Tweet Your Prayers @TheKotel » prayers

@TheKotel Android app – what’s next?

Alon — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:48:12 +0000

Shalom all!

Some background

Last Tuesday our 1 month long campaign on Indiegogo has come to an end (link). For those of you who haven’t been following, it was a campaign to raise funds in order to pay for the development of an Android app for Tweet Your Prayers @TheKotel. Many thousands have installed the iPhone app, and prayers are flying in all the time from its users, so the next logical step is to develop an Android counterpart (for the non-techies reading this: Android is currently the most popular smartphone operating system out there. If you have a smartphone that’s not an iPhone, there’s a good chance it runs Android). Our mission here on Tweet Your Prayers @TheKotel is To Affect Change by Facilitating Prayer, and I believe facilitating prayer for the many millions of Android users is the next ground to conquer.

So the campaign ran for 30 days, and quite a few of you nice people have pledged to help make it happen. We raised $847, and after giving Indiegogo its share, we’re left with around $770, which should cover the fee an east European or Asian freelance developer would charge for a decent app (app development is crazy expensive anywhere else).

Indiegogo is a crowdfunding platform set to help people raise funds for their projects, and part of the game is to offer nifty perks to the people that help your campaign. So, friends who opened their hearts got (or will get in the mail in the next few weeks) nice things such as: a video of their prayer being placed in the Western-Wall, Star of David bracelets from Jerusalem, thank you letters with photos, being credited within the app, and more.

What I adore about the people who helped this campaign is that the vast majority of them don’t even have an Android phone. Some of them own an iPhone and wanted other people to have the same app they have, others don’t have a smartphone at all. All of the kind people who contributed to this campaign, and the aforementioned people in particular, gave to this project not in order to benefit themselves, but in order to help others. That’s kind, noble, and definitely not something you see everyday, in a world consumed with a “what’s in it for me?” attitude. I am humbled by this behavior, and cherish these people. Thank you.

Time frame

Initially I had hoped to have an early version of the app ready for launch by Rosh HaShana (the Jewish new year, coming this Wednesday!), as my gift to you. I don’t know if you remember, but the iPhone app was released as a Passover present a year and a half ago. I found a freelance developer who agreed to be paid only when the campaign ends, and we started working on the app. Alas, things didn’t work out, and we had to call it off. This was, however, a blessing in disguise, as I have gained some important experience from working with him. I believe this experience will help me make the app better than it would have been had that developer and I kept working together.

One of the lessons I learned is that there’s no way to get a fully functional app out there in such a short period of time. So, now that the campaign is over and the funds are waiting, I’m going to set a more realistic time frame: Hanukkah! By then, I sincerely hope to have the app built, bug fixed and tested by users on multiple devices. I would of course be delighted to have it available before then, but I believe it’s a reasonable time frame and want to do things right.

So, what’s coming next?

Well, first of all I have to send people who contributed to the app what they are entitled to. These people should expect nifty things from Jerusalem to hit their mailboxes soon!

Other than that, I’m going to start looking for a new developer to work on the app (interested? Drop me a line).

I’m also going to revise the app description and specifications to see what features I can add to it and how to make it as user-friendly as possible. If you have any ideas for the app, any features you’d like to see, any usability advice, or pretty much anything – drop me a line in the comments below (it will go straight to my mail box, won’t be published) and let me know. This is especially true for the iPhone app users who are reading this – let me know what I can do better for your friends that have Android phones!

After the description is revised and a talented developer is on board – we’ll go into building the app full force!

You can still help this project

See that orange button on the sidebar? It’s up there on the right. It has “Donate” on it. Yea.. that’s the one. Click it .

You can check out the list of perks other people got by looking at the sidebar on the campaign page, and apply for the perks by donating the sum associated with each perk (or more). Drop a line in the donation notes section and ask for the perk.

How to be the first to know

Please go to www.birdofprayer.org and register there to be the first to know when the app is launched! Also, please tell all your friends about it. I’m counting on you .

Anyway, I’ll keep you all posted as things progress and in the meanwhile thank everyone that’s been a part of this campaign and helped in any way.

I’d also like to wish you all a Shana Tova .

Blessings from the Holy Land,

Alon

Bring hope to the sick

Alon — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:48:18 +0000

Shalom everyone!

Please watch this video blog, in which I detail how to bring The Kotel to the sick:

So, if you think it’s a good idea, and would like to take part, contact me.

Here are some photos from the event at Tel-Hashomer Hospital. To respect their privacy, I did not include many of the photos, which showed the sick children’s faces. Please understand.

(Click on any photo to enlarge. You can also click on a photo and slide to the next by clicking on it’s right side).

Some of the above photos were taken by Star Rajuan. Thanks star .

Let me know what you think of my idea.

Best regards from the Holy Land!

Your friend,

Alon

One Kotel, Many Prayers (Pictures)

Alon — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:11:30 +0000

Shalom everyone!

Last Thursday’s trip to Jerusalem was one of the most fun I’ve had. There was such a festive atmosphere there, with many Bar-Mitzvah celebrations, and no one could stay nonchalant.
Here are a few pictures from last week’s ride to Jerusalem. Many beautiful pictures from Jerusalem will be added to the Gallery section soon!

Click on any photo to enlarge.

First thing’s first – arriving to the right place!

