Archive for category Jewish Innovation

The Complete JPS Audio Bible is Finally Here!

Posted by Jillian in Jewish Innovation on March 9, 2010

The JPS Tanakh is considered the authoritative translation of the Jewish Bible and is certainly the most widely read English edition.  That said, we’ve always known we wanted to make our Bible available to everyone, in any format that a person would want to use. Thus came the idea for an audio version and the Jewish Braille Institute (JBI) was the clear partner for collaboration. After 12 months of recording the 2,000 pages of the Tanakh into 60 hours of audio using 13 narrators, the Audio Bible is finally here! Last October we gave readers a sneak peek with our free weekly Torah portion (widget-version below), but now readers have the option to purchase the entire TANAKH, only the Torah, The Five Megilloth and Jonah, or any of the other 36 books of the Bible.

The JPS Tanakh: The Jewish Bible, audio version even makes it easy for you to bring the text wherever you go, and whenever you want. Offered in both MP3 and iTunes download formats you can listen on your iPod or MP3 Player on the road or anywhere on the go.

To celebrate the release of this landmark project, we are offering a special introductory offer – purchase the download of our audio version of the complete JPS Tanakh or Torah and we will send you our Torah eBook FREE of charge!

We could keep going on about how excited we are about this audio Bible, but our Interim Director, Carol Hupping, sums it up best in this recent Q & A session.

Q: How did the Jewish Braille Institute (JBI) and The Jewish Publication Society (JPS) come to partner on the JPS Tanakh: The Jewish Bible, audio version?

A: JPS had wanted an audio version of its Bible for years, but we knew that producing it would be very expensive. We’re talking about 2,000 book pages, about 60 hours of listening time. We had gotten a bid from a commercial audio book producer, but it was much more than we could afford. Then we recalled conversations we’d had with JBI a few years back about publishing a large-print Bible and remembered that they also produced audio books. We asked if they would be interested in collaborating on the project. Indeed they were.

Q: How does this project fit into the new direction JPS is taking?

A: For the last 120 years, JPS has been primarily a publisher of print books. But that’s changing now, because the Internet and handheld devices like smart phones and ebook readers have changed the way people access and use information, and the way many people read books. So, in addition to print, we’re now offering ebooks and also audio, starting with this audio version of the JPS Tanakh, directly through our website and via many other distributors. We want to reach as many people, in as many ways, as possible.

Click here to read the rest of the interview with Carol, as well as a Q & A with JBI President and CEO Ellen Isler and several of the Audio Bible narrators [73K PDF]. Feel free to link to the complete Q&A or to excerpt from it, if you wish.

Also, for more information about the JPS Audio Bible go to http://jewishpub.org/books/audiobible/about-bible.php.

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Create Your Own Prayer Service

Posted by Jillian in Jewish Innovation on February 22, 2010

www.flickr.com/photos/rbarenblat

Back when I was a member of BBYO, I was frequently in charge of putting together and leading services. It wasn’t an easy task. When you get a bunch of Jewish teenagers together on the weekend, praying is usually the last thing they want to do. Not only that, but when you’re dealing with Jews from a variety of Jewish educational backgrounds, it can be hard to create a service that everyone is comfortable with. I would make photocopies of common prayers, their English translation, and their transliteration then paste them all together to make one comprehensive prayer packet. We were always trying to spice up services with themes and quotes to make them more fun, only that required more cutting and pasting for each new service.

 Now thanks to BBYO International, there is now a website called Build a Prayer dedicated to creating your own prayer service. There, you can choose which service you would like to plan (Friday Evening, Saturday Morning, Saturday Evening, or Blessing After Meal), which type of service you would like (Traditional, Pluralistic, or Custom), which languages you would like to choose (English, Hebrew, and Transliteration), and which template you want. From there you can select which prayers you want to include and add your own commentary, images, audio, video, etc to personalize your service. With this site, you can now quickly make a custom prayer service for any occasion. It also allows you to browse through services created by other users and to learn more about the purpose for each prayer. For an online tutorial, BBYO has even included this online tutorial:

Don’t be fooled! Just because this site is sponsored by BBYO, doesn’t mean it is just for teens. I encourage you to check it out and play around to create your own personalized and meaningful service!

