SphinnCon is coming back to Israel on January 9, 2011, and it’s a conference that I think any one who is serious about search marketing should seriously consider attending.

What is SphinnCon?

Have you ever heard of SMX? Well, SMX (Search Marketing Expo) is “the [my bold] original and best search marketing event.” We in Israel are lucky since SphinnCon is a unique SMX-related event that takes place outside of the US, and as far as I know it so far has only happened here.

SphinnCon Israel is the premier networking event designed for SEOs, SEMs, SMOs and affiliate marketers to exchange ideas, influence the industry and build their networks. Get a full day of sessions and keynotes (and snacks) from some of the industry’s leading experts, from Israel and abroad. For example, this year’s speakers include Sam Michaelson from Five Blocks (who’s always entertaining), Olivier Amar from PointUp Media, Branko Rihtman (active on Twitter as @neyne) from Whiteweb, Dixon Jones from Receptional Ltd., Eli Feldblum from RankAbove, Kevin Gibbons from SEOptimise, and more. Chris Sherman, the Executive Editor Search Engine Land & President of Searchwise, is also coming, which is cool, along with Kaspar Szymanski, Google Search Quality Strategist from Google Dublin Office. What a lineup!

The whole thing is being programmed by the awesome Barry Schwartz (also known as @RustyBrick), who is a leading personality in the world of search engine marketing thanks to his work at RustyBrick, his very popular site The Search Engine Roundtable (which just got a site redo on a custom CMS – check it out), and his multitudinous writings on Search Engine Land.

(I’ve always wanted to use the word “multitudinous” and now I have. Success.)

And I’m speaking there…

I’m speaking on the first and last panels at the conference: at 9 am on SEO Tips, and at 4:30 pm I’m moderating the panel on Social Media in SEM & Search. Which basically means I’ll be there all day! See the full schedule.

How to register

If all of this sounds good, you can register here. Attendance costs $100, which is not cheap for an Israeli conference, but considering it’s an SMX conference, and the leading people from the industry who are coming from overseas and Israel, and how useful and enjoyable the last SphinnCons were (see my posts reviewing the previous SphinnCon events), it’s worth considering.

You might have sunshine on a cloudy day, but you definitely don’t have the month of May unless you know what’s going on this month!

Here are some of the hottest business events going on in Israel this spring-time:

May 4, 2010. Ramat Gan, Israel. Techonomy 2010! 6 new companies will present their new products for the first time on stage in front of the Techonomy crowd and an expert panel of judges. Live updates will be taken by twitter from the audience and those watching on-line.

May 6, 2010. Jerusalem, Israel. Next Jerusalem Tweet-up HaGov / The Lion’s Den is a great new kosher bar and the perfect location for this event. Happy Hour specials last until 9:30. (That’s why the little Twitter Bird up there has passed out — no, he is not dead.)

May 17, 2010. Haifa, Israel. Web Personalization: From ICQ to Facebook. Personalization involves the use of technology to accommodate the differences between individuals. Personalization is increasingly becoming a factor in Web applications in education, healthcare, and business settings. This lecture will focus on current Web personalization trends in the hi-tech industry.

To check out what other exciting event are happening this may visit our May calendar page. To plan ahead, view illuminea’s calendar page.

I’ve been working on a new venture aimed at helping non-profits develop their knowledge and skills in the social media field. My partner in this venture, Lisa Barkan from Digital Shtick (www.digitalshtick.com), has extensive marketing experience in the non-profit world. The venture, called amuta 2.0 (http://amuta20.com), will be launching on August 31 in Jerusalem with a networking breakfast event featuring Jeff Pulver, an internationally renowned social media expert (http://pulverblog.pulver.com/), and a panel of key representatives from some of Israel’s most innovative non-profits. Jeff will be speaking about “New Trends in Social Media in the post-facebook era,” and the panelists will discuss how they use social media to promote their non-profit and achieve their goals.

While the event will focus on the use of social media by non-profits, businesses are also encouraged to attend, since the tools and strategies we will be discussing could be equally applied by them as well. We already have a number of businesses who have registered to attend.

More information about the event, including the complete agenda, venue, and costs can be found at http://amuta20.com/events/.

