On May 9, 2013, IPWatchdog’s very own Gene Quinn will be attending and presenting at the Business Development Institute’s Social Media Marketing Summit for Law Firms in NY.  When they first reached out to IPWatchdog to ask Gene to present at this event, I offered to speak as the Social Media Diva, but given that the program specifically targets Law Firms, they declined my offer expressing their desire to have an attorney who not only knows and understand the importance of social media but one who also utilizes social media on a regular basis as part of the work he does each day!   So Gene is definitely their guy!

The summit was put together as a result of increased awareness of social media by law firms and how these platforms can be used to attract new clients and to expand business with existing clients.  According to the Summit’s Event Summary, “Most lawyers use social media networking tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter and most firms have at least one blog.   Many firms now recognize that blogging and social networking have helped produce new client leads.” Gene himself gets all of his client work as a result of his blogging and other social media efforts.  So BDI recognized that he is the perfect person to present at the Summit.

By now you are probably aware that on March 19, 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 8,401,009 to Twitter, and more specifically to Jack Dorsey and Christopher Isaac Stone. The Twitter patent is titled: Device Independent Message Distribution Platform. In other words, Twitter was awarded a patent on “Tweeting”!

Now those of you who know me and have read my posts in the past, know that I am not a patent attorney myself (although I am married to one who is rather well known).  Rather, I am a social media strategist — sometimes called The Social Media Diva™ — who uses Twitter and other social media platforms to assist my clients in their online marketing strategies. Quite frequently we will feature posts that analyze the technologies of an issued patent from the IP attorney perspective.  We thought it would be fun for me to analyze this patent from a non-attorney standpoint as it pertains to social media platforms as a whole.

For the patent professionals who are reading you may find it interesting to see the complete file history for the Twitter patent.

Single Touch Systems Inc., a technology based mobile media solutions provider that enables businesses, advertisers and brands to connect with customers, by and through its wholly owned subsidiary, Single Touch Interactive R&D IP, Inc., issued a “Letter of Notification” to Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB). The purpose of the letter was to inform Facebook of several Single Touch’s issued U.S. patents directed to streaming and routing media.  The patents include U.S. Patent Nos. 7,054,949, 7,191,244, 7,689,706 and 8,015,307, but also mention U.S. Patent Publication 2004/0025186.

The letter was sent on behalf of Single Touch by attorneys Polsinelli Shughart, P.C. The letter seems to obviously be a first salvo in what could become another patent problem for Facebook. While some may want to speculate that this is nothing more than an attempt at licensing, I find that difficult to believe. Why would Single Touch issue a press release if they were simply seeking to open the line of communication over the acquisition of the patents or the granting of a license?

Although rather muted in tone, the letter is easily recognized by those in the industry as either an attempt to open licensing negotiations, or a subtle warning that patent infringement litigation is right around the corner.

For decades, the Nielsen Rating has measured audience size for television programming. Since 2006, Twitter allowed users to provide real-time comments, or tweets, on just about anything they wish. Twitter users often use Twitter to discuss television shows as they are being aired. Because of this, Nielsen and Twitter and joining their powerful forces to create the Nielsen Twitter TV Rating.

Starting in the fall of 2013, the Nielsen Twitter TV Rating will chart the conversations that take place on Twitter about television shows. It will measure the total audience for each show’s social activity. According to a representative at Nielsen, this new rating system will provide the “precise size of the audience and effect of social TV to TV programming.”

Nielsen, is a global company that measures television and other media forms such as online, mobile and trade shows. They have a strong presence in about 100 countries and have headquarters in New York and the Netherlands.

Whether you are just getting your feet wet in the wild world of inventions and patents, or you already have your business up and running, social media can help expand your business. Everywhere you look, there are Facebook “Like” buttons, LinkedIn “Share” buttons and Twitter “Tweet” buttons. Even Google has entered the social sharing game with Google+ allowing you to “+1” content. Social media can help catapult your business into overdrive – if you know how to use it effectively.

Here are some tips to using social media to expand business.

1. Choose which social platforms you want to use

There are many social networks out there – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, the list seems to be constantly growing. You want to channel your hard work into a select amount of platforms, and make sure that they are the right ones for your business. But with so many choices, how can you be sure which is right for you? Well that depends on what your goal is. Twitter is very up-to-the-minute, a place that provides short blurbs about news, insights and just about anything else. Facebook will allow you to post pictures, talk about events and what’s new with your business. LinkedIn caters to the professional crowd and will allow you to highlight your business credentials, but there is a social side to it that is beneficial for businesses.

Twitter users are no doubt familiar with the familiar “#FF” followed by a number of names.  ”#FF” stands for “Follow Friday.”  On Fridays many Twitter users will suggest who others should follow by tweeting with the hashtag #FF.  This can be a great way to find interesting feeds to follow that you might otherwise never have known about.

Last Friday I wrote about a handful of U.S. government Twitter accounts that relate to innovation and various intellectual property issues.  Today I give you 10 great Twitter accounts to follow if you are interested in staying up on intellectual property around the world, with a heavy emphasis on Europe and Australia because those are the primary jurisdictions that speak English.

Of course, you can follow me on Twitter @ipwatchdog.

If you are a user of Twitter you have probably seen more than a few tweets, always on Friday’s, using “#FF” followed by a number of names.  ”#FF” stands for “Follow Friday.”  On Fridays many Twitter users will suggest who others should follow by tweeting with the hashtag #FF.

