Stardust Global Ventures

Well, really! How many of these lists exist? I just came across yet another one this afternoon. To be honest, I have never followed a single person based on someone else’s list. It seems far too contrived. I have my own ideas about who is interesting, after all.

Why might it matter who someone thinks is ‘important’ enough to follow? I suppose there might be good reason to look at a list and follow those on it. For instance if you’re looking for business connections it may be helpful, if you luck into the right list, that is.

I haven’t seen a list yet for the most important people in Telecommunications/Unified communications. Hm… I could write one. I know most of them. But how do you narrow it down?

Let’s see, @asaunders and @howardthaw are pretty important guys. Their company, iotum, has a really cool application called calliflower and it’s potential uses are mind boggling.
@andyabramson is really important if you need representation in the PR world. That and his wine expertise will get you the best meal you could imagine.
@nvineberg is another man who rocks the world with his PR know how and client list.
@patphelan has the world of sim cards all wrapped up with maxroam.
@jamesbody has calling around the world from mobile phones under control with his company truphone.

What is probably more important than following these people, and I do not want to negate their importance, is following the ones who write about them. The ones who are paying attention to whats going on in the world of VoIP, unified communications, telecommunications and writing it in places you all can get to and make choices for how to move into the next market of gadgets we’ve all grown to love.

Who is on this list?

@PhoneBoy a Nokia guy who blogs on a lot of different topics and subject matter. A super bright man who gets it and doesn’t make too much fun of my love of Blackberry.
@JimCanuck my Blackberry supporter and a man who knows more about Skype than probably most skype employees.
@danyork The most technically oriented guy who knows so much and yet can talk in a way that even newbs can understand. A dynamic speaker and employed by Voxeo. Dan knows his stuff.
@jeffpulver has more ideas and has seen them to fruition! He is a GREAT friend and someone I really admire for sticktoitiveness. (yes that’s a word)
@kencamp I know this hardly seems a surprise but let me just say this, no one gets it or can talk about it better. Ken calls it as he sees it and is blatantly honest. It’s a fantastic trait in my opinion and one we could all learn from.

So now I have a list. I’m still asking why it matters. Why should my opinion impact anyones idea about who to follow? I suppose the only real reason we listen to each other is to gain new information. Maybe I can offer some insight into something not everyone else knows something about. Maybe I can point you toward some new people with new ideas.

I guess it struck me that there are so many lists the real pleasure in twitter is sort of lost. Discovery should be more spontaneous, shouldn’t it? Let me hear from you!

Just for the record, I personally know all these men and admire them. I wouldn’t have written them down here if I didn’t appreciate their skills and expertise. I have shared a meal with them all
and certainly shared some fascinating times. In other words, they matter to me. I know really cool people who make our world an interesting place. Is that valuable? I think it is.

Technorati Tags: ken camp, alec saunders, andy abramson, dameon welch-abernathy, dan york, jeff pulver, jim courtney, james body, neil vineberg, pat phelan, howard thaw