Socialize at TBIC on 3/28/2012

Marketing your invention is essential to becoming successful and every job is easier if you have the right tools. One of the most important tools is the Internet and social media. Knowing how to use these effectively can make a big difference in getting people to support you or purchase your product so at our next meeting, TBIC will give you a primer on Social media! Fresh off his presentation at Tec Talk, Antony Francis and his partner Amber Osborne, will share some of the inside secrets to using Social Media to build your business effectively, find your audience, and engage them to become customers.
Amber & Antony will share the steps necessary to find your target market and if you are looking for angel investors and VC's, how to connect with them on twitter. Learn how to turn them on and more importantly how not to turn them off! They will share the basics on up and teach you the key to success in social media. You will also learn some simple tips to take care of your social media even if you have a busy schedule.
Antony launched “Head of Lettuce Media” after a long career in Real Estate to help businesses of all sizes learn how to integrate social media and new technologies into their business mix. He worked as a National Sales Manager teaching marketing and learned early on how to spot opportunities and make the most of them. He has shared his message with countless audiences all over the country and now makes Tampa Bay his home. His partner, Amber, was voted Creative Loafing’s Best of The Bay 2010 Best Tampa Twitter Personality. She is a lead influencer in all things social media, specializing in brand development and creating engaging, unforgettable online personalities. Amber has been featured on Mashable.com, St. Pete Times, MSNBC, ABC News, CNN Headline News, LA Weekly and Fast Company Online. She was also recently a panelist at SXSW 2011 and a keynote panelist at I-Strategy Amsterdam 2011.
Join us on Wednesday March 28th at TBIC and learn from this dynamic duo how you can grab the social media bull by the horns! Learn to use these tools effectively and you will find it much easier to market your innovations!

Inside the USPTO this week at TBIC

So what happens to your precious patent application after it enters that black hole called the USPTO in Alexandria, Virginia. The wait for a response can be unnerving and the response itself may be disappointing. What was the examiner thinking … ?

On Wednesday, Almis Jankus, a retired patent examiner with nearly twenty years experience, will shed some light on what happens inside the USPTO, and, more importantly, what happens inside the examiner’s mind. Almis will help you understand the examiners perspective so that you may argue the points of your patents more effectively.

Almis proved expertise in patent law and web technology by issuing one of the most important, and potentially precedent-setting patents, affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, lower courts and USPTO reexamination in the recent I4I v. Microsoft infringement case. He was awarded the USPTO Bronze Medal as a Primary Examiner, trained new examiners and was selected as an expert witness in computer graphics based on recommendations from USPTO directors. He graduated at top of his class (Suma Cum Laude) with a BS in electrical engineering and a 4.0 GPA. He has examined and reviewed over four thousand patent applications and issued over one thousand patents. He is currently a patent agent and member of the Tampa Bay Inventors Council. Join us this Wednesday and learn what a valuable resource we have in him, right here in our group!

See you Wednesday 3/14/2012