For me Twitter is about news and information.  It is one of the ways that I keep my finger on the pulse of what is happening, so I put a premium on those who convey information, but don’t like following people who tweet constantly all day every day.

Periodically I will take a moment to provide a list of those who I think you might find it useful to follow.  Today’s “follow Friday” recommendations focus on those in the U.S. government who tweet about innovation and intellectual property, with a focus on those who are lesser-known, at least based on the number of Twitter followers.

Of course, you can follow me on Twitter @ipwatchdog.

No matter where we go these days, social media surrounds us. It seems everyone is saying, “Follow us on Twitter.” “Like us on Facebook.”  “For More Information Scan Our QR Code.”  Just this week alone, I have seen at least a dozen places in my everyday life where social media has come into the real world —  at church, on my drive home from the airport I saw signs on the back of hotel shuttle vans and at my local coffee shop, to name a few.  Social media is here to stay and businesses of all sizes know it.  But what many smaller businesses do not know or care to realize is that there are several bad habits that still need to be broken in order to make the most out of their social media strategies.  Following is a list of these common bad habits and what small business can do to break away from these same old mistakes.

Social Media Hard Sales

Social Media is not the place for hard selling.  You may recall in a previous article, Top 10 Mistakes Businesses Make with Social Media, I listed hard selling as #5 on the list.  But it seems that so many businesses cannot seem to break this very bad habit.  I am not saying do not promote your businesses, but people do not want to be “sold to” anymore.  With the Internet and social media making it so easy for consumers to go somewhere else, there are other, far more productive ways to promote your business than with the hard sell.

Social Media is not a fad.  It is not something that is going to go away nor is it going to be replaced by something bigger and better.  Most businesses have embraced social media and all that it has to offer.  Perhaps you, yourself have taken a ride on the social media bandwagon.  But, even if you have a well-established social media presence, are you really getting the most out of your online relationships?  Are you missing opportunities to truly leverage your business relationships online in order to reap bigger rewards and sales in the real world?  Following are 5 easy ways that you can take to utilize your online business and real-world relationships to increase your overall social media ROI.

1.  Give and Receive On-Line Introductions

Don’t just wait for others to approach you through social media. Until you have established your online brand, telling others who you are, what you do and what you have to offer, you cannot expect others to find you.  You are always your own best advertiser.  You need to reach out to everyone you know and want to know to get the word out. With social media, as well as in the real world, you do not necessarily have to approach people blindly.  Rather start utilizing the business relationships you have developed both off line and on over the years to meet those you would potentially like to work with.

If you are a user of Twitter you have probably seen more than a few tweets, always on Friday’s, using “#FF” followed by a number of names.  ”#FF” stands for “Follow Friday.”  On Fridays many Twitter users will suggest who others should follow by tweeting with the hashtag #FF.  If this doesn’t make any sense to you — no worries.

For me Twitter is about news and information.  It is one of the ways that I keep my finger on the pulse of what is happening, so I put a premium on those who convey information.  I also typically prefer those who are not “machine like” Tweeting dozens of things over a short period of time.  Let me know about what YOU believe is worth my time.  If I wanted a disk dump I would just go to Google News.

Those with Twitter accounts who are looking for some good folks to follow look no further.  Likely everyone in the industry is already familiar with folks like Professor Dennis Crouch of PatentlyO, who tweets @patentlyo, so I tried to focus (for the most part) on some lesser known tweeters.  Below are some of my favorites on Twitter; people who in my humble opinion are excellent to follow.  You may also want to check my previous recommendations.  See Follow Friday: IP Tweeters on Twitter.

Of course, you can follow me @ipwatchdog and Renee @ipwatchdog_too.  See you on Twitter!

On Sunday March 25 and Monday March 26, 2012, I attended the Second Annual Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium (WES) in Shreveport, LA.  The event was hosted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Honor of Women’s History Month and was put together in collaboration with U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) and the city of Shreveport, Louisiana.  WES was held at the Shreveport Convention Center and focused primarily on women entrepreneurs, innovation and the importance of intellectual property to business.  I was honored to accept an invitation to present at this year’s event on social media and the importance of developing and leveraging online business relationships.

The program featured Senator Landrieu, who is chair of the Senate’s Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship as the symposium’s keynote speaker as well as the Mayor of Shreveport, Mayor Cedric B Glover who gave the welcoming remarks on day 1 of the event. The program additionally included the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO Teresa (Terry) Stanek Rea, Director of Inventor Education, Outreach and Recognition (USPTO) Elizabeth Dougherty, Director of Research and Policy at the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) Julia Kurnik as well as successful entrepreneurs and other experts in the field of intellectual property law and small business.

It seems like everyone is online these days, male, female, young and old.  And tapping into this vast audience is a low-cost, highly effective way to launch a small-business brand into the global marketplace. Building your brand through social media allows you to cultivate new relationships, increase brand awareness, develop customer loyalty and make word-of-mouth marketing go viral.  Although social media seems relatively easy to get started with, it takes strategy and consistency to build your brand online.  The most important thing to keep in mind while doing so is no matter how big the company you work for is, whether you work for yourself or for someone else, you still have your own personal brand.

But what exactly does it mean to have a personal brand?  How can one use social media to represent a larger company or firm yet still maintain a personal brand?  Well if you have read my article With Social Media, YOU are Your Own Brand published in June of 2011, I explained that although you may be using social media to promote the offerings of the company or firm you work for, large or small, you are doing so as an individual.  Building upon this previous article, below are 5 simple steps you can take to build your own personal brand using social media.