So you're at SXSW and you just took a picture of you and your friends on your iPhone.  Someone blinked, frowned, moved, or just had a bad hair day for one second.  You want to save the photo, but it just did not come out right.

Rather than getting the gang back together for another shot at the Austin Convention Center, Jeff Pulver's party on Friday night at Lanai, or chowing down Bar-B-Que at Stubbs, GroupShot can save the day - and your SXSW memories. The demo below shows how....

GroupShot is available on the App Store, and will also be at the iMadeIsIsrael Booth during SXSW 2012.  To learn more about the companies from Israel coming to SXSW 2012 click here.

Part of my day at my office at Geekdom is having a chance to observe and listen in on something very special happening at TechStars Cloud.  TechStars Cloud is co-located on the 11th floor of the Weston Centre.   Transport me 7,200 miles away from home, and something similar is happening in Tel Aviv with IDC Elevator. 

Meet Rachel Krauss, IDC Elevator Program Manager, a four-month start-up accelerator which is part of the Global Accelerator Network, based on the TechStars model.  The IDC Elevator looks for emerging startups in the area of software, web services, mobile, gaming and consumer Internet.

The program is a mentorship-driven, seed stage investment program that provides each company with $18,000 in seed funding.

This week will mark my fifth trip to Israel this year.

I've been traveling back and forth for seventeen years and have been fortunate to help launch and grow some very innovative and successful companies.

While there are certainly many other centers (particularly in the U.S.) of technology, what makes Israel unique is not just the great things that come for here, but rather the concentration and sheer number of people involved in the startup scene.

Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, Portland, Austin, and yes, San Antonio where I am based, have startup scenes, but to travel the U.S. to discover, connect and just hang out, requires lots of travel.

When you're in Israel, you're generally no more than an hour or so from a great event, a conference, trade show, or meetup.

It's just easier to quickly scan the universe of digital thinking and what's on the mind of coders building and making the next big thing.

I think of Israel as a recharge zone.

Spending one week here gives me a burst of inbound energy and spirit.

It's a place to rejoice in the human spirit, bounded only imagination, a willingness to try new things, disrupt and reinvent.

Amazon Web Services had a big presence at DLD Tel Aviv.  Meet Miles Ward, Solutions Architect for Amazon, who refers to Israel as a hot bed of startup innovation, and a place where startups take advantage of Amazon's infrastructure and services.

The Business Development team at a technology company helps develop new business, forge partnerships and create channels - often in industries or market spaces that don't exist, or are evolving.

A the end of the day, the idea is to monetize Biz Dev and to help bring in new sources of revenue, raise money, and hopefully be part of an exit strategy.  What if you categorized PR as a Business Development initiative and stopped looking at it as "just media coverage?"

PR - The Currency of Validation, Thought Leadership, And Yes - Sales

I see myself as a business development person for my clients.  Here's what I do and the mindset I try to bring to the table:

1.  Tie business objectives to communications strategy.

I once had a client that was winning some very large OEM contracts.  The problem was not winning the business- the problem was getting their supply chain in Asia to take this emerging company serious enough to help them scale what was anticipated demand.   Another needed credibility when going in to sell a very unique security platform that needed validation from industry analysts.  In this case, our focus was on the Gartner's, IDC's, Forresters, and a few, select consultant who covered my client's space.  

Two different clients, with two very different needs and strategies.

2.  Engage the  Business Development Team in the PR process

The Biz Dev folks are on the street selling and doing, well, business development.  Get them engaged in PR.

A.   Have them come up with story ideas you can pitch.

B.   When they sign up a key customer, ask them to engage early on in the relationship and ask them to work with the PR team to get you application stories.

3.   Pimp up your business partners.  

Sign a deal with a new reseller or channel partner?  Promote them.  If it merits a press release consider this, but there's more you can without going through the time and expense of doing this.  Interview them on Cinch-Cast.  Feature them on your blog.  Start following them on Twitter.  Fan their Facebook page.  Shout out to them on LinkedIn.  

4.  Got coverage?  Have your Business Development team repurpose your content.

Hold the presses... before you do anything, thank the journalist / blogger who covered you.

Send links of the story to current and prospective customers, partners, investors Gain coverage in mediums your Business Development.

These are just a few simple tips.  What about you?

Do you have a Business Development team involved in your PR activities?

