"Looking at the development of the Internet, it's clear that there will be many opportunities and good ideas. The possibilities of interpersonal communications will be deeper in the future," said Jeff Pulver at a 140 Characters Conference in Tel Aviv yesterday. The conference is named for the number of characters possible in a tweet on micro-blogging network Twitter.

Internet investor Yossi Vardi said, "Back at ICQ, I tried to understand what drew people, because if we could figure this out, we could create products like a donut bakery. With ICQ, Facebook, or Twitter, it's not just information, but meeting people's most basic needs. When you have an ICQ or Twitter account, you feel that you're not alone. You can send messages and talk with people, which is the most important thing. When you know that your friends are online, you lose your sense of isolation. In this way, Twitter is an empowerment tool."

Google Israel R&D Center director Prof. Yossi Matias brought his 13-year old son, Michael, to the stage and held a heated dialogue with him in English in order to help him understand the future of the Internet.

Michael said that he used Twitter and Facebook, and also accessed them from his mobile telephone. "Statuses on Facebook and Twitter help me know what's happening now with my friends, or give me real-time sports updates," he said.

When Yossi Matias asked Michael what was the greatest shortcoming when chatting with his friends, Michael replied, "I want to see what my friends are typing in real time, and not wait for them to finish writing the message." This is one of the unique features of Google's new tool, Google Wave.

Yossi Matias said, "It turns out that for the young generation, instant messaging communications is already old fashioned. Google Wave is Google's trial with new forms of real-time communications."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 7, 2009

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