Stardust Global Ventures

It’s fairly common knowledge by now that I’ve joined eComm as the Director of Conversations supporting the thriving and growing eComm Conference and Awards. I thought this was a good opportunity to give a perspective on why I joined eComm.

There’s an old adage that says “Lead. Follow. Or get out of the way.” There’s another that says “Unless you’re the lead dog, the view never changes.” The traditional telecom industry really needs to wake up and take those two saying very seriously. They are rules to live by in the current communications market. And those who don’t live by those words need to prepare to exit the competitive playing field.

One of the things I love about eComm, is that following and getting out of the way simply are not options. eComm is all about leadership. eComm is thought leadership at full volume; no holds barred driving toward the future. I’ve been to hundreds of industry conferences in my life, but eComm embodies one of the most important mindsets of our time – disruption.

I’ve openly talked about the arguable death of VoIP, because I see VoIP as standard infrastructure today – something I call plumbing. I do not see VoIP as disrupive today. VoIP is a vibrant, sustaining technology that isn’t treated as new, emerging, or frightening any longer. It’s simply part of the voice services infrastructure.

I also drove some conversation with my premise that Telco 2.0 is a bad idea. That the paradigm of a telco is obsolete and must be redesigned. I feel that’s true in many ways. Thetelco paradigm of the past and mindsets like those of the old Bell System are dead. They’re not gone, but they are dead. There is simply no place for that sort of thinking in today’s communications industry

eComm began with the premise we’re going into a post-telecom era. For me, this becomes more true every day. eComm is about distruption, innovation, and creation of something new. That makes eComm stand out as a premier gathering of the best and brightest in the networking sector. Whether it’s voice, data, Internet, wireless, or mobility, eComm is the vortex of innovation.

Make no mistake, when we speak of emerging communications. we are embracing and encompassing an array of communications tools:

• Voice services
• Data and communications enhanced business processes (CEBP)
• Video – all video from video calls to collaboratio to YouTube to Hulu
• Blogs and wikis. Every form of online community.
• Instant Messaging (IM) and SMS texting
• Presence tools – Twitter, FriendFeed, Identi.ca, Google Talk and Googe Latitude (and yes, impending tools like Google WAVE)
• Social Media of all kinds (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace)

These are all communications services and they are all emerging rapidly right now. Today.

eComm is the world’s best, and most highly regarded communications conference and brand. More and more people understand and respect its core mission. Every day in conversations today, I see people articulating the eComm vision in their own words across many business sectors. I see it in Twitter and FriendFeed conversations and blog posts. People who we think of as primarily social media leaders are saying the same things eComm members have been saying for years.

I confess I like being a disruptor. I love being in the middle of where all the change is taking place. I like to shake things up. I like ideas, especially ideas that distrubt our old assumptions. I want to play a part in the game-changing mission that eComm embodies. I’m honored and pleased to join eComm as the Director of Conversations & Marketing.

I’m keen to put my experience and weight behind Emerging Communications as a catalyst for change; change for the better. eComm promotes opportunity and innovation. One thing that matters to me greatly is the impact our technologies have on people in their daily lives. The social impact of our tools For some that means efficiency in work flow. For others it simply means ease of sharing their lives with family. The innovation that comes from eCOmm members accelerates innovation for the common good of all. It is changing how we live, and work. It’s changing how we interact with family, friends, colleagues and customers. It’s changing home like, education and how we work.

I’m keen to also nurture a passionate, engaged and thriving community. I challenge myself and others to think outside the box. To disrupt. Sometimes that means we upset people But eComm is not about maintaining the status quo. It is not a community of people selling some boring “me too” service. The speakers at the conference are not aiming their talks and the small room down the corridor. They’re innovators and leaders clamoring for center stage in the big room in front of their colleagues, peers and competitors. They’re driving change, and eComm is all about change. It’s about real advances and seizing the immense opportunities now available in the communications space. eComm is about taking risk to do something bigger and better. It’s about what’s next in terms of services and products. It’s about our future and I’m excited to be in a position to help this community grow.

I’m excited and already working on some ideas to get us all moving. I’m not usually shy and reserved, so many people across all walks of the industry are going to be hearing a lot more from me as we move toward eComm in Amsterdam this October and the USA 2010 conference in San Francisco. I’ll be challenging us all to not hold back and shake things up with our words and actions.