Well-know Israeli blogger  Miriam Schwab was among the myriad people who have had trouble getting authenticated to post comments on my blog (sorry), so I am posting this note for her re my interview with Ayelet Noth:

"I'm sure Ayelet didn't quite mean what it sounds like she said, but in any case I would like to point out that women can have kids and be very entrepreneurial. In fact, giving birth can (strangely) act as a catalyst for making sweeping and exciting changes in one's professional life.

I got married really young, and had a bunch of kids by the time I was 25/26. Not only did I not quit and park myself in my kitchen, each kid pushed me to make changes in my career. I had three kids while in university. After the third was born I decided to get my first real job. The next one led me to quit and start my own biz. The next led me to discover and explore the world of blogging and social media, and turn my business into a social media marketing service provider.

There is enough of a stigma in the workforce against women with kids, so we women should watch our words and make sure that it is very clear that we can have kids and careers. Actually, the fact that we have personal lives, I think, contributes to our value at work. We don't mess around (too much), and are very efficient and focused.

As someone once said to me: "if you ever need something done, ask a busy person." Women with kids are busy, and we'll get things done. "

So Web 2.0 is over, and now it's on to the next thing. For me, I didn't engage with Web 2.0 the way I meant to--it came right on the heels of coming back from Israel, there were lots of other business decisions about work and focus happening, some talk about moving (yep, I am heading for the East Bay later this summer), and whatever other time synchs distracted me,

Having said that, we had a kick ass panel on How to Create Successful Unconferences, BarCamps, & Meetups for Almost No $$, aka why not have an all women panel to help OReilly achieve the balance they so often (sadly) fail to achieve?

Topic was how unconferences, barcamps, and other grass roots conference structures have become powerful tools to develop community; virally market standards, tools, and ideas; and launch new companies and networks.Focus of the discussionwas be how conferences that are organized--or at least, begin, on an ad hoc basis as unconferences and barcamps--can actually generate powerful momentum in pushing forward standards, networks, and community. We went i to best practices, strategies for success, marketing tips, insider knowledge, and tales from the trenches with the amazing panelists:

• Tara Hunt, co-founder of BarCamp and lead organizer for BarCampBlock
• Elisa Camahort, co-founder of Blogher and lead for its conference series:
• Kaliya Hamlin, cofounder of She's Geeky, an unconference for women who identify as geeks

Sides are on slideshare, go get em and see what you missed (though we were so much better than these slides.)

I've gotten a number of informative emails from women bloggers and entrepreneurs in Israel who have point they want to make around the interview I did with Ayelet Noff last week. The red flag comment was--as I thought it  might be--was the following bit:

"Are there many women who do what you do?
No, not really.  For one thing, in Israel, many people marry and have babies by the time they are 25 or 26, so not everyone wants to be as entrepreneurial as me. Also, not everyone has the perspective I have; I'm Israeli, but I've lived around the world and am able to see different cultural and international points of view, particularly the American market; that and my fluency in English set me somewhat apart."

Since Moveable Type seems to have a hard time letting people register to comment(yes, I am addressing that), I want to post some of the feedback here--if you have comments and you have trouble posting, please reach out and I will post here.

One of the Israeli women who reached to me--and there seem to be many who feel Ayelet's point of view, while her own, didn't reflect their perspectives on women and tech in Israel, was
Or-Tal Kiriati, of www.lemino.com, who said

If Ayelet Noff were to be played by a Hollywood star in the movie version of the Israeli web scene, the actress would have to be either Scarlett Johansson or Uma Thurman.  Ayelet's blend of authentic charm, warmth, web savviness and marketing smarts is so high-wattage only an Oscar winner could do her justice.

A former New Yorker, Ayelet is one of those bi-cultural Israelis who grew up in the US and then moved back.  Fluent in English and seemingly effortlessly bi-cultural, Ayelet offers a much need broad perspective to the high-tech start-ups that seek her counsel--she offers advice on product development, marketing, partnerships and brand positioning; my sense is she often provides a valuable and more savvy focus to Israeli teams wanting to reach a global market.  In addition, Ayelet is a born connector; she truly knows everybody and relishes introducing people to one another; the dinners, meet-ups, coffees and conversations she helped created for the Travelling Geeks crowd on this last Israel trip were wonderful.
During The Marker's COM. Vention; Israel's equivalent of Web 2.0 Expo, I sat down with Ayelet and asked lots of questions. Here, some of the answers:

When did you start your blog, Blonde 2.0?  What made you dive in with it?
"My background is in marketing. I worked for TBWA Chiat/Day in New York for a while, then came home to Israel and worked at ICQ and with some start-ups. 18 months ago I started Blonde 2.0--there was a need for a marketing business that could explain Web  2.0 tools and help them use and integrate them in the Israeli market; the name was just a way to brand myself.

Are there many women who do what you do?
No, not really.  For one thing, in Israel, many people marry and have babies by the time they are 25 or 26, so not everyone wants to be as entrepreneurial as me. Also, not everyone has the perspective I have; I'm Israeli, but I've lived around the world and am able to see different cultural and international points of view, particularly the American market; that and my fluency in English set me somewhat apart.

How do you get business?
Well, I'm pretty visible, between my work and my blog/brand. Clients often come to me, either through word of mouth, or via my social networks.  Often, they're at an early stage where they need a web site and lots of positioning, or they're farther along and they need to really focus on the marketing.

What are the rules you try to run your business by?

• Always remember people who have helped you; be helpful in return. Build a good support network
• Do a good job -there is no replacement for that!
• Work with really smart people; use the best
• Don't use your personal social network to promote stuff; you'll burn people out.
• Never speak badly of anyone.
• Work with companies whose products you'd use yourself and that you believe it.
• Write about clients  in your blog, but discreetly--don't over promote

For me, meeting Ayelet was great because she's someone, perhaps like Deb Schultz in the Bay area, who can bridge Israeli tech culture and the US Web 2.0 scene. Smart and motivated, Ayelet is both a pivotal part of the Israeli scene and an interesting contributor.

Excerpt from blonde 2.0:
"...bloggers today have a dramatic effect on the outcome of startups. Bloggers are the opinion leaders of today. I would be more inclined to try a service or product if a specific blogger that I admire recommended it as opposed to a journalist. But we're not only talking quality. We're also talking quantity. 120,000 blogs are opened each day and startups can receive a great deal more coverage through blogs than through traditional media. In addition, there are niche bloggers that write about specific topics and turning to those bloggers will of course get you much more targeted exposure for your service/product."

Links:
Blonde 2.0 blog
FaceBook
twitter

Somehow, I managed to not actually see the She's Geeky videos from October 2007 until today--and they are powerful. If you care at all about women and tech, geeky women, dreaming in code, etc, play this video--it is great.

Bonus link: Interview with Miz Kaliya.