I originally wrote this post for NewsGeek.co.il

This is the day before the conference – the Hackathon and CxO conference are today, and the main conference (for non-geeks and non-CMOs) are tomorrow. Shai Wolkomir helped me sneak in to the Hackathon. (Thank you Shai!)

The morning of the hackathon started with a networking session, according to the schedule. The video above shows European-style programmer networking. They don’t. Everyone is either talking to their friends or looking at their computers. Guys, if you want to create an ecosystem, you need to have dialog. With each other. I talked with Stephane Crozatier, Partner Engineering Europe at Facebook, and we discussed the differences between Israel and Europe – and why Israel produces so many more software startups. We agreed that it was the ecosystem and the people. The video is a great example of the differences. Networking in Israel is NETWORKING. I realize that networking isn’t a core competence of many geeks, but it’s a skill that should be fostered and encouraged. (I will say that the products produced from the hackathon were all sorts of awesome.)

The day started with only coke, beer, and red bull in the fridge. Dutch hackers apparently don’t believe in water. The funny bit of that was when I spoke to a few of the sponsors who were visiting from California (my original homeland) they were complaining about no water at the Hackathon. To TNW’s credit, by mid-morning we had a cooler of water as well. For the 6 Californians

Now the tech – I spoke with 3 companies at the hackathon, ranging from the massive start-up to the insanely huge enterprise. I did tweet an offer to cover any small start-ups that approached me. No one inside the hackathon answered. One did answer me on Twitter – we chatted during the conference, but never ended up with an interview.

Yandex

Yandex is Russia’s number one search portal. They also have the number one online comparison shopping tool in Russia and a bunch of other number ones for Russian speaking countries. I met with Ilya Segalovich, CTO and Ksenia Yolkina, International Business Development.
Why should non-Russian tech care about Yandex? Two reasons:

1. They invest in companies. Recently Yandex invested in GBooking.com. They are also one of the funds behind Face.com.
2. They have an API where Israeli companies can launch products for the Russian market (yes, there’s a Russian market. A market that has money, spends money, and isn’t located in the US.)

Those are two pretty good reasons. And since many start-up companies have at least one Russian developer on the team – here’s the URL: http://api.yandex.ru (http://api.yandex.com is the API in English – but it doesn’t have as much as the Russian API).

TokBox

TokBox is a video API for companies to put the functionality of a Google+ Hangout into their platform. Why should start-ups be interested? Well, one hot Israeli startup is building TokBox into their platform now. And American Idol, Universal, Diet Coke, EBuddy, and Slideshare already use the platform. Plus Jonathan Mumm, the Developer Evangelist, is all sorts of awesome.

Joyent

Joyent is no-latency cloud hosting. Total control and transparency for your app and web hosting. Games are its hot spot, but they are also all about platforms as a service. Why should companies care? Smart, efficient, fast, and cost-effective hosting.

I’m an avid pinner and a trend I noticed is to make your blog post image so attractive it’s “pin-able”. I know refer to said graphics as “pin-ables”. And YES, this very blog post image is a “pin-able”! I like to think I coined that term, though I’m sure many others will come up this on their own and I’ll never receive recognition ad the “inventor”.

So fire up Photoshop or similar and take extra time to create ONE image that combines a visual summary and accompanying text of what one can expect to learn to really capitalize on the Pinterest re-pin frenzy!

Here are some great examples I’ve seen (and yeah you might want to get that pin bookmarklet or Chrome web app ready!):

from Six Revisions

from Spark Sheet

from Saved by Love Creations

by Homedit

from Independent Fashion Bloggers

Europeans hackers need to start talking to each other.

I spent the day at The Next Web hackathon. It was a room filled with hackers either talking to their friends or looking at their computers. The start of the day stated “networking” on the agenda.

I met almost no one. Which, if you know me, isn’t the way I work. At all. I approached the Americans first – Californians, specifically, and was extremely happy to be among the people from the land I grew up in. The conversation was easy and that went off without a hitch.

And that was it. I tried talking to a few Europeans, but I couldn’t get a connection.

I’m nice. I smile. I’m short, which is extremely nonthreatening.

Nothing.

I even took a video of the networking session at the beginning of the day (to be shown on NewsGeek later) which shows no one actually chatting. People were sitting there working on their computers. Some were talking to their friends. Only the foreigners were talking to someone new.

If you want to grow an ecosystem – you need to talk. To each other. A lot. Silicon Valley knows this and has tons of networking events and multiple accelerators with mentor systems. Israel has sorted this out – every week a new networking event or accelerator is created. And networking in Israel is networking. Jeff Pulver has commented that his event breakfasts in Israel are the largest ones he hosts in the world. No one is on their computer unless they are showing something off to everyone and anyone within earshot. We’re all there to network – as in talk.

Now I know what the argument is here – I was only in Amsterdam for a day, it’s a bunch of geeks, I shouldn’t make such a wide generalization. Yes, ok, all valid points – but I was talking to a few of the Californians (I don’t want to name names) who spend time all over Europe and Israel and this was the discussion among us. So consider this an intervention. Europe, you have a problem.

Fortunately – I have a proposed solution (what’s the point of stating a problem if you don’t have a suggested solution, really?)

