VIVA PRESS

I read. A lot. Maybe too much. Not just books. Articles. Research papers. Websites. Whatever topic jumps out at me. I'm reading it. I am interested. In pretty much everything. I love the challenge of not knowing how to do something. I read to learn and teach myself how to do it. Or, I’ll take a course. Sometimes I’ll even master it. Usually, I’ll just understand it. Or, part of it. And then I’ll repeat. Look for something new to learn. To read about. To understand. I truly be

Every day, brainstormers come up with awe-inspiring ideas. These ideas are twisted and twirled, shaken and stirred. When the idea is ready, it is launched to the next phase. The idea may become an innovation. The innovation may change the way we do things. Or, the way we could do things. How will we know about an innovation if we don't know its story? Someone needs to find out about this new way of doing something. And that someone needs to tell about it in a fun and creative

Talking about innovation from my journalistic point of view means talking about crazy ideas before they become global solutions. Which company deserves “oddball news” status? Which entrepreneur is turning failure into success? Which company is taking one kind of technology and using it for a completely different purpose? What is education like in Israel today? I bring my kids into the conversation -- all three of them are studying in completely different tracks. One is in pub

At first, I couldn’t figure it out. Two completely different people, who used to like my posts, suddenly stopped liking them. It’s not that I write to garner likes. I write because I like to write. I write because I have millions of ideas swirling in my brain and writing is a great outlet. I write because it is how I breathe. And I write a blog (two, actually) because it is my business card as a journalist and speaker. I hope the writing that I share (there are many more docu

A friend of a friend emailed me a request to ghostwrite a blog for a company she represents. In the email, there was a deadline, word count and the amount she would pay me. Another friend sent me a Whatsapp message to check if I could help with a few lines of text. She requested an urgent turnaround and noted I should charge my regular hourly rate. This blog is a virtual high-five to these friends – and others – who pay me for my work. On time. And without making things awkwa

Call me old school, but I always prefer face-to-face conversation. Having worked in the world of communications for over two decades, I adapt and use digital technologies as they come along – especially email, texting and social media. Yet, I’m still a bigger fan of face-to-face communication. I work from home as a freelancer and I rely heavily on digital tools. I spend hours online -- networking, conversing and reading. There are pros and cons for digital communication as we

Is Israel “the” startup nation or “a” startup nation? I’ve always preferred the term Innovation Nation to Startup Nation. But then, it doesn’t really matter what I prefer. Israel is known as the Startup Nation thanks to the 2009 book that turned the world’s attention to the phenomenal innovation happening here. So, I could argue the name but that’s not the point. The question is simple: is it correct to call Israel “the” startup nation? On the one hand, this country absolutel

At the end of this month, I’ve been asked to give a talk on Israel's reputation in the realm of innovation. Is this country’s moniker as a startup nation boastful hot-air or factual reality? This is the country out of which amazing innovations have changed –and are changing – the way we do things. The stories of Israeli entrepreneurship are remarkable! But the startup culture doesn’t spread to all parts of this tiny land. If 77% of the startups are located at the center (Tel

For the past five years, I’ve focused my public speaking on the innovation stories I’ve covered as a journalist. I love speaking to groups about the Israel of today: a tiny country out in the Middle East and yet one of the most important sources of pioneering ideas for the world. As a journalist and speaker, I take the role of storyteller seriously. That’s not to say my talks are solely serious-minded. I’ve always included humor in what I do. I inherited a healthy dose of sar

I love finding out where a startup’s great idea has come from. Why didn’t someone else come up with the idea sooner? What made the founders of a startup think of this solution or that? Often, it is one idea that leads to a groundbreaking concept. I recently interviewed a company about a car-tech solution. A brilliantly simple solution. But not really that simple, if you think about it. Their idea was actually a side thought. This is a message I like to put to students: where

It was bound to happen. My journalist, public speaker and educational clown personalities were all vying for space on this blog. My work as a journalist and public speaker work in harmony. They complement one another. So, they get to keep this blog space. Oshi, my clown alter ego, was politely urged to set off on her own social media course. As such, this blog will now host (mostly) posts on innovation, creativity, ingenuity and how they all connect. I'm sure an educational c

In honor of Israel's Independence Day, I was asked some questions about the country's phenomenal innovation and creative culture. Speaking to groups about Israeli ingenuity is a mission I've set for myself: To share modern day stories of this country and its people. The innovation in Israel really is great. But you need to know about the people who live here to understand why this is so. Please follow this link to the interview I gave. #Jewishspeaker #journalistspeaker #Is

“You’re so lucky. You get to do what you love,” a mother from my son’s class recently told me. We were sitting on beach chairs, finishing off our picnic lunch. I sat in my chair. I listened to what she had to say. “Yes, I am lucky,” I agreed. “It took me a long time to get here, but I’m here.” Here is being an independent/freelancer. Here is being a journalist, educational clown, speaker and content writer/editor. Here is doing more than one type of work. Being creative in wh

I am a speaker on the culture of innovation and creativity in Israel. I also happen to be a woman, who speaks on these issues. And so in February 2018, when the JFNA National Women’s Philanthropy requested a talk with women at its focus, I jumped on the opportunity. What fun to talk about the amazing women making a difference in Israel’s business and innovation areas. Every talk I give is unique and tailor-made for the group that has invited me. I looked through the hundreds

As soon as the kids saw me walking towards the school gate, they screamed my clown name: “Oshi! Oshi!” They had big news to share with me: I was in their school newspaper. It was great excitement for them that Leepa and I (we split days as educational clowns at this school) made it into the school magazine. Before I had time to even walk up the steps to enter the front door of the school, a girl was already pulling my hand to come meet the writer of the few sentences that had

So, there I was, moderating and speaking on a panel about innovation at the International Lion of Judah Conference in Hollywood, Florida and my fellow panelists and I knew that the last topic I was going to introduce could be a hit or miss with the audience. I regularly give talks about innovation and creativity taking place in Israel and how it benefits the global community. But this time, I was asked to talk about the personal innovation in my life. That meant that my educa

The eight-year-old was the youngest attendee at a talk I gave today. There were also a bunch of tweens and teenagers in the audience, as well as their parents and grandparents. These mixed generation audiences are always fun and distinctive. After all, many of the groups that invite me to speak are uniform in age or profession. Earlier this month, I spoke to a synagogue group from Santa Barbara (ages 50-80). Last month, I addressed a group of business folks. The inter-generat

Therapeutic clowning has fascinated me for years. As a journalist, I have the good fortune of meeting people from all walks of life. Every time I interviewed a therapeutic clown, I left the interview thinking, “I want to do that.” I first met medical clowns when I was a print journalist, early in my career. I would meet them again as a television correspondent, then as a radio host, and again, years later, as an online news editor. There was something about this art form that

Started the morning with a chat about what it's like to Report on the Innovation and Creative Culture in Israel with a visiting delegation of prominent military and business leaders from the US. The visiting VIPs were brought to Israel by Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE) organization. We looked at how journalism has changed, how innovation has become more accessible and why Israel is a good place to look for new ideas. I talked about the importance of Innovation Journa

I gave two talks this week to college students from the US (now visiting Israel). The first talk was an abridged version of why Israel is known as the Startup Nation. The second talk looked at why Israel could actually be dubbed the Adaptive Nation. My talks are never about the specific technologies or algorithms being created. Instead, I love sharing the behind-the-scenes stories of how something came about. I connect the dots and show how one innovation leads to another;