Tech Talk: Discover the secret springs in the Judean Hills

No longer do you need to go back to the same spring every year now that there's an app for Israel's natural spring lovers.

By ARIEL SHAPIRA
A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION of technology experts takes place at the Ad Tech Summit Israel in Jaffa Port’s Nalaga’at Center (photo credit: ELI MANDELBAUM)
A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION of technology experts takes place at the Ad Tech Summit Israel in Jaffa Port’s Nalaga’at Center
(photo credit: ELI MANDELBAUM)
There’s great news for those of you who love visiting natural springs here in Israel: No longer do you need to go back to the same spring every year. And don’t worry – you won’t need to get a hold of detailed hiking maps to find the most amazing springs that are hidden right under our noses.
EcoPeace app
EcoPeace Middle East (formerly Friends of the Earth Middle East – FoEME) and SPNI’s Open Landscape Institute (OLI) have developed an app that is the first of its kind: It leads hikers to the most beautiful springs that are hidden in the Judean Hills.
This app displays information about more than 70 springs from Beit Shemesh to Abu Ghosh and all the way to Emek Ha’ela. The app also offers data about points of interest, hiking trails, cultural and historical details, terrace irrigation and cultivation, flora, pools for swimming and where the best views are. It also lets you know if the water in the spring is safe for swimming and updates you about the water quality and any hazards at the site.
In addition to offering information to hikers, another goal of the app is to protect the springs in the Judean Hills from deteriorating due to the many public activities held in these areas, which have steadily been eroding the springs and their ecosystems. In some places, archeological remains have been completely destroyed.
The EcoPeace app also serves as a great tool for all the authorities dealing with the springs, such as the Nature and Parks Authority and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund.
The app is currently available for download from the Internet and will soon be available on mobile technology.
Online science programs
Back by popular demand, the Davidson Institute of Science Education will once again be holding its online summer math and science program.
Israeli students from third grade through ninth grade are invited to join in the excitement and participate in the many virtual classes that can be viewed 24/7 at home on your computer in Hebrew, Arabic or English.
If you are inquisitive and thirst for knowledge, you are welcome to learn contemporary science and creative mathematics from the greatest Weizmann Institute mathematicians and scientists. The highlight of the program will be an exciting conference during June and July at the Weizmann Garden of Science in Rehovot for all the students who participated in the online enrichment program during the school year.
Internet of Things
Pulse Play is a bracelet that gives amateur tennis, squash and Ping- Pong players the ultimate professional experience. With the Pulse Play real-time Scorekeeper, you’ll never miss another point. You can flip through your playing history, find new people on the same level to play against and hear your score announced out loud just like at live pro matches. Pulse Play is currently engaged in crowd-funding on Indiegogo.
The WellBe bracelet is a heart-rate monitor that periodically measures your heart-rate variability (HRV).
WellBe’s patent-pending algorithm uses your HRV to determine stress levels based on time, location and people you meet. The WellBe app tracks how stressed or calm you are at specific times, locations, events and with specific people. It then provides you with an overview of what the main stress triggers are in your life.
The WellBe app offers a large variety of stress-reducing programs, such as meditations, breathing and mindfulness exercises, as well as guided imagination and wellness classes, which you can use to relieve stress and retain a calm state of being. The app offers seven-, 14- and 21-day programs designed to encourage you to adopt wellbeing as a lifelong habit.
It has been scientifically proven that stress has a negative impact on people’s lives and that it leads to a variety of health problems, such as headaches, fatigue, sleeping disorders, digestive problems, high blood pressure, heart diseases, aging and obesity. The longer the stress lasts, the worse it is for both your mind and body and the more difficult it is to recover.
Mindfulness and meditation have been proven as highly effective ways to release stress, and they can also help you sleep better, be more productive and generate an overall good feeling. A study that was recently conducted at Harvard University suggests that meditation influences the gray matter in the brain, which enables our brain and body to age better.
Ad Tech Summit Israel
Last week, 400 technology experts participated in the Ad Tech Summit Israel at Jaffa Port’s Nalaga’at Center to discuss creative ad formats, distribution channels and marketing strategies. Here are some of the ideas that were discussed during roundtable discussions: Native advertising is one of the fastest growing digital ad formats that has been shown to generate more clicks than traditional displays.
According to a recent study, 63 percent of brands report that the use of native advertising has significantly increased customer engagement.
Programmatic advertising: Over the past few years, there have been significant advancements in programmatic advertising. A growing number of publishers are recognizing the contribution of programmatic advertising to operational efficiency and profit margin growth.
Increased use of programmatic advertising into the traditional media mix has required publishers to transform their entire operating model.
Mobile advertising: The mobile economy has grown tremendously over the past few years, and mobile advertising is expected to grow to a $41.9 billion industry by 2017, according to Gartner. As the mobile ecosystem matures, brands, agencies and publishers continue to spend and look for new forms of advertising with which to engage consumers.
Video advertising is a dominating force in the toolbox of advertisers, brands and publishers. Close to 40% of all smartphone users will engage in mobile video streaming by 2016, accounting for a third of all mobile traffic.
Cross-screen advertising: Today’s consumer spends significantly more time on devices than in the past. According to a recent study, one in four people use three different devices daily, and 40% switch devices mid-activity. This increase in cross-screen consumption has made it challenging for marketers who are looking to retain continuity in their messaging, and it has created opportunities for those who are able to deliver effective cross-screen solutions.
Content marketing is one of the fastest growing methods for reaching audiences. According to recent studies by the Content Marketing Institute and the Altimeter Group, 69% of marketers are creating more content today than one year ago, and 67% of marketers have said audience identification and targeting is a top need in their advertising strategy.
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Translated by Hannah Hochner.