As I mentioned earlier, we’re a Voice 2.0 startup. I know a lot of people object to the whole “2.0″ labelling scheme. But, having survived over two years now, this label has proven its staying power.

My ultra-brief definition: Voice 2.0 is about using the advantages of the internet to make improvements to the telephone experience.

It would be more accurate to replace “telephone experience” with “voice communication experience” since a physical telephone isn’t necessarily involved anymore. (e.g. Skype) But that wouldn’t sound as crisp.

A lot of smart people have written more thoroughly about the meaning of Voice 2.0…

The most profound revolution will come from Voice 2.0 services, which combine the strengths of traditional and IP telephony, while minimizing the objectionable features of both. Here are five ways Voice 2.0 can change your life, if you let it…
- Robert Poe

Voice 2.0 is a titanic clash between the internet and the telecommunications industry — ‘it’s all about me’ — my applications, my identity, my availability… Voice 2.0 is all about developers too — the companies that exploit the platform assets of identity, presence, and call control.
- Alec Saunders

In some ways the Internet has removed the need for additional capability on the phone network… Phone numbers themselves are obsolete so there’s room for some innovation in directories…
- Tom Evslin

I believe that the real game for Voice 2.0 is the integration of voice into the business process. Businesses want to do it because it saves them money with a more efficient process and fewer staffing requirements. Customers want to do it because it means better customer service.
- Thomas Howe

…as much as I hate the name, the underlying concept is dead on… Be it voice-enabled web pages for tech support or social networking, unified reach numbers, cell-enabled callback services, relevance engines based on VoIP and Microsoft Office, or some other thing… VoIP is poised not to be the focal point of telephony the way it is with Skype or cableco service, but an enabling technology behind a whole new class of services.
- FierceVoIP

And finally, this one is a short but sweet:

I met a telecom industry guy today who told me “these Voice two point zero companies are all either fancy call routing or fancy call rating”. He had a point. But really, these are just tactics to bigger visions, to bigger ideas…. That would be kind of like me saying music is all really just seven chords.
- Mike Cerda

If you want to understand this space, reading the blogs from any of these authors will be time well spent.