Let us know in the comments section what other online Jewish educational tools you’ve found helpful.

-Jill

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Reviving the classics!

Posted by Alx in JPS Books, Jewish Books, Jewish Innovation, Jewish Knowledge on January 28, 2010

We’re going back to basics! As a part of our spring 2010 collection, we have re-launched five of JPS’s classic books! These classic books are for readers of all ages, and we hope that by bringing them back to the shelves, readers will be reminded of some timeless ideas that are essential to Judaism.

Lessons learned in these classic books carry as much weight as ever, containing information that, believe it or not, may be directly applicable to our lives today.

Here is a list of JPS works revived in 2010:

  1. Judaism as a Civilization by Mordecai Kaplan

This book introduced a new way of looking at Judaism, and is considered the origin of the Reconstructionist Movement. Kaplan felt that all Jews – traditional and liberal, religious and secular – could play a part in this “reconstruction.”

2. Book of Tradition by Abraham ibn Daud (author) and Gerson D. Cohen (translator)

This epic on Jewish history from ancient times to the 12th century eulogized Spanish Jewry and reminded readers of a once-thriving culture. No one before had ever attempted to write such a broad history of Jewish civilization, and this unique book is one of the first examples of Jewish historiography

3. Genesis: The Beginning of Desire by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, Ph.D.

This epic breathes new life into the stories of Adam and Even, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Essau, Rachel, and Joseph. Zornberg brings biblical, midrashic, and literary sources together, illuminating the tensions that grip human beings as they search for an encounter God

4. The Life of Gluckel of Hameln  by Beth-Zion Abrahams

Gluckel of Hameln’s memoir is widely viewed as one of the earliest major works written by a Jewish woman and has become a classic. This JPS book is the only English translation of Gluckel’s story from the original Yiddish and is widely considered the most accurate and complete translation available

5. Modern Poems on the Bible  by David Curzon

This is a collection of imaginative and engaging contemporary responses to the Bible. Guided by the classic rabbinic genre of midrash conceived 1,500 years ago, Curzon chooses poems from Jewish and non-Jewish writers alike and places them besides the biblical passages that were their inspiration.

After all, Albert Einstein once said: “Somebody who reads only newspapers and at best the books of contemporary authors’ looks to me like an extremely nearsighted person who scorns eyeglasses.” We’ve certainly learned a lesson or two from Albert, so perhaps we should take his advice!

-Emily

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Audio Bible is now Widgetized!

Posted by Sarah in JPS Books, Jewish Books, Jewish Innovation, Jewish Knowledge on December 8, 2009

Probably one of the greatest parts of the latest revamp of the JPS website has to be the audio Bible. Have you had a chance to check it out? If not, you should definitely take a look.

Or, maybe you’ve experienced the weekly audio portions and have been dying to share it with others! If you’ve been wishing you could put the audio Bible on your site, today is your lucky day!

Why? Because the audio Bible has officially been “widgetized”! Just copy the code below and embed the audio Bible in your site, sharing it with all your browsers.

Here’s what the result will look like:

The best part? It updates itself! Each week, the audio segment will automatically change to reflect the correct Torah portion for the week, making your life that much easier!

Enjoy!

-Sarah

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All good things must come to an end…

Posted by Naomi in Jewish Innovation, Uncategorized on October 12, 2009

BE046842Wow.  What a month.  We’ve just been through a bevy of Jewish Holidays: Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah.  That’s an awful lot of hours clocked in the synagogue.  And an even more awful lot of food.

It’s been, simultaneously, both a fun month, and a difficult one.  Last night, as we marked the closing of Simchat Torah, my friends and I reminisced about our favorite High Holiday tunes, and joked (somewhat seriously) that now that the holidays were over, we wouldn’t see each other again until next year.  But we were also kind of excited – excited to have our regular Sundays back, excited for normal (shorter) synagogue services to resume, excited to not eat quite as much every weekend.

But despite all that excitement, there was still a general sense of gloominess.  Now that the holidays are over, we’ll be entering the holiday-less Jewish month of Cheshvan (in fact, there are no more Jewish holidays until Chanukkah, which this year begins in mid-December).  This month is sometimes also known as “Marcheshvan” – in Hebrew “mar” means “bitter”.  And an entire month with no fun holidays is a bitter month, indeed.

