-than-ideal PR

2) Can mobilize fans as supporters and as informal focus group on next steps

3) Can distribute additional information that shows they have a sense of humor, but also establishes boundaries when it comes to discussion on something that might have legal ramifications.

What are your thoughts about JetBlue's response to "The Steven Slater Incident"?

(Want more analysis of social media's role in this week's events? Check out this post at Michelle Tripp's BrandForward blog)

 

Adding Your Twimprimatur & Other Social Media Secrets

What’s a Twimprimatur? Here’s a hint: I made it up during a radio interview as the DJ was quizzing me about proper use of the RT (retweet) function on Twitter.

And here’s another hint: imprimatur + Twitter. (Imprimatur literally means “let it be printed,” but here are some more definitions.)

In July, I was interviewed by Rusty Mike Radio in Jerusalem - we went deep into blogging, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Check out the entire interview here, for insights into making these social media work better for you, as well as stories about Jewish innovation, how to make blogging into a quasi-career, how my online network got me a new computer, and what my connection is to Madonna.

 

'The Future Begins Today': JFedLA CEO Opens Online Dialogue with Community

Technically speaking, the titular 'today' was January 27, when new CEO of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles Jay Sanderson first posed a series of questions to the members of the L.A. Jewish community on The Wire (the Federation's blog), asking for feedback and questions from the audience reading the post at their respective computers. 

His goal, he stated, was to "create a dynamic new vision for Los Angeles;by linking arms with you and beginning a communal conversation. If we’re to create a rich and meaningful Jewish future, we have to be willing to take risks and learn from our failures; to study our past, but not be stuck in it." 

To kick things off, Sanderson asked eight questions:

1. What should our priorities be and where should we be investing our resources?
2. How can we reach out to the tens of thousands of Jews who aren’t engaged in any community?
3. How can we combat the increasingly high cost of synagogue affiliation and formal education?
4. How can we ensure that future generations will share our love and commitment for Israel?
5. Are we doing everything we can to assure that our children and grandchildren remember the Holocaust?
6. After this recent and devastating economic downfall, what are our most pressing social service needs?
7. How should we be addressing the needs of Jews around the world?
8. How do we support the State of Israel as its needs change?

So far, 21 people have answered Jay's call to action in the comments section, leaving responses ranging from general approval to specific suggestions for moving forward with many Jewish communal priorities - from social life to education to literacy to remembering the Holocaust and trying to increase Jewish jobs.

I left a generic comment lauding Jay and the Federation for opening up this conversation online and using social media, and expressed a hope that we'd all use the forum to move forward in positive directions. Jay responded: "Esther, couldn’t agree with you more — we have just initiated a dynamic new web initiative that will launch in May — stay tuned!"

This was a continuation of his promise to the community that the Federation would prioritize outreach to different segments of the community (see video below).

So there you have it. The future begins now. Or perhaps, in May. But the point is, soon. And we have questions and concerns to guide us. Plus, it looks like we'll be tracking the progress publicly and online. Should be interesting to see how this develops.

Best Pieces in Anticipation of "Lost" Season 6 - No Spoilers!

It's 5:30 pm, Eastern Standard time. If you're on the east coast, you're probably rushing home, grabbing dinner and reporting to your favorite sofa. If you're on the west coast, you're probably watching the clock tick, waiting for the hours to pass, listening to the soundtrack online and swearing to avoid Twitter and Facebook status updates from 5pm until after 10pm when all your friends start posting spoilers. Because, in case you didn't know, "Lost" returns tonight on ABC. 

(Do NOT check ABC.com's page for showtimes, because the first few minutes of the new episode is posted online - so if you don't want to know who survives Jughead, STAY AWAY.) And if for some reason you miss it tonight, or want to watch it again, Twitter circulated the news that it's going up on Hulu.com by 5am.

How to get ready? Bake your own Dharma fish biscuits. Check out GoogleMaps' Lost locations. Go to Fake Lost Spoilers to read non-spoilers like "Women can't get pregnant on the island because it's the man's fault. It's always the man's fault." Use it as a chance to spread a green message. 

Ride the Twitter enthusiasm by opening a search for #Lost (ex: "The smoke monster saw its shadow this morning. Six more weeks of winter"). Book a flight from Sydney to LAX on Oceanic Air (on Kayak). Do the Jewy thing and wonder "What if it had been an El Al plane that crashed on Lost?" (includes the most obvious one: "Jack would not have been the only doctor"). Check out 5-Second Films spoof of the writing process (very short, with an F-word).

Ever wondered "How to Survive While Lost on a Mysterious Island"? Well, here's an instructive and entertaining animated video that gives you some helpful hints. (Hat tip for this one goes to Al at Jewish Humor Central.)

We'll catch up with all of you tomorrow - leave your "Lost" reactions here! See you in another life, brother...

How To Survive While Lost on a Mysterious Island on Howcast

Small Talk, With Me (Jewish Tampa) - Now, With Better Sound Quality!

Social media and the Jews? Improv for the Jews? Online and offline? Jewish community? LimmudLA, Jewlicious Festivals and Matisyahu all get shoutouts in this just-posted interview from Jewish Tampa. 

The interview was conducted via Skype, with interviewer Lisa Robbins in Florida, calling me in Los Angeles. What a world!

From Haiti to Cambodia to MyJewishLearning, Small Change Can Mean Big Impact

My Twitter feed this morning, in addition to hundreds more Tweets with the "text aid to Haiti" call to action, had several related inspiring Tweets. 

