VON's Reincarnation

Well, it was just a matter of time, but VON is coming around again. I got wind of the news that Virgo had acquired the remnants of VON during the IT Expo last September, and they've just announced their new show. The name has been updated to keep up with the times and to position the VON brand as part of Virgo, and that's not a simple matter. So, VON no longer means Voice on the Net - the new VON means "the Voice of Network Convergence". Also, Jeff's beloved purple color scheme is gone, replaced with a more staid Navy blue. Nothing really distinctive about the look, but it's definitely not like the VON we've known for so long.

The new VON event takes place Sept. 21-23 in Miami, and is co-located with the Channel Partners conference. Interesting combination there, as this date is close to when the IT Expo is usually held, although next fall, TMC's dates are late October, so there's no clash there. September is hurricane season in Florida - not the ideal time to go there, but I'm sure synching up with the Channels show was the real driver here! To learn more, the VON conference website is now running.

To keep the VON vibe humming, they've also just launched a VON e-newsletter, along with portal-type website, which uses the old VON URL. This just came out yesterday, so it's pretty newsworthy.

No doubt, Virgo has a challenge ahead of itself in making a go of VON again, especially in such a tough economy. Of course it's always good to see a new show on the horizon, and September is a long time away, so lots can happen along the way. I'm not alone is saying the original VON community was pretty special, and any effort to re-capture that will be welcome.

I don't have any direct connection to the new VON, so I can't offer any special insight as to how successful they'll be. However, while I do have your attention, you'll probably enjoy Carl Ford's take on the new VON. If Jeff was the soul of VON, Carl was the heart, and his post is a good read.