Make the people talk. To each other. As in – get up in front of the room and make the people at the tables introduce themselves to others at the table. Have a warm up networking session at the beginning of the hackathon. Force random people to get up and meet others. At TechAviv Yaron Samid makes the audience shake hands with the people sitting behind them. New people who are different than you bring new ideas and a new perspective. An audience of developers sitting at their computers working may get things done – but they won’t disrupt much. Yella Europe. Let’s start talking.

[Post publication note: Spoke to Patrick last night & gave him my opinion. He pointed out that most of the time conversations are facilitated via  the wiki. Hence my new suggestion is to change the opening from "Networking" to "Settling In". If there isn't an issue with the customer, change the expectations in the verbiage.]

Going to a big conference or trade show can be intimidating even for the most “social” of us. I will be attending The Next Web 2012 at the end of the month, as a first time attendee, so it’s time to brush up on my networking skills and search for great new tools and tips.  Are you a master at networking?  Please share your experiences with us.

Am I going to be standing alone nursing my glass of wine at TNW2012 (The Next Web)?

No! I will be working the room, networking.

 “Do your homework. Use social media tools (Bizzabo, LinkedIn, Twitter) before approaching. Learn what or who you have in common.” Alon Alroy, Co-Founder & VP Biz Dev Bizzabo 

Networking Tips

Who would you like to meet at the event?

1. Each event publishes a speakers list and/or a participant (company) list, go through it and find those who you would like to meet with.  Search for them on Twitter, follow them and put them into a list (I have a list for TNW2012).  Listen to them, read their language, engage with them, get to know them.  Once you have connected – tweet “I will be at TNW too – see you there!”
2. Take that same list and search for them on LinkedIn. Check if you have any mutual contacts, if you do, ask for an intro through LinkedIn.  (It works.)
3. While at the conference, don’t hang around all the time with the people you know! Get out there, force yourself to socialize. If somebody asks you what you do, make sure you have a good short info-packed answer ready. Let’s call it your personal elevator pitch. Even if you have a product, “pitch” yourself first. If the conversation continues, talk about your product later.  (If you are wearing your brand or product on your T-shirt, they will ask you about it much faster, so be sure to wear your brand!) Remember to ask them questions – don’t let it be only about you.
4. Know when to move on.  Don’t wait for the conversation to become strained to the point that you’re searching for words. Just exchange cards, say “see you later at the party,” and move on to your next target.
5. Body language. When you are speaking to someone, be confident (but not over-confident), don’t fold your hands in front of you, remember eye-contact, and smile. People like happy people.
6. Added bonus:
   1. Use the conference hashtag when tweeting from the conference. Create a stream in your twitter app with the conference # – you will find out where people are hanging out “live.”
   2. Use the explore button on FourSquare to find out where the action is.
   3. Go go go!

“Have a good ‘one liner.’ Most people don’t have a lot of time to develop long conversations inside a conference. The more senior they are, the less time they have. Therefore, your target should be getting their business card with the information you need in order to be in touch with them after the conference. If you managed to tease them with your one liner you are in better position for the follow up.”  Yoav Degani , Co-Founder, CMO, TeeMeW Ltd.

Networking Tools and Apps

1. Card Scanners: Go back to your room and scan all of your business cards from that day.  Don’t wait! If you do, you will forget the details. There are a few great apps for this. CardMunch takes a picture of a business card and then converts it into a contact automatically. This app will also show you LinkedIn profile information – handy!
2. TeeMeW – is a location based mobile application that helps professionals around the world find and interact with each other based on their shared information, needs and proximity. TeeMeW helps professionals generate new leads and build meaningful business relationships they cannot afford to miss. That makes TeeMeW a fantastic networking tool to use at events, restaurants, conferences, airports, bars, or anywhere else. TeeMeW’s real-time, location-based mobile app turns every place you go into a “business playground” where everyone can at last seize an arising opportunity.
3. Bizzabo – Bizzabo helps professionals discover new business opportunities at conferences and events.
4. Foursquare – find out where people are checking in and go there.
5. Bump: Have your ‘card’ ready (fill in all of the information you think a new contact should have) get your Bluetooth on, and ‘Bump’ your deets to the people you meet.

Do you have a favorite conference app or tool?  How do you work the room?  Please share with us.

April Fools’ Day, a day of pranks and merriment dating back hundreds of years, is upon us once again. As we all examine our text messages and Facebook statuses for signs of jokes many people will click onto their favorite websites to find stories that will confuse and hopefully give them a good laugh. The tech world has been celebrating April Fool’s Day for many years with glee and this year appears to be no exception. Google, YouTube, Mashable, Reddit and all your favorite sites have all gotten in on the spirit of the day.

Google, the undisputed kings of April Fool’s pranks, is apparently releasing Google Maps in 8-bit:

And the Gmail team are bringing back old Morse code to the modern smartphone:

Many tech websites get in on the fun because it is a fantastic way to connect with their user base and share a chuckle with them.

One of the greatest problems that companies (both large and small) face is that their customers often feel disconnected from them. The advantage of having a tasteful April Fools joke is that it helps break down many of the barriers between client and business. Try to come up with original and funny April Fools Day pranks….your customers may love you for it.