A few days ago, I shared a brainstorm I had been thinking over. Now I'll announce it's reality. I'm assembling a group of the brightest luminaries and keenest visionaries in the VoIP sector of the telecommunications and data networking industries.  We're forming what I call The VoIP ThinkTank. There are still invitations outstanding. The group is not fixed to some set number of members, but let me share the core VoIP industry leaders who have agreed to participate so far:

Andy Abramson - Brings a broad market view of the VoIP space
Martin Geddes - Brings a solid global view of so many areas
Phoneboy - Brings the telephony view and a security view
Jeff Pulver - Brings the legaslative issues and service provider view
            Note: Jeff is busy in Israel at Kinneret 2006 and hasn't yet confirmed his participation. I'm hopeful.
Alec Saunders - Brings the view of presence management from ground level
Ted Wallingford - Brings the operational view of making the pieces all work together

When I wrote IP Telephony Demystified in 2001, I didn't appreciate how cutting edge VoIP truly was at that time. I expected it to be embraced and widely adopted much sooner than it has been. Thanks to the tireless efforts of people like Jeff Pulver, VoIP has gained a lot of visibility among regulators. Thanks to other voices like David Isenberg, and many of you reading, we've become a bogeyman to many of the telcos. I applaud you, my VoIP colleagues for being one of the catalysts in bringing us to this point.

We are not the bogeyman, but we are the disruptors. We are the ones embracing new and emerging technologies. And we are doing some pretty amazing things in the VoIP sector. And today the V in VoIP means both Voice over IP and Video over IP. We are the convergence point in networking technologies. The telcos should be afraid, as it's only through greed and avarice that their deep pockets afford them the levels of control they exercise.

Our sphere of influence widens daily, like the concentric ripples sent out from tossing a rock into a pond. VoIP is the real disruptive technology that is here in our face today. It's actionable, and that's what counts.

The VoIP ThinkTank isn't a new company. Think of it as a collaboration of kindred minds. I personally have registered the name VoIP-ThinkTank.com as permanent home, but that will simply remain a placeholder for our potential future. Initailly, we will podcast a monthly forum, which I will host on the Realtime VoIP Community weblog.

This group of VoIP luminaries will join me in a  "Birds of a Feather"-like monthly podcast. We won't always all be able to participate, but we will gather as a group monthly. When I saw we will gather, I mean figuratively, because we will and do eat our own dog food in the VoIP sector. We won't meet in person, but via VoIP/phone. I'm assembling the technology needs so that we can conduct a round table discussion via VoIP (SIP URL)/PSTN phone/Skype (in some fashion).

We'll hold these monthly virtual gatherings and discuss some predetermined agenda of two topics, or perhaps three that we'll discuss in some detail. We'll spend roughly an hour together so that you'll get some in-depth views into the topics. In closing, we'll do an around-the-table wrap-up of a couple minutes each to share the new trends and ideas wee've seen. It will also be a chance to share any hot projects or initiatives we're working on.

As we grow, and as you respond, we will certainly invite guests. I can't imagine digging into ENUM without inviting Richard Stasny to join in. Talking about investors and the financial side of VoIP without someone like Aswath or Tom Evslin would be a gross oversight. We will have visitors and special guests as we grow and evolve.

This VoIP ThinkTank team is an incredible pool of insight and talent. I'd like to thank them for agreeing to join me. And I'd like to encourage all of you to give us a listen. I think we're going to have a fabulous time together.

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