So what can we do to keep away the Marcheshvan blues, and to bring a bit of Jewish joy into our lives?  Well, I have a couple of ideas for ya:

1. Check out the newly redesigned JPS website!  (In particular, check out the all-new feature on the right side, towards the bottom… that’s right, you can now stream the JPS Audio Bible!  Each week, the new Torah portion will be posted, along with the full text, so you can read along as you listen.  Genesis is up right now – check it out!)

2. Find a way to incorporate a bit of Judaism into the upcoming secular holidays.  Thanksgiving (my all-time favorite secular holiday!) is a day ripe for an infusion of spirituality.  Brainstorm with your family how you can make the day meaningful – have a discussion over dinner about the things you are grateful for, compose your own Thanksgiving prayer, or volunteer to serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local soup kitchen.  (I’m a bit stuck on Halloween – “act-of-kindness or treat” just seems a little bit lame.  Any ideas?)

3. Stock up on your Chanukkah gifts.  It’s never too early!  (And FYI: JPS is having an early-bird Chanukkah sale – 40% off select titles!)

4. Get involved with Jewish Social Action Month – KolDor has earmarked October 19th – November 17th as a month for Jews to get involved in social action projects.  Check out their site for a listing of volunteer opportunities, or to put up an event of your own!

5. Now that the weather is getting chilly, it’s time to whip out those fleece blankets, brew a cup of steaming hot tea or apple cider, and crack open a good book.  In fact, now that we’re beginning the Torah reading cycle from the top, how about cracking open the Good Book?

    Do you have any other creative ideas for brightening up Marcheshvan?  Let me know!
    - Naomi

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    The Book of Life Podcast: Why be Social?

    Posted by Alx in JPS Books, Jewish Books, Jewish Innovation, Jewish Knowledge on August 20, 2009

    Heidi Estrin who produces the Book of Life Podcast has outdone herself. She has put together a four-part series of podcasts called Why be Social? that pretty much sums up Social Media.  The concept was born from a session given at the AJL convention in Chicago by Mark Blevis.  Below is the series in its entirety.  Enjoy!

    -Alx

    Why Be Social? Part 1, Philosophy

    SHOW NOTES:

    Why Be Social? To add a Jewish point of view to the social media landscape!

    At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2009 convention in Chicago this summer, podcaster Mark Blevis led a session on Social Media that opened the floodgates of people’s curiosity. Convention attendees wanted to learn more about social media: what it is, what it means to participate, and how to get started. As a continuation of that conversation, The Book of Life is offering a series of podcast episodes called “Why Be Social?”

    Part 1 in the Why Be Social series considers the philosophical aspects of technology in our lives. The wide-ranging conversation was held during breakfast at the Association of Jewish Libraries 2009 convention, the morning after the social media convention session.

    AUDIO:

    Click the play button on our traditional flash player to listen to the podcast now:

    Or click MP3 File to start your computer’s media player.

    EMBED:

    If you’d like to place this audio on your own web site, please use this stand-alone player from Entertonement. Click the embed button and copy the code!
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    VIDEO:

    This very funny video (in Norwegian! but with English subtitles) reminds us of how difficult an unfamiliar technology can seem at first, and how simple it can turn out to be. Thanks to Mark Blevis for the link – he showed this video as an ice-breaker during his social media session at the AJL convention.

    CREDITS:

    Produced by: Feldman Children’s Library at Congregation B’nai Israel
    Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries
    Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band
    Facebook fan page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast
    Twitter: @bookoflifepod

    Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com!

    Why Be Social? Part 2, Definitions

    SHOW NOTES:

    Why Be Social? To add a Jewish point of view to the social media landscape!

    At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2009 convention in Chicago this summer, podcaster Mark Blevis led a session on Social Media that opened the floodgates of people’s curiosity. Convention attendees wanted to learn more about social media: what it is, what it means to participate, and how to get started. As a continuation of that conversation, The Book of Life is offering a series of podcast episodes called “Why Be Social?” Click here for Part 1.

    This is Why Be Social, Part 2. The morning after the social media session at the convention, I conducted some quick “man on the street” interviews, asking people for their own definitions of blogging and podcasting. Every single person had a good answer!

    AUDIO:

    Click the play button on our traditional flash player to listen to the podcast now:

    Or click MP3 File to start your computer’s media player.

