Editor's letter,

It's been a while since we last sent out a newsletter, and a lot has happened in that time. I've been giving lectures around the country at conferences and within companies on corporate blogs and social media. So I'm very excited to announce an upcoming 3-day course on corporate blogging and social media strategies in Jerusalem on June 5, 12, and 19. Read on for more details.

Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to shout out a great big Happy Birthday to Israel on its 60th birthday. We're so proud of your accomplishments, your innovations, and your fabulous humus recipes. I was privileged to attend The President's Conference last week, and I hope to blog about it within the next few days.

I hope you are all well and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Regards,

Miriam Schwab

Announcing Corporate Blogging and Social Media Seminar

About the Course

The new web, also known as web 2.0, is changing the way we communicate. With people spending more and more time online as active participants in the consumption and generation of content, companies and brands who wish to engage with online customers must adopt a new way of thinking.

“Corporate Blogging and Social Media” is a 3-day seminar that will take place on Thursday June 5, June 12, and June 19, 2008. During the course, you’ll gain a solid background in blogging and social media, start your own blog and write and optimize your first post for social media and search engines.

Topics to be Covered:

• How an effective blogging strategy can be an amazing way to market your brand and/or company
• How to set up and promote a blog with the various social media tools available
• Creating and monitoring an online social media profile that delivers results.
• Search engine optimization (SEO) basics for better blogging
• Digital PR/PR 2.0 - moving beyond the conventional press release to the Social Media Press Release

Where and what?

The courses will take place at Beit Shmuel in Jerusalem, conveniently located off of King David Street, near the David Citadel Hotel. Each day will begin at 9 am, and continue until 6 pm, with short breaks and a lunch break. Participants will receive printed material as well as access to a password protected part resource section on the illuminea site. Refreshments and a dairy lunch are included in the cost.

To see the agenda and to register, click here. I hope to see you there!

LinkedIn emerges as the true business networking site

Until now, I and many other people were using facebook for business. Thanks to facebook’s news feed, events, status, posts, and more facebook is a great way to communicate and connect with business associates. The drawback to using facebook for business is that it’s not intended for business.

On facebook, my “friends” include family (even my Dad is on facebook), old school friends, and other friends, along with business connections. That means that it’s hard to strike the balance between a profile that is both professional and personal. For example, I’ve hesitated to post photos and news about my kids and family on facebook because I don’t want my non-personal “friends” to see that kind of stuff. In short, LinkedIn has just moved up a notch in the social networking world. Continue reading the full article on the illuminea blog »

You are welcome to conenct with me on my social networks: LinkedIn , Facebook, Twitter, and FriendFeed.

Israel turns 60 - lookin' good for your age

Israel's 60th birthday was celebrated in so many ways it was hard to keep track. israelplug lists all things devoted to Israel at 60 - websites, blogs, conferences, snacks (!), and more. Check it out here »

Useful links

• Increase your productivity online with 6 amazing Firefox plugins. My favorite Firefox plugin has to be Better Gmail, which I couldn't live without now that I know about it. The best features of Better Gmail are sorting emails by sender, and organizing your folder structure with subfolders like in Outlook.
• What will you be driving in 2010? Israeli Shai Agassi, founder of Project Better Place has been very active in seeking alternative energy solutions and is in the process of testing electric cars to lessen our dependency on fossil fuels. Stay up to date with developments in cleantech on israelplug.

• The next wave of collaborating online has finally picked up, and Adobe Buzzword proves it. Buzzword is a free, web-based word processor that lets you share, discuss, and edit documents online. It shows you when others are editing, and has a sleek, professional appearance. The only drawback I've seen is that it doesn't show the actual markups, but there is a space for comments next to each section. It beats Google Docs hands down!

illuminea provides marketing and online media services to Israeli businesses for marketing and development purposes. Our services include web and blog design and development, copywriting, and design.

*New* - In addition to designing and developing corporate blogs and websites, illuminea now provides in-house and group courses on blogging and business. Contact us for more details!

illuminea also maintains a blog dedicated to the challenges and satisfactions of running a small business in general, and in Israel in particular. Take a look at the illuminea blog here.

Our blogs:

• Good news from Israel: israelplug.
• Learn about how to run your business better, and network at the sane time: Entrepreneur Breakfast. Sign up to the email list to get updates on upcoming events.
• Learn more about WordPress? Visit WordPressGarage.com.