Michael Robertson (of Linspire and Gizmo Project fame) gives an object lesson in how to make what could be a disaster an opportunity to pound message. Robertson was apparently primed to release the 1.0 release of Gizmo Project - a free VOIP client with Skype firmly in its cross-hairs - when Google preempted him by releasing Google Talk last night.

Rather than try to compete with the noise, Robertson instead chose to focus his newsletter - Michael's Minute - on not only announcing Gizmo Project 1.0 but explaining how the release fits in the larger scheme of things and devotes much of his newsletter to discussing how Gizmo Project and Google Talk represent an important and inevitable shift towards open protocol interoperability and an end to the "walled garden" mentality that has typified both Instant Messaging and VOIP, at least as it's been practiced by AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, and Skype.

Here's a chunk from his newsletter (not online yet):

"Google is announcing new instant messaging/VOIP (net calling) software called Google Talk. Google's plan is sure to get considerable attention as reporters chronicle Google's efforts to play catchup to the instant messenger leaders like AOL, MSN and Yahoo!. But there's something much more noteworthy about the announcement. Google is agreeing to connect to other networks - something the big three instant messaging companies have refused to do. My company, SIPphone, has agreed to join into a federation with Google to use open standards and allow our customers to trade instant messages and voice calls.

Imagine if the telephone system worked in a way that prevented a Verizon customer from calling an AT&T customer, who in turn couldn't call a T-Mobile customer. It would cause chaos, high prices, and slow innovation. But this is exactly how instant messaging and early net calling networks, like Skype, work today. Friends on AIM can't communicate with others on Yahoo or MSN. I've written about this in the past and how it's detrimental to global communications. We need communication systems based on global directories, which requires companies to set aside the competitive drive that compels them to want to control the entire system and agree to cooperate.

Google's monumental announcement lays the groundwork for a shift in how instant messaging and voice will work in the future. It's the first time a major net company has agreed to use open standards and connect their network to others. Future releases of Gizmo Project will allow voice calls and instant messages to and from Google Talk. This is made possible because Google is using Jabber, (an instant messaging standard which Gizmo Project is also employing) and also providing a SIP interchange (SIP is standard often used for voice calls - and where SIPphone derived its name)."