    EMBED:

    If you’d like to place this audio on your own web site, please use this stand-alone player from Entertonement. Click the embed button and copy the code!
    Blank

    VIDEO:

    Here are two videos from Common Craft that give additional definitions of blogging and podcasting: “Blogs in Plain English” and “Podcasting in Plain English.”


    CREDITS:

    Produced by: Feldman Children’s Library at Congregation B’nai Israel
    Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries
    Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band
    Facebook fan page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast
    Twitter: @bookoflifepod

    Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com!

    Why Be Social? Part 3, Suggestions

    SHOW NOTES:

    Why Be Social? To add a Jewish point of view to the social media landscape!

    At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2009 convention in Chicago this summer, podcaster Mark Blevis led a session on Social Media that opened the floodgates of people’s curiosity. Convention attendees wanted to learn more about social media: what it is, what it means to participate, and how to get started. As a continuation of that conversation, The Book of Life is offering a series of podcast episodes called “Why Be Social?” Here’s Part 1 and Part 2.

    This is Why Be Social, Part 3. I hope the earlier episodes in this series have gotten you interested checking out some real live blogs and podcasts. There are zillions of blog and podcast websites online, so where do you get started? Here with some suggestions of blogs and podcasts relating to Jewish literature is Alx Block, Online Sales and Marketing Manager for the Jewish Publication Society. Scroll down for links to those suggestions, and to a list of blogs and other social media sites that are read by, and sometimes created by, individual members of the Association of Jewish Libraries. Have fun checking them out!

    AUDIO:

    Click the play button on our traditional flash player to listen to the podcast now:

    Or click MP3 File to start your computer’s media player.

    EMBED:

    If you’d like to place this audio on your own web site, please use this stand-alone player from Entertonement. Click the embed button and copy the code!
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    Here are links to the blogs and podcasts we talk about in this episode (in order discussed):



    Social media recommendations by Association of Jewish Libraries members:

    Barbara Bibel says: I like Karen Schneider’s blog, “Free Range Librarian.” I also like the blogs that Booklist Online has. I contribute to one of them, “Points of Reference.”

    Ezra Chwat suggests: Giluy Milta B’’alma
    In this blog, we present primary publications, or announcements of new and interesting findings, in Hebrew manuscripts. Often, significant discoveries are not on the scale of a full-size periodical article, but are nonetheless worthy of knowing about. This department is also a good place to announce preliminary findings, in order to arouse discussion and input of fellow scholars, before the final and complete publication. Your short article, or announcement (subject to the discretion of the editors) will be posted on our blog and will be stored in the blogs retrievable archive, as well as in a hardcopy archive. The archive which will be stored in the stacks of the National Library of Israel, and each accepted post will be allotted a serial number for bibliographic citation (this post is numbered GMB0001). Post your discoveries, findings, and previews in a short article (3 printed pages or less), at giluy.milta@gmail.com.

    Marie Cloutier says: I blog about books (Jewish and non-) at www.bostonbibliophile.com. I also blog about crafts at crafthour.blogspot.com, for Temple Israel at tisraelbostonsummerinthecity.blogspot.com (say that 3x fast) and Hello Kitty collecting at hellokittyboston.blogspot.com. I’m active on Twitter (@bostonbibliophl), LibraryThing, Delicious and other applications. I used to listen to a lot of podcasts but have tapered that off substantially and now listen to Book of Life and Books on the Nightstand.

    Heidi Estrin (me): I host The Book of Life podcast and blog, and I helped AJL establish its blog and podcast. I also blog for AJL’s South Florida chapter at www.sfajl.org, and occassionally for the Sydney Taylor Book Award at sydneytaylorbookaward.blogspot.com.

    I love to listen to these great podcasts:


    And a few of the blogs that I read are:

    Val Morehouse says: My personal blog called HoopDance [poetry, books, podcasts, etc.] is at www.valmorehouse.com.

    Linda Silver is the force behind the Jewish Values Finder database at www.ajljewishvalues.org. She says: I read many political blogs, esp. those having to do with Israel. I read some book-related stuff, such as the (mostly trivial) newsletters from SLJ, Kirkus, and PW that appear among my email messages.

