LPI - An Israeli TechMeme

Every hour new posts are being added to thousands of blogs and news sites, but finding a tailored source that combines all the most relevant content for any particular topic area exclusively is a real challenge, especially for niche areas such as 'Israeli technology'.

Search engines, meme trackers and news community sites are only as good as the algorithms and people they harness, which can range from very effective to poor depending on the individual needs of users.

In response to the lack of detailed sites concerning technology in Israel and its vast innovation, Launchpad Israel was conceived that 'mashes-up' the most relevant sites and data from around the web according to the areas of jobs, startup news, business listings, business news, tech blogs and web company blogs. The result is a humanly crafted destination for gaining a clear, efficient and exhilarating glance of the technology society in Israel.

LPI is less than a year old and was created by Israeli-Australian Adrian Wajsbrem who I recently got to E-Meet. Adrian is currently in Australia after having been in Israel for almost two years. Using open source CMS software, Adrian is now working on a new service that can be very beneficial for early stage companies.

LaunchPad's recent addition is a press release publishing service for those wishing to elicit white papers about themselves or their companies. Using LPI's service, companies have a way to initiate discussion on-site, use widgets to communicate with readers and follow the reactions to their products on the web.

As Adrian mentioned in a recent email:

"I am hoping that LPI will be a destination for journalists to discover stories about Israeli high-technology and I am working to achieve that goal."

The service is given for no charge at the moment and news releases can be attained easily after publication by journalists and end-users. Of note, after submitting his press release to numerous organisations, the manager of an Israeli jobs oriented blog stated "traditional media outlets that reacted did so without publishing anything. On the other hand, the site garnered much attention by appearing on the LaunchPad Israel homepage."

Other press release services include:

• PR Log - more of a press release database and browser for journalists, free.
  
• PR Newswire Israel - about $80 per one-off press release submission.
• PR Net - a rather new player in Hebrew.
• PR Leap and I-Newswire - both free.
• Other paid services.

To submit a press release with LPI, create an account first and then submit. To access the Venture Capital Cafe feed on LPI, click here.