PT10: The Digital Issue is live on Google Wave! Read the articles, insert your own comments, and join the conversation.

Can't see the wave below? Click here to go directly to Google Wave.

INSERT WAVE HERE

PT10: The Digital Issue is about to launch next week -- making it the first-ever magazine issue produced and released on Google Wave! Get ready to be a part of digital history by Waving into the conversation (and if you don't have Wave, let us know in the comments so we can get you an invite to participate!).

Over the past four years, PresenTense has been growing by leaps and bounds, from an all-volunteer magazine to a international organization with three fellowship programs, ten (almost eleven!) published magazines, a Jerusalem hub, dozens of events across the US, Canada, and Israel, hundreds of volunteers, and thousands of community members.

Over time, we've added new services as needed, often picking the easiest and cheapest (i.e. free) program. But now, between Gmail, Google Docs, Wufoo, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Blip, Livestream, a Salesforce account with Vertical Response, and six different websites so far (check out our very first one), we've racked up quite an array of information.

Right now, we're working to upgrade our own operating system and better organize and position PT for its next period of growth. Thanks to the Salesforce Foundation, we have a free Enterprise account that we've been using somewhat minimally for a couple of years. We're just now getting around to maximizing its powerful capabilities and setting it up to work for us. I've been working with NPTech, a new Israeli company that helps nonprofits integrate technological solutions in their organizations, to untangle processes and figure out just how we want to track all the data we need to collect - which is a lot harder than I thought it would be. On the user end, you rarely think about the amount of time and energy that goes into setting up an easy to use, intuitive way of collecting information that can then be accessible right at your fingertips, whenever you need it.

As onerous as the task sounds, I've surprisingly enjoyed delving into the history and structure of PT. It's an opportunity to review PT as a whole, past, present, and future - to examine where we've been, account for where we're at, and envision where we're going. The foundation needs to be solid enough to organize all our current information, and also accommodate future expansion - even when we're not entirely sure what that will include several years down the road.

Right now I'm in the design phase, which we expect to take another few weeks. Once we get the design right, then we'll set it all up and fix any bugs, and open it up to staff. I plan to include more updates on how Salesforce is going - so stay tuned!

Congrats to Bradley Cohen on the very first Be a Kli retreat! It's a 10 day program for Israelis backpacking in India, combining community service in rural Indian communities with Eastern meditation and Jewish spirituality. Indian communities benefit from volunteers who tutor children in English, help build a community garden, and improve the village, and the Israelis learn about service, Eastern culture, and Jewish values, help a community in need, and improve Israel's image too. Quite a lot for a 10 day program!

Wondering what it's all about? Check out his YouTube video below:

central wave that will have instructions
want people to reply and comment on the articles rather than edit them directly. editors will watch and revert any edits to the articles that are made. we are hoping people will follow instructions and just add comments and not edit.

Plan is to launch on the 22nd. Give it a week on wave where people comment and discuss. On March 1 we can have it go onto the website. Original version will go on the website. 

Central story is how we put this issue together on Wave. We can run that on the website on the 22nd.

Deb is doing editorial as a video - will also create instructions about wave.

Can leverage Buzz for the Wave

also a way to gchat you when your wave is edited - woiuld be great ot get all authors on wave, and then they can follow their comments.

Are you a Rabbinical student? Jewish educator? Jewish social entrepreneur/activist?

Are you interested in hearing a variety of viewpoints on the conflict in an open and non-judgmental setting?

Do you want to go beyond theory and op-eds and get to the human dimensions of the conflict?

Click here to submit an online application

Personalize the people and faces of the conflict beyond the headlines

Experience firsthand elements of the conflict by leaving the classroom

Explore the relevancy of Jewish values, ethics and morals surrounding the conflict from multiple perspectives

Challenge and form your own perspectives about the conflict through exposure to differing views

Click here to see a sample itinerary

When: Thursday – Friday March 4-5, 2010 (orientation on Thursday evening February 25, debriefing Monday evening March 8)

Cost: 200 NIS including food and overnight accommodations

Application deadline: Midnight Sunday-Monday, February 21

For questions please contact Chaim Landau, 054-753-9943

www.perspectivesisrael.org