Those of us at Skype and the broader internet communications industry are mourning the loss of a very strong voice in our community today. Word reached us this weekend that Russell Shaw, a blogger over at ZDNet’s IP Telephony blog who has been a follower of Skype since our beginning, passed away.

At the young age of 60, Russell left us while he was doing what he enjoyed most, covering the industry in San Jose, CA for eComm2008 and VON.x.

Some other prominent voices in the blogosphere have already weighed in on this untimely loss:

o Andy Abramson, a fellow blogger and friend of Russell’s

o Jim Courtney at Skype Journal shared some early thoughts about his interactions with Russell

o Om Malik, another of the early bloggers in our industry

o Dan Farber, Editor in Chief of CNET, and Russell’s former editor at ZDNet

o Larry Dignan and Matthew Miller, two colleagues of Russell’s at ZDNet

o Ken Camp, another long-time Skype follower

o Alec Saunders’ live SquawkBox webcast today will be paying a tribute to Russell should you want to learn more about the voice in our industry that has been suddenly quieted.

You didn’t always pat us on the back, Russell. But it wouldn’t have been the same otherwise. We’ll miss you.