This blog's story: big message
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| International windsurfing competition in Tel Aviv, one of the small signs of Israel's progress. Windsurf competitors were surprised to discover a modern vibrant city adjacent to the small Tel Aviv marina. / © 2009 / |
The blog started out with a bit of frustration. A friend was speaking with me about the gap between Israel's image in international media (BBC, CNN, Fox, NBC) and the reality of living in Tel Aviv. I had no idea how little people knew about modern Israel. I also had no idea how surprised people are when they are actually here. People come to Israel with what they know, if they watch US network news they still think of Israel's image of the 1970s with the terrorist wars against Yassir Arafat's Fatah and the daily suicide bombing in Tel Aviv night clubs.
While starting the blog, my work also got into this project. As a technology marketing freelancer, I started using the blog to test out different communication techniques. In more ways than is seen, this blog is an example of my work. There are writing and photograph techniques as well as ways to promote the blog using my Linked-In, Facebook and Twitter accounts. It has been a useful experience to write a blog over a long time and to use all the available tools to experiment with message promotion. At the end of the day, I essential promote Tel Aviv. Initially it seemed like a simple idea, after four years, I realize that this is neither simple nor common. It certainly has many parallels in the marketing and promotion of technical products and services.
Back to the image of Israel in the mainstream media. Real life today in Tel Aviv is completely different than just the political and security stories which fill the international news channels. Israel has become more calm and orderly place. It is also much wealthier and more modern than most people's impression. Tel Aviv is as cosmopolitan as most European cities. It has more to offer than most average American cities. Israel has become "a best kept secret" of sorts. This is the good news.
The bad news is that mainstream international media outlets are still getting lots of benefit from portraying Israel as an angry violent international menace. Israeli prime ministers are compared to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the way Itzhak Rabin was compared o Yasser Arafat. Tel Aviv, Haifa and their surrounding towns, modern and vibrant, are still thought off as Jerusalem (which is where most of Israel's tourists head to first.) International media still gets to report juicy stories about the violence between Jews and Arabs. The story of the Palestinian refugees is a great "no news day" filler. And Israeli politicians draw fire at every small incident. Some prescribe to the idea of any news is good to keep the name of Israel in the back of people's mind. But I don't.
Economically, politically and socially Israel is the one of a few modern states success stories. From the ashes of World War II and the collapse of colonialism, Israel is the one of few countries which developed into a modern state. From the tens of countries which gained freedom in Africa and Asia, Israel is one of a few real miracles. See George Gilder's book: The Israel Test
With progress and development come all the other issues of a modern state. Israeli society has it's own versions of crime, discrimination, economic inequality and government corruption. This was anticipated at the declaration of the state. The first prime minister David Ben-Gurion is roumored to has said: "when we arrest the first Israeli prostitute and sentence her to jail time, that's the sign that we have a true state of our own". After 2,000 years of the Jews being "guests" at other people's states, after centuries of being polite and proper, Jews could be "normal". That's all that they wanted in 1948. What turned out was more than normal, most will agree with EXCEPTIONAL!
This blog is an example of my work. The writing and photography are my own. Using the free Blogger platform, I focused on content and promotion. The content is focused on Tel Aviv with articles on business, lifestyle and opinion. The connections are to blogs and social media sites (Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In.) If you need deep content to promote or support a product, please contact me for more infomation. [e-Mail here]