Welcome to the new readers of my blog who attended one of my sessions at the U.S Patent & Trademark Office's 11th Annual Inventors' Conference.
I created this blog several months ago, but have not yet been diligent about posting to it. Now that I gave out the address at a conference, I guess that I'll have to get on the ball!
I hope that you take the time to read the booklet that I handed out at the conference. This should give you a good feel for my background regarding inventions and new product marketing, which should keep you coming back here for more.
The processes of inventing and marketing are demanding, complex, and require deep commitment to the goal. As independent inventors, you will need all of the horsepower behind you that you can get. That is what this blog will be all about.
Please take the time to add a comment to this post, letting me know that you are a conference attendee and have read my blog.
As I mentioned in my presentation, blogs are relatively new, and quite new to inventors (of whom I am one). Just 12 months ago I was wondering, like many of you were when you came to my session: "What are these 'Blog' things with this weird name, anyways?" Well, I studied blogs and blogging diligently over the past year and I saw how useful blogs can be to inventors. Apparently, I was successful in conveying this to you if you are reading this!
However, I readily admit that I am a novice when it comes to actually blogging. You may notice that I am using a blog hosting service called Blogger. This really is a service that a more well-established blogger would consider as too basic. As you and I become more sophisticated in blogging, I may move the blog to a service with more customization tools, etc.
Here are instructions for subscribing to my RSS feed for this blog:
1) Open a new browser window, go to www.bloglines.com and set up an account
2) Come back to my blog
3) In the bottom of the right-side panel of my blog, click on the Bloglines chicklet (icon)
4) Scroll to the bottom of the Bloglines screen (that should automatically open) and click Subscribe
The feed should now show up in the My Feeds tab in Bloglines
Thank you for your interest. I plan on adding a posting at least once a week.
Please subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog, and don't forget to leave me a comment.
I should say to my readers that I have a deep but rather dry (I prefer "dry" to the term "warped") sense of humor and I like to use it, so hopefully we can connect on that level as well.
Good luck as we go forward!
Thursday, September 07, 2006
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3 comments:
I am leaving a comment on my own post to get it started and so I don't feel so lonely out here!!
Hi everyone,
I attended the USPTO conference and it’s proved to be a very helpful opportunity. You really expanded my perspective on the potential of using blogs to my advantage.
I guess I can kick this off with a reflection on the basic tips and helpful resources I learned at the USPTO conference.
As most of us know, the inventing process is a very long, complex, and in a lot of cases, almost impossible process.
Because of this, I strongly suggest inventors educate themselves as much as possible before jumping into the inventing process. It's nothing you want to rush into in my perspective. Don't get your hopes up when you think of an idea, chances are - its already been thought of. This is why novel inventions are so valuable. This is why 98% of patents never see any profit. However, somebody needs to think of "The next great idea" might as well be you. So lets look at, discuss, and find the tools and resources to help each other think of the next great idea.
Educate yourself by knowing how the uspto operates. Know what to expect and how to react when situations arise from the PTO concerning your patent application.
Save your self some money and do your own preliminary patent search, Start with a google search as if you were searching to buy the idea you thought of. Use real, free patent search databases such as: USPTO.gov, Espacenet.net (Great for worldwide searches) Once you’ve don’t your own preliminary search, then pay for a professional patent search.
Understand and break down the feasibility of your idea. How much are people going to pay for your product (How much are they paying for existing similar products on the market)?
Decide if you want to start up a company around your idea or if you want to license your idea.
Try to build your own proof of concept prototype of your idea before you spend $1000's of dollars hiring a professional.
Start by asking friends and family what they think of your idea. Start focus groups in which you have people you don’t know sign non-disclosure documents and evaluate your idea, ultimately deciding if they would buy your product or not. If so, how much would they be willing to pay for it? Ask questions such as why did they like it, why did they not like it.
Always be open-minded on comments. Any feedback is good feedback. It's always good to know when to throw up the red flag or when to keep proceeding with your invention.
Read books such as Inventing for dummies, Patent it yourself
Join a local inventors group for networking and support http://www.uiausa.org/
Unfortuantely I ran out of time, I have to run. If any body has any stories relating to their invention or as has any advide to share. Please post something.
Thanks,
Kyle
Hi Steve!
Kudos on your preparation for the USPTO conference - I was as suprised as you to see that the majority of inventors in the room were not on the web all the time - most not even familiar with blogging.
Downgrading after a move from a cable modem to satellite (due to unfulfilled cable company promises of connectivity) has been a massive detriment to web productivity but not really to web activity. There is a lot of good information out there, and I am thrilled to see you mobilizing the troops.
I have just started reading "Naked Conversations" which is about the emotional nakedness of a good blog and its effect on a company. I will post more as I get deeper into it! I also want to echo anonymous Kyle - inventors need to keep the fact that this is business first and foremost in their minds. Good comments Kyle!
Thanks again for your session, I have tagged you for further updates. All the best!
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