Taking your prayers to the Kotel itself:

…and making sure the Kippa (Yarmulke ) sits securely on my head:

Looking for my special niche in the Western Wall…

…and finally getting set up:

many minutes and many prayers later that day…

More pictures to come!

If you can, please consider helping out by making a donation:

Best regards from the Holy Land!

All ready for tomorrow :)

Alon — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:57:50 +0000

VIDEO – Placing your prayers!

Alon — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:26:38 +0000

Shalom everyone!

It took me a long time to edit and upload to the web, but I think you’ll enjoy the end product. Here’s a 2 minute clip my friend Dan and I shot at the Western-Wall some time ago, when we took 3,812 prayers with us.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgDYALck0z8

What do you think?

Yours with love from the Holy Land,

Alon

Pictures from the Western Wall

Alon — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:53:56 +0000

Shalom all!
A couple of weeks ago I took another box full of your prayers to the Kotel (the Western Wall) and stashed them in the crevices of the Wall. Along with me was a crew of the Japanese TV station NHK. If you send your prayer between the 1st and the 14th of October – than your prayer is in these photos!
Here are some of the pictures I took, you can click your mouse button on any of them to enlarge:

All your prayers in a nice wooden box:

I love the way the prayers form a ‘blue river’ of paper:

Here’s the camera man making sure he has a good shot of the ‘river’:

And finally, mission accomplished:

If you can help, please consider making a donation to help keep this service operational. Click on the button below:

Pictures from the Kotel – Placing the Prayers

Alon — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:17:32 +0000

On October 2nd I went to Jerusalem with a big box full of prayers. 3,812 of your prayers were placed in the Western-Wall that day. Since there were so many prayers to carry and place, I had my childhood friend Dan accompany me in the trip. Below are just some of the many pictures we took that day. I have more touching pictures (and videos!) I’ll share with you soon.

Click on a picture to enlarge:

Dan knows where”s the final destination:

Time to place some prayers:

We ran out of places to put the prayers so Dan, who is taller than I am (ex-basketball player) and has longer arms, helped putting remaining prayers deep inside the crevice:

And eventually (it took so long!):

Inside the wall it looked like a river of blue prayers!

Please support this service and help keep it operational by making a donation with PayPal:

Mission accomplished, we can go!

Announcing next Jerusalem ride

Alon — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:41:27 +0000

Hello all,

I haven’t been active a lot this week because I was out with the flu. Still a bit sick, but getting better. Slowly but safely recuperating, and hope to be like new in a couple of days.

Just a week ago I was at the Western-Wall, and brought 3,812 prayers with me.

I have an important meeting in Jerusalem this coming Thursday, with a man who might really help with this operation. Of course I’ll be taking prayers with me. So, if you tweet your prayers by this Monday (Oct. 12th), they will be put in the Western-Wall on Thursday.

So tweet away, spread the word and invite your friends to do the same!

Best from the Holy-Land,

Alon

P.S. – I dislike doing this, but I need to: Please consider making a donation, so I’ll at least have the expenses covered for the trip. Thank you. Click here.

I needed a bigger box

Alon — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:59:15 +0000

Shalom all!

Yesterday, Friday the 2nd of October, I was in Jerusalem with my childhood friend Dan, who is currently visiting Israel. We toured Jerusalem and the first stop was obviously the Kotel (the Western Wall). We took a lot of pictures and videos, some of them very special and exciting; I will sort the files soon and share them with you on this site. I also have a couple of surprises I think you’ll like . In the meantime, until I have everything sorted, I’ll share just two photos with you.

As you may remember, the first time I took prayers to the Kotel, I carried them in this box:

Now, yesterday, even though each prayer was made from a smaller piece of paper, I needed a slightly bigger box. Observe:

Would anyone like to guess how many prayers are in the box? The closest guesser will win a special prize.

As promised, I’ll upload more pictures and videos soon.

Take care and have a good weekend!

Alon

UPDATE Oct. 5th: OK, it’s time to reveal the actual number of prayers + announce the winners. I must say I enjoyed the past two days. This game was fun and I hope to find more of these kinds of joyful games. Are you ready? (drum roll please)

First, the people who guessed the closest are:

John Henry Bourke who guessed 3,876 prayers.

Karaleigh Salmi guessed 3,789 prayers (she also guessed one million, by the way).

Denise Lange with a good guess of 3,850 prayers.

George Koprowicz who guessed 3,840 prayers.

And the actual number is… 3,812 prayers!

So, congratulations to the four of you who were the closest, and a special appreciation to George who was off by just 18!

You are each awarded one cookie, reedmable only in Israel. Actually, email me to discuss a somewhat better (yet still modest) prize.

Thank you all for participating, and feel free to suggest more ideas for games.

Best from the Holy Land,

Alon

Voice your opinion

Alon — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:23:40 +0000

Shalom all!

In the past few weeks I have been thinking about ways to improve this service, and new features to add, within my limits. I want to make this service as friendly as possible to all, and as an evidence – I produced a new instructional video (watch here) that explains how to use this service, step by step (and thanks again to Adam from his help). I also want to add new features, that you the users (many of you I consider my online friends) would love, appreciate, and use.

So this is a call from me to you, to voice your opinion. Tell me (either in the comments, or email, or with Twitter) what are your thoughts. What should I add to this service, which new features you would like to see, what needs improvement, and any other thoughts you might have. I’d like to hear anything you have to say!

So, please take the time to write your suggestions. I promise to consider them all!

Thank you and all the best from the Holy Land!

Alon