As Jeff put out the word today about the un-conference we’re co-hosting on Tuesday, March 18th, he triggered something for me. In his post, Jeff gives us one of the reasons why VON has enjoyed a decade of dominance for next generation communications events:

Over the years I have hosted discussions with colleagues to promote an open exchange of ideas, and this dialogue has always been at the heart of VON. VONCamp takes this premise to a new level by assembling a wider range of people, and placing them in an environment where ideas flow in an unfiltered fashion. Everyone contributes, and the whole ends up being much greater than the sum of the parts. I believe the VONCamp at VON.x will break new ground and will help uncover new opportunities for the people who will be joining us.

Do you remember the days when you went to the interop events and the trade show floor because you were afraid not to? I remember cruising by competitor booths, seeing who was talking to who – or seeing my client’s competitors come to my booth because they wanted to see how far along they were in product development. I’m feeling that again, because I’m realizing that the vast majority of people in the communications space haven’t caught on to the movement of voice away from platforms and silos and onto the network and broken apart into re-usable services. I’m not talking about VoIP – I’m talking about the proliferation of telco 2.0 startups, voice APIs and other “over the top” service providers.

I’m attending and participating in the un-conference for one primary reason: I’m afraid of what I’ll miss if I don’t. This market is moving really fast, and the only way to keep on top of it is to have close relationships with the people who are moving it. This event is my chance to meet and shake the hands of the forward thinking people that matter. The un-conference is about openness, conversation… but most of all relationships.