VIVA PRESS

Going back to school last year, I knew it would impact my whole family. Sure, this was my choice, but I knew that the whole family would be part of this new opportunity. Throughout the year, I shared with them fun stories about class topics (UX, HCI research, cognitive psychology, coding, fabrication and more). The kids were my test audience for presentations, my co-brainstormers for assignments, user researchers for my classmates’ work, and pre-pilot participants for a lab r

Tourists are trickling back into Israel! And that means face-to-face meetings with incoming tour groups is back on the table. I can't wait to share the innovation stories of how Israeli companies confronted Covid-19 head on and came out stronger than before. During the lockdowns, I gave Zoom talks about the local culture of innovation and shared stories of how blue-and-white entrepreneurs pivoted, adapted, and adopted their technologies to create new solutions in a myriad of

I get unsolicited emails all the time. One of my roles in the workspace is that of a freelance journalist. So, it makes sense that I would get unexpected and unsolicited emails from public relations firms or marketers or companies or elsewhere. When the email is addressed in general – Hi all, Hey, Greetings -- the likelihood of me responding is zero. Using my name – or her name or his name – should be obvious. “Without a nice greeting … at the beginning of your email, more ti

We teach our daughter that she can be whoever she wants to be. We teach our sons the same. That their sister can be whoever she wants to be. If she wants to be amazing at math. She’ll have to work hard. But math is for girls just as it is for boys. If she wants to be a kick-ass volleyball player. She’ll have to work hard. But volleyball is for girls just as it is for boys. If she wants to be a professor. Or a doctor. Or a sports trainer. Or an artist. Or a journalist. Or a CE

Over 50% of people with bipolar disorder are initially misdiagnosed. Over 50%! For some of them, it will take 10 years until they get the right treatment. And until then, this disorder will create havoc in their lives. It causes extreme mood swings, intense changes in energy levels, emotional highs, mania, hypomania, emotional lows, and depression. Here’s the thing … this neurobiological brain disorder is treatable. Yet, the only way to diagnose bipolar disorder is through su

Can you say, “I don’t know”? Say it out loud. I say it all the time. For me, “I don’t know” means “I have to find out.” If I don’t know something, I will set out to learn it. But for my kids, saying, “I don’t know” can be scary. Does it communicate failure if you don’t know? It is easier to play along like you do know. Until a certain point. This question – Can you say, "I don’t know?" – is one of the key points in the educational talk I give on failure. A new talk for 2021 k

Data from a local delivery service on what Israelis order makes for a fun read. Every month, over 96,000 pounds of ice cream (43,545 kilos) are delivered to Israeli dessert-oholics via Wolt couriers, according to an article about Wolt Israel in the Hebrew daily, Yediot. Pre-Covid-19, Israelis were ranked seventh in the world for ice cream consumption – eating about 10 liters of ice cream a year. But that number seems to have skyrocketed during lockdowns. The Wolt courier serv

I’m a freelancer. In different vocations. I love to be able to do this and this, too. I don’t do different tasks simultaneously. I do have varying projects on the go at once. For me, it is far more interesting to use all my skills. Twice a week, I work as an assistant researcher in the human-computer interaction field. I read copious amounts of scholarly texts, seek out keywords, look for interesting abstracts and summarize then present the “best of” to my team. On other days

Joe Smith in Kansas City is always my guy. He is my go-to audience whenever I’m writing about a new innovation or technology. He is always on my mind. Of course, Joe Smith isn’t one person. He is a readership of everyone I hope will learn something new about the topic I happen to be covering. And it was Joe Smith who I brought with me to a recent class on how to cover innovation news. I have been writing about Israeli innovation, specifically, for over a decade. I give talks

Corona tax has entered the Israeli lexicon. What is it? It is a fee that establishments charge to do what they should be doing anyway: cleaning their premises properly. It is named for the coronavirus – which, in Israel, is referred to without the “virus” bit and just called ‘corona.’ The tax is not ubiquitous. It depends. On the establishment. I found it recently when I went to a body-and-soul wellness center for a foot massage and paid with a gift certificate. “There’s an a

Within minutes of exchanging their classroom for a computer screen, and Zoom specifically, my three kids figured out how to manipulate the software, draw on the teacher’s whiteboard, unmute themselves and change virtual backgrounds. As kids everywhere have successfully done. But the way in which my kids react to the technology varies greatly. My two middle school kids learned how to navigate the software-based conference room solution speedily and aptly. They are way ahead of

Mathematically gifted students are able to use logic and deductive thinking. Thinking in a different way must always be accepted.

For my birthday, I hosted a surprise party. I chose the date. I chose the hour. I asked my friends and family to surprise me. It was the best birthday surprise ever. Who hosts their own surprise party, you may ask. Well, it depends how you define 'surprise.' Creativity flowed. Laughs were plentiful. And it took place during a Covid-19 lockdown. The regulations, in Israel at the time, were to stay within one kilometer of your home. But I had party guests from Canada, the US, G

Teh instead of The. Then instead of Than. Innovasion, entreprener, and busness instead of innovation, entrepreneur, and business. Making a mistake isn’t the problem. Especially when English is not a company’s first language. Leaving a mistake in published material is a choice. Especially when English is the language of business. There are companies that understand the importance of a proofreader. Credibility. Brand. Web analytics. There are too many companies that still think

The morning arrived when I had to take the Covid-19 test. This morning. And while I have heard horror stories about the feeling of having your brain scraped from inside your nose, the test wasn’t as awful as I thought it would be. It wasn’t pleasant either. I gagged on the throat swab. It took two tries for the woman in the hazmat suit leaning though my car widow – I went to a drive-in Covid-19 testing center – to swab the back of my throat. She was really sweet. She was on m

I wake up early but don’t get to my desk until late. As a work from home mom, there are no traffic jams en route to my computer. There are three kids who, while semi-independent, need help in getting to their remote classes on time. One kid begins each morning by blaming the alarm clock for not waking him up. It is a nine-minute rush from bed to computer, with quick stops at the bathroom. Of course, once settled in for the first lesson, there are shouts that the notebooks and

I’ve started to read the series again – to be able to hold detailed discussions with her.

The cry by those who have participated in badly run Zoom talks is, ‘not another Zoom talk.’ But Zoom does not have to imply gloom.

00:15 - “Mommy, I can’t sleep.” “Are you feeling okay?” “Yes. Pick a number.” “It’s after midnight, you have school tomorrow. Let’s try and go to sleep and we’ll do the number thing in the morning.” “Pick a number. I figured out a math riddle and I want to see if it works. Then I’ll go to sleep.” This kid. Always thinking. Numbers flying through his mind. I know that if I send him to bed he won’t sleep. He’ll continue testing his riddle. “Okay. 8.” “No. Pick a number and don

As both a freelancer and contracted employee, I have signed numerous contracts in my career. Long-term contracts. Short-term contracts. One-time gig contracts. I believe that contracts are important for both the employer and the employee. When they’re done right, that is. Non-Disclosure Agreements aren’t a problem. Non-compete, on the other hand, are often questionable. There is sometimes legalese to hurdle through. Although for the most part, I deal with plain-language contr