    Karen Ulric gave us two whole lists:

    Library Blogs
    • AssortedStuff
    • Gargoyles loose in the library
    • Google Librarian Central
    • Google Librarian Newsletter Google Group
    • Killin’ time being lazy
    • Librarians’ Internet Index: New This Week
    • Library Garden
    • Library of Congress Blog
    • Library of Congress: News
    • NPR Blogs: As A Matter Of Fact
    • People of the Books
    • The Shifted Librarian

    Literature Blogs
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Brooklyn Arden
    • educating alice
    • Hennepin County Library – Bookspace Blog
    • Judge a Book by its Cover
    • Muller In the Middle
    • NPR Topics: Books
    • Saints and Spinners
    • The Longstockings
    • Ypulse: Media for the Next Generation

    Jane Zande says: Besides The Book of Life and the AJL blog, I regularly read Marie Cloutier’s blog, The Boston Bibliophile. A part of her blog is just for Jewish books:
    http://www.bostonbibliophile.com/search/label/jewish%20interest.

    CREDITS:

    Produced by: Feldman Children’s Library at Congregation B’nai Israel
    Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries
    Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band
    Facebook fan page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast
    Twitter: @bookoflifepod

    Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com!

    Why Be Social? Part 4, Create-Consume-Contribute

    Why be social? To add a Jewish point of view to the social media landscape!

    At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2009 convention in Chicago this summer, podcaster Mark Blevis led a session on Social Media that opened the floodgates of people’s curiosity. Convention attendees wanted to learn more about social media: what it is, what it means to participate, and how to get started. As a continuation of that conversation, The Book of Life is offering a series of podcast episodes called “Why Be Social?” Here are the earlier segments: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

    This is Why Be Social, Part 4. In this episode, blogger and podcaster Mark Blevis, the one who started this entire conversation, joins Heidi to talk about what it means to participate in life online. Scroll down for links to Mark’s many online projects and for links to some non-Jewish social media sources I want you to know about (you’ll hear why on the show).

    AUDIO:

    Click the play button on our traditional flash player to listen to the podcast now:

    Or click MP3 File to start your computer’s media player.

    EMBED:

    If you’d like to place this audio on your own web site, please use this stand-alone player from Entertonement. Click the embed button and copy the code!
    Blank

    RELATED LINKS:

    Mark Blevis’s online projects:

    Non-Jewish social media sites worth your participation:

    CREDITS:

    Produced by: Feldman Children’s Library at Congregation B’nai Israel
    Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries
    Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band
    Facebook fan page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast
    Twitter: @bookoflifepod

    Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com!

    Why Be Social? The Whole Megillah

    Our “Why Be Social?” series was posted in four parts. Here, for your convenience, are all four episodes together in a single player.


    Get a playlist! Standalone player Get Ringtones!

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    Finis: A Jewish Literary Roundup

    Posted by Naomi in Jewish Innovation, Jewish Knowledge, Link Roundup on August 3, 2009

    One of the many hats I wear here at JPS is that of Official Internet Surfer.  (It’s a pretty cool hat actually – it’s got this wee little surfboard perched on top…  Ok.  Cue the tomato-throwing.)  In order to keep abreast of what’s happening in the Jewish book world, I keep a close eye on my Google Reader, do a regular scan of the Google Blog Search, and pay attention to the news shared by our many Twitter followers.  As a result, I regularly stumble across tons of interesting blog posts, websites, and articles.

    Well, I’ve decided it’s high time that I start sharing my findings with my gentle readers.  Every once in a while I’m going to do a mini-compilation of my interesting and relevant findings for that day.  So here it is, the catch of the day:

    up-roundup_lrg

    Source: http://mortgagemeltdown.typepad.com

    ● Marc Tracy of Tablet Magazine shares some original, awful Jewish poetry, as a tribute to MyJewishLearning’s Bad Jewish Poetry Contest.  “Shall I compare thee to a matzah ball?”  Oy vey.

    ● At Mixed Multitudes, Tamar Fox looks back at a full year of mourning and saying kaddish for her mother.  She’s been blogging about the experience this entire year – after reading this post, I think I’m going to go back and read her thoughts from the very beginning.  A tremendously moving meditation on an age-old Jewish tradition.

