In the 21st century, religion has found its way to the internet via social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, making the ability to discover new avenues of belief, observance, and involvement in entirely new ways. The question is: Why are some more successful than others in embracing and executing this form of digitizing an ages-old religion full of individuals, organizations, associations, events, synagogues, schools and more? How does one convince reluctant groups and individuals to embrace Social Media? And, perhaps most importantly, how can those who hail Social Media develop and grow this new global Jewish community that exists almost exclusively online? This panel will extend efforts made on the Judaism 2.0 panel from 2010, and it will focus on the benefit of Social Media in synergizing the broad Jewish and Israeli communities through the wires and waves of the internet!
Social Media Maven Chaviva Galatz was born in Missouri, bred in Nebraska, and currently hails from Teaneck, NJ, by way of Washington D.C., Chicago, and Connecticut. With a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chaviva worked as a copy editor for The Washington Post, after which she moved to Chicago to work for a Nobel-prize-winning economist at the University of Chicago. While there, she honed her Social Media skills through her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and other web platforms.
Then, halfway across the country, from 2008-2010 Chaviva worked toward and obtained an M.A. in Judaic Studies from the University of Connecticut. Now, she is a Jim Joseph Fellow in NYU’s Dual M.A. program for Education/Jewish Studies and Hebrew/Judaic Studies. (Yes, that will be three master’s degrees!) Her passion is Social Media in the classroom and Hebrew Language Education, and having first started learning Hebrew in 2006, she’s got her work cut out for her. When not consulting on Social Media and operating blogs, Facebook Pages, and Twitter accounts for The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life of Metrowest’s three day schools, Chaviva is dominating and collaborating with other Jewish educators and Social Media evangelists.
A native of the OC, Susanne was selected to New York's Jewish Week's prestigious "36 Under 36" (one the 36 most influential Jewish leaders under the age of 36) in 2010 calling her a "Social Media Rock Star" for her efforts working with the National Jewish Outreach Program (NJOP).
NJOP is dedicated to providing, through educational courses and experiential programs, a basic Jewish education for every Jew in America.
Susanne manages NJOP's internet, new media, and social networking endeavors including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, their blog, viral marketing and more. For NJOP, Susanne writes @JewishTweets, Twitter's #1 Jewish Lifestyle Twitterfeed, where she helps people live Jewishly, one Tweet at a time.
Susanne recently moved from New York City to Dallas, TX where she lives with her husband Evan.
