Facebook international business development director Netanel Jacobsson, an Israeli-Swedish national who resides in Palo Alto is in Israel on vacation.
Despite being on vacation, Jacobsson told a Facebook developers conference in Herzliya, "I thought this would be a good opportunity for to meet Facebook Developer Garage Israel. A lot of Israelis contact me in Palo Alto, but I rarely have time available." The conference, the first of its kind in Israel, was organized at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center by Benchmark Capital, the.co.ils blogger Yaron Orenstein, and Devunity founder Alon Carmel.
"Globes": When will we see a Hebrew Facebook?
Jacobsson: "I can't commit to an exact date, but it will happen very soon."
How do you explain Facebook's success in Israel, given that other social networks have not caught on?
"Facebook's platform is special. Israelis love to call each other, and they really love networking and being up-to-date. Facebook's platform is designed exactly for this, which is not possible by other networks, such as MySpace, which is more targeted towards media consumption. Our personal input system is what differentiates us from other networks."
Do you have plans to open a development center in Israel, similar to those of Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo?
"No. We have no such plans."
What about acquiring Israeli companies?
"We're constantly examining the environment, and we mainly seek companies that can bring advantages to Facebook and add value to its platform. We have no acquisition plans at the moment. In general, we're not seeking to acquire companies; but only if there's a really good opportunity."
Jacobsson declined to comment on whether Facebook was planning to acquire free social networking and micro-blogging service Twitter.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 1, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009