Photo of man in a Guyabera, shot in San Antonio where lots of men wear these, by Alan Weinkrantz (c) 2011

No, you don't have a relationship or contacts with at a publication to successfully pitch your story.  

Because of the volume of pitches, many publications like the one above requires you to fill out a form.  

What you need is a compelling story and reason the journalist would pay attention.  

Hint:  rather than blindly pitch, read the journalist's body of work so you can understand what they write about and what their interests are.

In the process of meeting with various start-ups in Israel this week I'm really gaining some great insights into their needs for PR services.

Tomorrow, I will speaking at the Israel Startup Network event and sharing the stage with other PR / Communications Pros, Josh Cline, Sharon Levy-Matzkin and Enon Landenberg.  

What's clear to me is that either because of budget, or where they are in the life cycle of their company, be it in Israel or the U.S., they may not need a PR firm- yet.

1.  What media do you think should pay attention to your company?  Why?

Make a list of the print and online media (journals, news outlets, blogs, etc) and dream big.  Imagine you could get in any five outlets on the planet (be realistic.)  What would they be?   Try writing a draft of a press release yourself.  Need help?  Use my template, here.

2.  Start reading the media you want to be in.

If you follow the journalists that write about your space, you'll understand what they cover, their tone, and their voice.  

3.  Follow, wave, engage and comment on journalists work.

If there is a publication that you think you should be in, follow the journalist on twitter.  Here's a list of tech journalists that could help - thank you Robert Scoble.  Follow them.  Wave hello on twitter and even comment on their articles if you have something to say.  It's a great way to engage, seed the market and be found.

4.  Think about how you can be a great client.  

Come prepared.  Be reasonable.  Do your homework.  Don't be ashamed of not having a huge budget.  If you are reasonable, and pay for an allotment of time with your agency, offer to take on some of the execution yourself.  If you slip and fall a few times, it's ok.  As your budget grows, your agency can expand the range and depth of service.

This may seem like doing things in reverse, but as much as we are here to serve you, we are really here to help each other.  We want to see you be successful, exit, and hit it out of the ballpark :)

Translation:  Successful agencies / consultants are successful because they have successful clients.  

5.  Don't haggle on price or ask for discounts with the promise of greater fees later.

This is what I call the shuk mentality. 

You're not buying commodities.  

You're investing in deep expertise that can help your company beyond just getting press.  If you are being led to believe that you are getting a special deal, run away.  Unless you let your agency make a fair profit, they won't pay attention to you.  

You may be a hot company with promises of great potential, but the reality is that by virtue of the fact that there are now volumes of new start-ups, you are not only competing in a marketplace for business, you are competing for a marketplace of expert service providers.

There's always going to be another hot company next week :).

6.  Buy local in Israel when you can. 

Connect with service providers like Donna Abraham, Arlene Maron, and Belinda Gerber.  They can help you on writing, messaging, positioning. Need social media, WordPress and SEO expertise?  Reach out to Miriam Schwab.  Need help on figuring out how to master WordPress so you can do this yourself?  Nadine Wildmann is a rock star.  They are all in Israel.  They are nice people and can service you well here- and locally. You can also check out the Divas at Digital Eve Israel - a great resource for locally based talent in PR and emerging media.  

7.  Consider blended services as a way to save money.

See Item 6 and invest your budget in strategy and agency outreach.  Ask your agency if they would be willing to team with your local writers and other service providers.  It's worth a try.  Remember, you are not asking for discount.  You are asking to pay your agency for specific areas of expertise.

8.  Want to know what journalists are writing?  Check out HARO.  It's free.

PR Whiz, Peter Shankman created a very useful and free service - HARO - Help A Reporter .  Journalists list requests for sources and if you check it daily, your company might have the story the journalist is working on.  I've used it with great success.  Thank you Peter.

9.  Want to know what journalists are writing?  Research editorial calendars.  Check out Cision.  It's free.

Go back to step 1 and pick the top five media you think you belong in.  Go their site and check out their editorial calendar. Maybe there are getting ready to write on something that is specific to your space and your expertise.  Go here to Cision and do your own research.  It's free.

10.  Need to figure out a media strategy?  

Easy.  See who writes about your competitors or companies peripheral to your space.  Go to the company's press section on their site or just do a news.google.com search and start tracking who covers your competition or the key words in your space.  

