Serial entrepreneur Jeff Pulver is excited about the future of technology. Pulver, who has invested in more than 400 startups (more than 100 of them out of Israel), is dedicated to advancing communication and making connections.
Pulver believes that 2022 is “a transition year for the internet.” The internet we have known, he says, “is once again changing. With change comes brave new opportunities for users, creators, investors and entrepreneurs.”
A futurist, Pulver is perhaps best known for his work as an innovator in the field of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Pulver is the co-founder of Vonage (a publicly-held cloud communications provider acquired by Ericsson in November 2021) and the VON Coalition, which advocates that internet communications should remain as free from governmental regulations as possible. VON stands for Voice and Video Over the Net.
Pulver held VON conferences around the world from 1997 through 2008. “Hebrew was the unofficial language of the conference,” he said. “The folks who came to the conferences weren’t based in Israel so much as they were Israeli [innovators].”
As the world slowly welcomes a new phase of internet advancement – Web3 – Pulver is again at the forefront. “Web3 represents a new era for the internet,” he said. “Where [and] how we use the internet is becoming decentralized.”
Most people say Web1 started in the early 1990s and went until around 2006. In those early days, everything was dial-up, and websites were more like brochures. Universities had broadband, but most people didn’t.
“The internet we have known is once again changing. With change comes brave new opportunities for users, creators, investors and entrepreneurs.” – Jeff Pulver
Web1 was the read-only internet, and Web2 was read and write. There was social media, as well as other avenues to get thoughts and ideas out there.
“With Web3, we are looking at technology differently,” said Pulver. “It’s much more community-focused. In Web2 the publisher makes the money, whereas in Web3 the creator can earn money directly.”
Web2 also saw the transition to broadband and a plethora of new services, in terms of how we connect with data on the internet.
“Going from Web1 to Web2, we didn’t need anything fancy,” Pulver said. “We just got better connectivity. Our computers got faster [and] our mobile phones evolved, but that happened organically. Right now, there’s a lot of friction because it’s not so obvious how to use these Web3 applications.”
This past January, Pulver returned to his conference roots, producing and hosting “The VON3 Summit: Exploring the Future of Communications in a Web3 World.” More than 40 people from across eight time zones spoke at the event; more than 250 people attended. Day one was all about education including Web3 basics, broadcasting and the creator economy, while days two and three dove into what’s possible in the new world of the web, like data, NFTs, augmented reality and the Metaverse.
One of Pulver’s main goals of the conference was to debunk the hype associated with Web3 and provide a grounded sense of reality: where we’re at and where we may be going.
“The creativity combined with the innovation is the beginning of an era where magic will just continue to happen,” said Pulver. “I fully believe we will continue to see innovation from Israel, helping to drive the bleeding edge of technology and transferring knowledge to the next generation.”
Pulver spent nearly two years during the pandemic creating online experiences for people all over the world including international networking, virtual coffeehouse jam sessions and Zoom talk shows. The ability to connect with people globally at any time has always been a source of energy and joy for the entrepreneur.
A fan of communication since his early days as a ham radio operator, Pulver, who grew up Conservadox on Long Island, obtained his amateur radio license at age 12. One of his early ham radio friends was a teenager named Danny in Israel, who turned out to be Danny Meir, the grandson of Former Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir.
Pulver is now looking forward to the next VON conference, which will be held on April 25, as well as what lies ahead for the online world.
“I feel we are once again at a nexus point for the future,” he said. “Anything is once again possible, and together we can redefine the future of communications.”
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.