You can register here: http://amuta20.com/register/.

Last night I went to my first iDrink event. For those of you who are not familiar with iDrink, it’s a party/event for Israelis in the Internet and web industries. The format usually includes presentations by startups and sponsors of the event, some free drinks, and a lot of socializing and networking. This was their seventh event, and there were tons of people there. At first, we couldn’t even get into the bar, and people were literally spilling out the door. But that was ok, cuz even the door was a social place to be. We got inside in time to hear/see the end of a presentation by a startup called KitchenBug. It was so noisy that I couldn’t hear so well, but what I saw and heard made me a little worried: a pretty presentation with really cool shiny graphics, and a concept that I think has little value (sorry KitchenBug and investors). This screams “bubble” – pretty face, no content, investors investing. Yikes.

Aside from that, I actually had fun. Despite the fact that I was the only religious woman who looked like she stepped out of Biblical times, I met some interesting people and got an in-depth explanation of a new blogging-widget being developed by one of the startups (sorry, but that one also has signs of a bubble).

So what do you think it’s like to get into a room with a bunch of web fanatics? Well, upon meeting you they immediately take out their phone and “friend” you on facebook. I’m serious. Also, I had more than one person come up to me and say hi because they recognized me from facebook. I’m surprised no one was live-blogging.

The line between real and virtual life has become very thin.

Anyways, it was an experience. Kol hakavod to the organizers – it’s really great that they provide a setting for everyone in the industry to get together in a casual atmosphere. In a bar, it’s so easy to be friends, especially after a few drinks.

Maybe real life isn’t that different from facebook after all:

• Real life – drink, be friends
• facebook – “friend me,” we’re friends

And in that spirit, Demetri Maritin on the Daily Show gives his point of view on social networking:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpcvR1tIBfQ[/youtube]

Last night I attended my first speed networking event. It was organized by Digital Eve, who has held two such events in Tel Aviv, and last night’s was the first one in Jerusalem.

Where?
The venue, the Pera e Mela (Apple and Pear) restaurant in Safra Square, was great – good Italian-style food, nice ambience, and an opera-singing owner who did a short piece for us (I’m not kidding!). The women in attendance were of all types and professions, and it was inspiring to meet such a talented, varied and creative group. About 20 women attended, including a handful that schlepped from Tel Aviv. Most of the women were self-employed and business owners, but we had employees as well.

Who?
Women of all types were in attendance; religious, secular and in between; a wide range of ages; and native Israelis and olim from England, the US, Canada (me!), Australia, and probably women from other countries that I missed. Based on the business cards I collected and what I remember, here is a sampling of the professions that were represented: 2 life coaches, an organizing consultant, a whole bunch of women involved in marketing of various kinds (including yours truly), a business and project management consultant, event planner, VIP tour planner, the owner of an executive search firm, graphic artist, training manager, and an expert in translation tools!

How?
How speed-networking works: we all sat down, ate (very important at any Jewish/Israeli event) and schmoozed (also Jewishly important!) with the people around us. Leemor Machnai and Susan Fisher then spoke to us about the importance of networking, and how to overcome barriers that we create in our head to networking. Then came the speed-networking part (which I guess is based on the speed-dating idea, or vice versa): we all stood up, and had a few minutes to talk to another woman about what they do, and what they are looking for. Then the whistles would blow (at first loudly but when the proprietor of the restaurant complained the whistling became almost inaudible) and we would move to the next woman. I didn’t have time to meet everyone, but it was great meeting whomever I could.

Nu?
So we schlepped, schmoozed, and conspired to take over the world after eating some good pasta. All in all, I had a great time. Of course, I don’t get out much these days due to baby and work-overload, so any opportunity to get dressed and meet other adults gets a high ranking from me. But I think that the fact that the event was supposed to end at 10, and at 10:50 Leemor had to gently point out to our surprise that it was almost 11, shows what a great time we were having.

Kol hakavod to Leemor, Susan, and Susie Kaufman (who played a big role in organizing the event but couldn’t come) for putting together such an interesting, inspiring and enjoyable evening. It was nice putting faces to the names I see on the email list, and I’m looking forward to the next Digital Eve event in Jerusalem!