Metro

The PlanitJewish Portal

Detroit's Jewish-events calendar goes interactive.

By Harry Kirsbaum
Special to the Jewish News

Federation's

t started after a Federation
• nectirir
meeting in San Francisco
eight years ago as a conver-
What's Happenin,
sation between two Jewish guys
Sunday, 02/03
lksperhowi
— 34-year-old dot-corn wizard
AU Day ET ,;(, : ,
Congregation
Howard Brown, whose pregnant
Shearey Zedek
wife was concerned about his
Thursday, 02/07 Health Educati
work load, and Steve Kaufman, a
111111111
7:00prn Greater Deire'i
40-year-old single guy looking for
Location: TBD
a wife to bug him about his work-
Thursday, 02/14
YAD Bar Night
load..
Young Adult Divil5ron
8:30pm
for drinks.; onnlivoly c-onvoi's
Location: TBD
That conversation developed into
PlanitJewish.com, an interactive
Web site that has revolutionized
Adva
's Event*
Jewish community calendars in
a dozen cities in North America,
including Detroit.
And they're just getting warmed
up.
Detroit's Plan
Hopes Are High In Detroit.
"PlanitJewish is an
PlanitJewish opened locally in January. So
Terri Stern, director of the Janice
amazing way to inform, far, about 85 of 120 Detroit-area Jewish
Charach Gallery in the Jewish Community
connect and build
organizations have registered, said Jessica
Center in West Bloomfield, said. "It offers
Jewish community:' said Goodwin, Federation's PlanitJewish
us one more opportunity to promote
Brown, PlanitJewish
administrator.
our programs. PlanitJewish will assist
CEO.
She receives about 40 posting requests a us in tracking RSVPs and reaching new
Visitors to the new
day from local Jewish organizations.
people."
Web
site
—
Howard
Dembs,
Federation's
director
Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld of Southfield-based
Howard Brown
detroit.planitjewish.
of marketing and communications, called Yeshiva Beth Yehudah said, "We particu-
corn — can search,
the Web site a "win-win proposition."
larly like how the community can search
register and even pay online for local
"In our efforts to reach out to the com-
for events that meet their interest and
Jewish events and classes, said Brown,
munity, to better explain who Federation
time availability"
the former dot-com wizard and technol-
is and who we serve, we see PlanitJewish
PlanitJewish is touching a lot of people
ogy entrepreneur, now 41.
as a powerful resource that brings infor-
in Detroit, said Brown. It's viral nature
"People can sync the information to
mation to individuals and brings individ-
— the way it syncs and connects with
their Palm Pilots and calendars and share
ual to events and programs:' he said.
PDAs and other devices — improves and
events with their friends!"
Susan Ehrenfeld has been the
increases the "touch points" between Jews
The site turns into a virtual "concierge
PlanitJewish Web manager at the Allied
and their community.
service" by alerting registered individuals
Jewish Federation of Colorado in Denver
It's why Brown became so interested.
to upcoming events that match their inter- since February 2006.
ests, said Brown, now of Franklin.
"I was a little hesitant initially, but after
The New Wave
"Everything is linkable. Click on a
managing it for nearly two years, I've
Brown was approached in 2000 by
month, and see an event. Click on the
become a real enthusiast:' she said. "We've
PlanitJewish co-founder and eventual
event and sign up for it."
gotten some great feedback from our com- chairman Kaufman with an idea of mak-
Organizations can post volunteer
munity"
ing it easy for people to find and sign up
opportunities and receive e-mailed event
Their monthly Web site visits increased
for local Jewish events and programs in
feedback, he said.
seven-fold in two years, yet it only takes
California's Bay area.
The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
about 25 minutes a day to manage the site,
Kaufman also was going to lots of
Detroit brought PlanitJewish to the corn-
Ehrenfeld said.
Jewish events in search of a wife.
munity free of charge for all Jewish non-
PlanitJewish also is used in Baltimore,
At the time, Brown was growing tired
profit organizations, agencies, schools and Houston, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Seattle,
of the Silicon Valley pace of 18-hour
congregations as well as individuals, he
San Francisco Bay Area, St. Louis, the Twin days and lots of travel. He wanted a new
said.
Cities, Ottawa, Canada, and soon will open project big enough to keep his interest,
in Milwaukee.
but still allow him to control the pace, he

I

said. "The idea of holistically
connecting more Jews to Jewish
life has always been core to the
PlanitJewish service and goals.
"I wasn't really interested in
doing this as a calendar for just
one community," Brown told
Kaufman. "If we're going to do
this, let's do it so it works any-
where and everywhere."
They decided to self-fund the
project, with Brown running the
tech side of the business. A few
months after building a proto-
type Web site, they set up a booth
on Sept.7, 2001, at a Jewish street
fair in Palo Alto, Calif., passed
out soft Frisbees printed with the
Web site address and launched
PlanitJewish in the Bay area,
which claims 400,000 Jews and
600 Jewish organizations.
"The PlanitJewish mission is
to make it easier for the uninvolved to
get involved, for the involved to get more
involved and for organizations to develop
deeper relationships with their members:'
said Kaufman, now married with chil-
dren.
"As we add more social networking fea-
tures, it will make the service even more
effective."
And the ability to add more features is
the key to their success, Brown said.
"An interactive directory is the wave of
the future. It's how younger generations
are going to connect:' he said.
"Currently, all the rage is social net-
working and text messaging. Pretty
soon, rich media [videos, webcasts] are
going to be flying all over these portable
devices."
Brown is happy. Running PlanitJewish
has allowed him to set a slower pace
and allowed him to get back to a more
involved role in the Jewish community.
"PlanitJewish isn't quite joogle," he said,
with a smile. "But it's a great information
source. Now that Detroit is my hometown,
and it's operating here, I'm pleased and
excited to get started."

Harry Kirsbaum, associate director of mar-

keting and communications at the Jewish

Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, can be

reached at kirsbaum@jfmd.org .

February 14 • 2008

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