VON 2007 was really eye opening in a number of ways. First, we had a chance to re-connect with old friends and make some new ones. Bart Fader at Feedroom, Dina Kaplan at Blip, and Bill Sobel at MEIG were all there in force. It's amazing to see that the connections in our lives span both time and industries. Bill and I go back to a barn and a time when Sony ruled the earth. Yikes. And Bart and I go back to a time when Boston was the center of the universe, and news was created on 3/4" portapacks. Yes -there was a day. Dina, well lets just say that BlipTV is a remarkable chapter in a story that is all about turning media into an empowering and grassroots medium. She'd blush if i said it in front of her, but she's really a pretty powerful change agent and we're lucky to have her in this space. That said, the connections at VON 07 don't stop there. Steven Starr was his amazing and inspirational self, reminding us all that's it's not about the money - it's about equality - and equity in the system. Shelly Palmer was the always memorable MC - giving us perspective and a sense of history that makes the moment in time we're in seem more like a way-station than an end goal. Shelly has make a career of being first, and seeing around corners, and we'd all do well to pay attention when he tells us that the future isn't here yet. Jeff Jarvis ran circles around the group of us, recording videos - speaking - and posting video blogs while we all just huffed and puffed to keep up. Prez Vid is super cool, and i'm hopeful that we'll be able to work with him to make it even more accessible and discoverable. Steve Garfield - who was struck with an poorly timed case of laryngitis for at the BlipTv dinner on Tuesday - bounced back to give a remarkable and memorable talk on Thursday. Steve reminded us that it was just a year ago that he was hoping for the tools and connectivity that today we take for granted. Bravo Steve for keeping an eye on the calendar. Who knows what this time next year may bring(?). but the largest force of all was Jeff Pulver, who was able to balance his work with VOIP (groundbreaking) with his vision for the future of video on the web (critical). Jeff used the start of VON as a milemarker to send to Congresss (yes the US congress) a petition warning them not to attack video on the web. Premature? Not if you look at the history of regulation. Now is the time to protect our video rights.