Photos of Israel & Old Jerusalem, and wrapping up

Just finished uploading the last of more than 140 photos I took in Israel last week, including a few dozen shots of Old Jerusalem and the Western Wall. (Some videos still to come.)

Some parting thoughts about our Innovation Israel trip:

• When 10 Bay Area bloggers come together in a fast-paced weeklong expedition to a country 10 time zones away, interesting things happen. Like old friendships renewed, and new friendships that take quick root. And the camaraderie that ensued when 12 of us jam our bodies and wifi connections into a tiny van that served as a makeshift blogger bus. Or the fashionably geeky late-night parties or quiet escapes to the nearby beach. 

• I’ll always feel indebted to the people who went out of their way to act as gracious hosts in this fascinating new land, particularly Ayelet Noff, who introduced us to dozens of people in Web 2.0 circles, and Ishmael Khaldi, who introduced us to his Bedouin family and neighborhood.

• Greatly enjoyed meeting the high-tech pioneers we met everywhere up and down the country.

• Once we left the hotel, the food was great.

• We owe a debt of gratitude to the consulate officials who set us up at a number of fascinating Israeli tech companies. As we mentioned in our debriefing, a little flexibility and delegating some control over our agenda would go a long way next time. For instance, one of the more successful gatherings (which I didn’t attend) was an impromptu meeting with Israeli women bloggers.

• Loved seeing how many more Israeli women attend tech events than do their counterparts in the U.S. Someday we’ll follow suit.

• All those Israeli women soldiers packing major heat? Wow.

• It was fascinating to see the variety of tools the posse took up to capture the different kinds of events and experiences we encountered. I expected more collaboration and interaction and more on-the-fly video and podcasts. Perhaps next time we’ll get set up in advance with a site like Nokia’s recently purchased Share on Ovi.

• Robert Scoble did a great job of crystallizing the poignancy of seeing young kids’ spirits get nurtured, and I, too, was moved by the visit and seeing other children at play.

• Meeting the 20- and 30-something leaders of the OneVoice movement gave me hope for what Israelis and Palestinians may be able to accomplish together one day, if politicians would get out of the way and let the sensible center chart a course that shapes these two societies’ complex but intricately interwoven futures.

• Starting the Travelinggeeks
blog was an education in collaboration. Next time we’ll get it going
the right way, with individual blog feeds created long before the
expedition leaves.

• Thank you, Jeff and Brad, for pulling this together, and Robert, Craig, Cathy, Sarah, Deborah, Susan and Renee for putting up with me on a trip I’ll remember forever.

JD Lasica, founder of Inside Social Media, is also a fiction author and the co-founder of the cruise discovery engine Cruiseable. See his About page, contact JD or follow him on Twitter.