Talking VoIP With Jeff Pulver (washingtonpost.com)
The always quoteable Mr. VON himself has some interesting thoughts that he shared with the Washington Post.
Jeff and I spent a lot of time talking on Tuesday night. We tended to agree on many points, including that consolidation or death to many of the small players is obvious, that some companies are spending a lot of money to get customers more than they admit, that the cable operators and the big telcos are in the best position to build market share...
But what sets Jeff apart from all the rest of the conference kings is his passion. One of his former Cantor Fitzgerald colleagues said last night that Jeff would be doing what he's doing, even if he didn't make money doing it, as he shared a story how Pulver used to show people how to make international calls for a nickel back in 1993. That's why Jeff and his events are the best in the VoIP space. You can't replace passion.
Yesterday's Consumer VoIP day was the best non VON event Pulver ever put on. While some of the presenters took some liberty, the audience was full of non VoIP type media and analysts. The newcomers had to walk away with more than they knew before they got there and the exposure for the industry and the many companies on the stage had to only be positive. Reports are that next year Pulver will run two tracks and have a VoIP pavilion at CES. The guy sure knows how to build the industry. Hats off to Jeff and his whole team for doing what they are doing.