NY-based @realdawnsummers wrote: "Poverty means remembering coins are money." I thought this was a remarkable insight, and retweeted it from Los Angeles, unchanged. Then a response retweeted me as @askdebra added her own comment from Jerusalem: "And coins can help Haiti, too." 

I thought a lot about this as I wrote this morning's post at Beliefnet's Idol Chatter, about the online microfundraising campaign that circulated to help Haiti. We don't remember this often enough, and should know that sometimes, coins can make a difference. Most of us toss away nickels or dimes, because we are lucky enough that $10 (or $5) won't make or break us. 

Recently, Daniel Septimus wrote in eJewishPhilanthropy, MyJewishLearning.com conducted a fundraising experiment, appealing to readers to send $2 each to help them meet a $10,000 fundraising goal:

We did, in fact, reach our goal, raising more than $11,000 in a just a few weeks.

However, the total came from about 850 people giving – obviously – more than $2 on average. Of course, 850 is still a lot of people, and many of our readers expressed a great appreciation for having the opportunity to contribute meaningfully and within their means to a cause they appreciate.

(The rest of the article contains some interesting observations about micro-fundraising - check it out here.)

Beth Kanter, an amazing woman for her social media insight alone before you even read the next sentence, has been raising money over the internet for years. For her 53rd birthday this week, she asked - as she's been doing every year around her birthday - for a donation to the Sharing Foundation to send 53 Cambodian Youngsters to school by covering the cost of their uniforms ($10 per child).  Beth was thrilled to report that "we crushed that goal and raised $4,540 because of your generosity in donating and calling attention to the birthday wish. That means 454 youngsters will be able to attend school in Cambodia and hopefully, find a route out of poverty." The power of the crowd, again.

On El Al airplanes to and from Israel, travelers are given the chance to turn over their spare change from their trip - presumably in a currency they won't need for a while - to help disabled children. The name of that initiative says it all - "Small Change Can Make a Big Difference." 

For some people, coins aren't just money in an abstract - they're vital shelter, clothing or food. These initiatives make giving easy. While "easy giving" may not impart the same lessons or make the same impact on the person who gives, it's still of great value to the people who receive it.

You can text help to Haiti (and have the charge appear on your phone bill):

"Yele" to 501501 (Yele Haiti) -$5
"Haiti" to 90999 (International Red Cross) -$10

Or give through one of the Jewish charities that have set up a disaster relief fund - check out a few at Repair The World.

Adventures in Jewish Journalism: Partnership between Ha'aretz and the Forward

Jewish journalism: it's not just a field - it's an adventure.

With revenues falling in journalism in general, even at big-name industry cornerstones, no one really knows what's happening in the field. Freelancers wait for their figurative phones to ring and longtime employees are put out to pasture as management tries to cut costs. Magazines rethink, strategize and redesign in an attempt to corner the market on... well, something, anything to distinguish them as purchaseworthy, in some way better than the rest. 

Thanks to technology, competition has never been greater, not just to be the one with the best story first, but to be able to push content to an audience - mostly internet users who are used to getting information fast and for free - while finding enough advertising (and subscriber) dollars to cover their costs.  

While it's not clear that this move is due to the economy or to any competition between the two publications, the Forward and Ha'aretz have announced a partnership that will bring Forward content to Ha'aretz's English-speaking readers and serve as "a cultural bridge" between America and Israeli readers. (Quoted content is from the announcement on the Forward site and from a press release.)

Beginning January 24, a special four-page edition of the Forward will be inserted in Haaretz’s Sunday editions. 

“For Israeli readers, this will open a wider window to the Jewish world, and especially to the essential relationship between the United States and Israel,” said Jane Eisner, editor of the Forward. “The Forward strives to interpret that relationship and tell the contemporary American Jewish story. And we are thrilled to be able to reach those readers through Haaretz, a newspaper whose standards of journalistic excellence we admire and share.”

"We know that our readers are hungry for more in-depth stories about Jewish culture and the Jewish world, and the FORWARD excels at this," said Charlotte Halle, editor of Haaretz English Edition. "To read about how the Madoff saga played out in New York or commentary on the Obama administration's latest moves from leading American Jewish writers will be a huge plus for our readers. By bringing them these stories in print, we think our Sunday edition will become one of the highlights of the week.”. 

Some people like themselves a weekend edition. Personally, I left my NY Times weekend delivery days behind me, even before I left New York behind me: too much paper, not enough time to read in print, more accessible, commentable, readable, online. Plus, I couldn't master that folding thing that the showoff virtuosos displayed during rush hour on the subway.

Here in L.A., it's not about where I read the news, except as a citation. My daily news all comes to me on the computer, mostly via Twitter and Facebook. Neither of which I pay for. If I encounter an article that needs me to pay, I say "forget it." But I still subscribe to several weekly and monthly magazines in print that enable me to go into greater depth on the week's issues or provide commentary that I find enlightening or entertaining.

The idea of partnerships probably won't be the grand "Eureka!" that saves journalism. Journalism - let alone Jewish journalism, which presents a smaller-scale subset of problems parallel to the broad field - is still changing, and those who are used to the old models (read: EVERYONE) are struggling to figure out the new-age content and profit models. But I do think that mergers, collaborations and partnerships should inspire us to think critically about where we get our information, why we trust (and pay) certain sources and not others, and about what, in this age of information wanting to be free, we are willing to pay for. 

Thoughts?