    ● At eJewishPhilanthropy, Joshua Avedon discusses the “innovation pipeline” for new Jewish nonprofit organizations.  His Google Chrome analogy is helpful to those relatively unfamiliar with the world of Jewish innovation and social entrepreneurship.

    ● According to Beattie’s Book Blog, Merlin Digital has just launched the slimmest e-book device in the market.  Is this development good or bad for the book world?  It all depends on how you look at it, I suppose.

    Happy surfing!
    -Naomi

    3 Comments

    Jewish Book Search!

    Posted by Alx in JPS Books, Jewish Books, Jewish Innovation, Jewish Knowledge on August 3, 2009

    Finally, people interested in searching for Jewish Book content have a place to go!

    So here on the JPS blog, we try to make sure that our posts are about the Jewish Book World at large, and not just our own titles.  Each time we search on the topic to try to come up with posts it just seems that we are weeding through tons and tons of pages that are not relevant at all to the world that we are so excited about.

    Well.  We decided to do something about it.

    We have put together a list of the highest quality websites with Jewish Book content. This search engine queries those sites and those alone. This will allow you to be sure that your search will only be related to Jewish Books. No more sifting through tons of content for what you are looking for. Search for any and all Jewish Books, articles about Jewish Books, blogs about Jewish Books, and anything about the Jewish Book world. Search by title, author, keyword, or area of interest!

    The Jewish Book Search has been born!

    Jewish Book Search

    We would love to add your Jewish Book related site into the search engine. Just shoot me an email at  jewishbook@jewishpub.org letting me know that you have added a link to the Jewish Book Search and we will see if your site is a good fit. To ensure the quality of the search, not all sites can be added.

    You can even add this search to your site!

    Just copy and paste this code where you want it to display:



    -Alx

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    Mmmm…Chocolate Books…

    Posted by Julia in Jewish Books, Jewish Innovation, Publishing on July 31, 2009

    Source: http://farm4.static.flickr.com

    So, I’m sure everyone would guess that reading is a pretty relaxing activity. That is, I suppose, unless you’re really into the Twilight saga or scary Stephen King novels, or if you like to read on your roof…

    But a new study by Mindlab International at the University of Sussex seems to confirm that reading is the best, fastest way to calm frazzled nerves. The study, whose findings were published in an article in the UK version of Marie Claire, showed that just six minutes of reading could reduce stress by 68%. Many doctors believe this is because concentrating on a book places emphasis on the brain, taking the burden off of the muscles and the heart.

    But the kicker is who sponsored the study: Galaxy Chocolate, a division of Mars, Inc., which is also best-known for its chocolate products. So what could possibly motivate a chocolate company to go shilling for books?

    Galaxy is in the midst of their Irresistable Reads promotion, where they’re looking to give away 1 million books to customers who visit their website. In fact, the company already sponsors a book club, claiming that there’s no better way to pass the time than curling up with a good book, and of course, a bar of their chocolate.

    Though I’d get a little worried that the combination of a relaxing read and decadent chocolate might lull me into a coma, as a staffer at JPS and a chocolate lover, I heartily approve of this campaign. Though I’m wondering if Galaxy gives out Hanukkah gelt…

    -Julia

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    1 Comment

    The Jewish Non-Profit Guide to Social Media Marketing

    Posted by Alx in Jewish Books, Jewish Innovation, Jewish Knowledge on July 2, 2009

    socialmediabandwagon

    Source: http://neilojwilliams.net

    What a world and oy vey!  There is so much  digital swirl swooshing around your head every nano-second and you don’t have a clue how to even begin Social Media Marketing for your teeny tiny Jewish non-profit.

    Well.  We’re here to help.

    In the past few months, JPS has moved to the next level with this stuff.  Our blog is booming- we have over 1,000 fans on Facebook and over 1,200 followers on Twitter.  These media have become three of the top ten referrers of web traffic to our regular website, and our hits have nearly doubled.  We’re branding ourselves in a digital world, and I have to say, it’s pretty exciting for a 120 year old Jewish non-profit!

    It can seem a bit overwhelming at first, but with a little bit of time you will be writing your own how-to tutorials!

    Why Social Media Marketing?

    Let’s face it:  Most people live their lives online nowadays.  They are there to connect, be social, find information, make purchases, and even order dinner.  People are integrating their personal lives more and more with their internet lives by communicating only through Facebook and Twitter and saving on cell phone minutes.  So why not join them?