11.  Thinking about briefing Industry Analysts?  

Depending on where you are in your life cycle, reaching out to Industry Analysts merit consideration.  Your mileage may vary, depending on where you are on this.  At the very least, and much like my recommendation in following and engaging with journalists you can do likewise with Industry Analysts.  Many have blogs and write free commentary.  I have an article here on my blog from the perspective of an industry analyst.

12.  Need a Director of Industry Analysts?   Check out Barbara French's Blog.  It's free.

Check out SWAY - Barbara French's approach to Industry Analyst Relations, Influencer Marketing and the Business of Influence.

Big Time Take-Away:

Prepare yourself now for coverage.  

Rather than thinking you can shove your press releases down the throats of your favorite journalists, think about how you can become a trusted source of quality content.  This is where I go back to my point about why I believe every company should think of themselves as a media company,  a content curator, and story teller.

One of the issues that I am seeing on this trip is that many Israeli start-ups face the challenge of going through the process of selecting a PR Agency or Consultant.  This can be especially daunting when you are trying to do this from Israel, and you want to work with a team in the U.S.  

Here's some suggestions to consider. 

No two agencies or consultants are alike.  The right mix can precisely deliver, your cup of tea.   

 Shot on location at Portabello Road Market - London  (c) 2011.  Please share:)

1. Reach out to journalists specific to your space and ask them who they respect and who they like working with. 

That’s often a good clue.  Make sure and ask who the good PR people (not agencies) are, who work inside agencies

2.  Research your competition’s agencies. 

Clients change agencies for good and bad reasons.  Often times, you can source the agency who had the client as a startup but not necessarily when then they had an exit or were acquired.  Just go to your competitor’s news section and scroll through the history of press releases

3.  Don’t hire “an Agency,” hire the right team. 

Your team could be a mash up of your internal resources, outsourced talent from Israel, an individual consultant, a boutique agency or one or two key people inside a large agency.  And when you are meeting with the Agency, make sure you know who is selling and who your account team will be.

4.  If you are VC funded, ask the internal Marcom person at your VC firm who they recommend. 

Work from a list and find the firm / person / group that best suits your needs, depending on your needs and budget.

5.  Try, if you can, to avoid the unnecessary dance of RPF’s and blind proposals.

In general, most RFPs suck and are a waste of time.  You can read my take on the RFP process here.  Be up front with your agency about what you need, your timeline and most of all, your budget. 

6.  Don’t accept a prescription until you are diagnosed.  

Once you have decided on 2 or 3 firms you might want to work with, consider having them come and meet you in the U.S. (yes, you pay for this, but it’s worth it) for a ½ day or full day workshop to help you determine what you need, what you can afford to do, how much you can do yourself and plan a prototype roadmap. 

The cost of doing this might run you the equivalent of one month of services, but you’ll gain a professional’s insights into how they work, how they think and how they interact with your team.  If you are paying them for this, it changes the game. 

Sure, we’re all in sales mode, but even for the day, it sends a clear message that you respect their work, and most of all, you value their time.

7.  Issue a call for PR firms on Twitter. 

Yes, this sounds a bit off the wall, but give it shot.  Something like -  “Innovative startup in the X space, based in Israel, looking for U.S. based #TechPR firm.”  (make sure you use the hash tag as noted)

8.  Attend your industry’s conference and trade shows where exhibitors -- and their agencies are there to support them. 

Go to the booth and ask someone in the booth who their PR firm is.  You’d be surprised how much information and insight you can gain this way.

9.  Don’t assume that you are going to need an Agency that has a specific expertise in your space.  

Does experience count? 

Of course. 

But often times, if you are breaking new ground or disrupting a market segment or creating a new segment of its own, remember that you’re hiring the Agency for their deep thinking and methods rather than their industry experience.  This is particularly true in emerging spaces like Clean and Greentech.  This field is rather new and the skills sets from one area of technology are easily transferable to another.  You're not hiring an Agency / Consultant because they are experts in wind power.  You are hiring them because they are great story tellers and know how to sell, evangelize and curate content.

10.  If you are going to integrate social communications / social media into your mix, look into your agency's presence on the social web.

In other words, does your Agency and its principals eat their own dog food?  

Are they on Twitter and Facebook?  Do they check in on sites like Foursquare and Gowalla?  Does the agency have a YouTube channel?Do they have their own SEO strategy?  

This is often a good way to cut the hype and dig into the substance of who you might be working with.

How about you?  Comments from afar?

The Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce a May 22 to June 2, 2011 delegation of high tech and medical professionals from Texas to Israel