    The truth is that people don’t go online to be marketed to.  People go online to achieve something.

    So here is rule number one.  Don’t market.  Again.  I’ll repeat rule number one.  Don’t market.

    online_business_networking_groups

    Source: http://i.ehow.com

    This is about meeting people where they are.  This is about adding value to the internet and providing a resource for people on their own terms.  It is not about the hard sell.  You’ll just turn people away.

    Great!  I get it!  Now how do I do it?

    There are a bagillion web tools that people use daily.  Yes,  a new one pops up every time you get used to the last one.  Yes, it’s hard to keep up with them all.  But wait!  You’re not alone.  As a marketer, you are ahead of the curve.  Your eyes are open wider than the general public’s.  Their world is moving just as fast as yours, so take a deep breath.  You can do this.

    Here are some best practices for some of the big guns in the world of Web 2.0.

    Facebook:

    •  Create both a Fan Page and a Cause for your non-profit.  (A Fan Page must be connected to a personal profile, so be sure that you have one set up before you dive in.  You’ll be glad you did.)

    •  Join groups of similar interest to your organization.

    •  Use your page to update fans about things relating to your world, but not necessarily your own work.  For example, we post links to Jewish history sites for added value.

    •  Pull your blog posts into “Notes.” (More on blogging later.)  Facebook offers some nifty ways to integrate your media and walks you through all of it.

    •  Be current.  People judge pages based on how often you update.  You can always set your Twitter feed to pull in automatically and update your status for you. (Yup.  More on Twitter later.)

    •  Be colorful.  The web is becoming increasingly about aesthetics.  You want the quality of your logo to be good.  Upload images as frequently as possible.  Better yet, add videos to your page.

    Twitter:

    •  Twitter is about conversation.  So.  Have some.

    •  You can speak directly to people by using the @ symbol and their username.  So you should absolutely tell @jewishpub that you read this post and like it.

    •  Use hash tags (#) to talk about a specific subject or event.  When I attended the AAUP conference I would tweet:

      twitter

    •  Don’t be afraid to hold Twitter-only contests.  This is about getting people involved.  For example, every Wednesday at 1:30 we give a free book away to anyone who can answer a trivia question based on something from our blog or website.

    Blog:

    •  You can use a free blogging program like Wordpress or Blogger to set up your blog in just a few clicks.  (I’m partial to Wordpress since you can install it on your own hosting and keep your own URL.)

    •  This is where you really get to add value to what you do.  Since you work so hard for the greater good, you might as well talk about the greater good!

    •  Be yourself.  People need to know that a person is writing and not an organization.  If you’re smart enough to know the difference, so are your readers.

    •  It’s O.K. to plug your own work on your own blog, but the blog shouldn’t JUST be about that.  If you work for a Jewish immigration organization, your topics could span from conditions in a certain country to the naturalization process.

    •  Pretty, pretty, pretty.  Pictures, videos, links, colors, and fonts.  You don’t have to make people love the look of your site; just don’t turn them away.  Remember that simplicity is also good.  Google won out over Yahoo! because Google was simple and Yahoo! was hectic.

    •  Promote the pants off of your blog (In three weeks, our blog has become the number one referrer of web traffic to our main website).

    Ok!  I’m on Facebook, Twitter, and have a Blog!  Now what!?

    NetworkingRemember that these things must work together in order to be able to work at all.  You can tweet about your Blog post and send updates to your Facebook fans.  You can set your Twitter account to update your Status on Facebook.  You can link to all of your “spaces” right from your Blog.  (Hey.  It’s called a WEB for a reason, right?)

    You have to keep up with it.  The hardest part in all of this is staff time.  I know that we all work hard, and none of us has a free moment in our busy Jewish non-profit world, but it must be done.  Have a staffer tweet three times a day and write two blog posts a week.  It will take less time than you think after the ball is rolling.  Promise.

    Once this is all set up and moving, you will start to see the results in just a few months.  People will trust you more since you have met them on their level.  You will become an expert in your field, because your sites will come up when Googled.  People will begin to interact, and you will start to feel like you have made great strides in managing this digital swirl that is swooshing around your heads.

    -Alx

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