Shopping for the holidays will almost always expose a person to something they’ve never seen before. Here are some interesting items dotting shopping lists this season from ThinkGeek – a few are quite useful!
The Bluetooth Bracelet – When phone holsters are too cumbersome, and you just don’t want to put your phone in your pocket, you can safely leave it in the car, in your jacket, in your purse or other hiding place and not miss a call. The bluetooth bracelet sits almost inconspicuously at your wrist, to alert you of phone activity.
The iPod Brick – Sometimes we all need a little nostalgia. Here’s an iPod speaker deck modeled after your favorite construction toy. I don’t think the block connect together to make a bigger speaker, but that would be fun if you could do it.
Guitar Amp in an Altoids Can – On everyone’s stocking stuffer list, this is a whimsical and hip twist on a practical solution to a real problem. Electric guitarists can’t always just plug in and turn it up, so pocket-sized amps that either include self-contained speakers or jacks for headphones are essential. Given a choice between this and the Smokey Joe amp (plain old plastic box about the size of a pack of cigarettes), this one wins all the style points.
And finally a problem solver that shows some real observation skills – the Coffee Cup Power Inverter. Not only does it give you somewhere to plug in those annoying AC powered devices that don’t come with car chargers, but it keeps the connections stashed in the cup holder!
Breaking news on Impact Lab today shows what a different world we live in these days. The Kickbee, is a gadget developed by dad-to-be, Corey Menscher, designed to transmist “junior’s” kicking across the internet. Using a system of piezo sensors that monitor in-utero activity while strapped to Mum’s tummy, all that kicking and squirming is transmitted via Twitter’s status update message, a 140-character “blurb” that users send whenever they want to let the world know what they’re up to.
Any guesses as to how many kids from the upcoming generation will begin their online activities in the womb?
If you’re a “thought leader” or an “idea generator,” you are probably familiar with the problems surrounding the generation and control of ideas. Watch the last 15 seconds or so of this Touchstone commercial for a great visual demonstration of what goes on, not just in communities, but sometimes just within the mind of one highly imaginative or creative individual.
This sort of idea generation can’t be effectively organized with Post-it notes or legal pads. Sure, you can write all of your brain sparks on Post-its but it’s hard to share them or get input from others to help you organize and prioritize things. Most flowcharting software requires 6 hours of computer science just to understand the menus. Aside from the learning curve, they also are not cheap.
Fortunately, there are some affordable (even free) tools you can install on your computer that can help you think the way you like to think and still organize and share those ideas. These are called mind mappers. Mind maps let you arrange things intuitively based on your individual classification method, which, with “idea generators,” often is non-linear in nature. Some ideas don’t make sense on their own so here’s a chance to organize things based on the way you think rather than the way some software thinks is best for you. These can usually be either concept-based or structure hierarchically.
Some buddies & I were debating the other day if more people start businesses during recessions, or during periods of growth. I didn’t have access to yearly data on entrepreneurs, but what I do have is access to the US Patent & Trademark Office data. So if we asked another question, do more people start inventing during a recession or expansion?
Just a few disclaimers. We looked at approved utility patents that were filed by independent inventors. In the definition of the USPTO, a patent is filed by an independent inventor if an individual is listed and not a company. Unfortunately, year by year data isn’t available before 1991. The year is the year that the application is approved, not the year it was submitted.
Actually, the data shows us one thing for sure – we peaked in the late 1990’s during the dot com boom. Since then, we have been on a slow and steady decline in the number of applications being approved, not because the USPTO isn’t approving enough, but just fewer applications are being submitted.
Inventor Patents vs Economy
We had a positive blip in 2006, but after that it was back to the usual decline.
So back to the original question: how closely does the economy relate to people inventing?
It appears that there may be a slight direct and positive correlation between GDP growth and approved patents, but there is a 2 year delay (see GDP growth in 1994 and patent peak in 1996, again GDP growth 2004 and patent peak in 2006). That makes sense that there would be a delay after the application is approved. A rough guideline is that patents take on average 2 years to get approved, which would account for the delay. So the answer appears to be that, yes, in a growing economy, more people will be creating inventions. In a sagging economy, fewer people will jump ship to create a risky invention.
However, the larger thing that this shows us is that relatively steady decline in patents from the late 1990’s. I have two theories of why this might have happened:
The high-tech boom of the late 1990’s caused a slew of patent applications and approvals because everyone wanted a piece of the gold rush. Not only that, since internet technology was new, no one was sure what could be patented and what couldn’t. Since then, we’ve come to a better realization of what can be patented, thus the drop in patents being submitted and approved. (Patent approval rates as a percentage have actually decreased since 1998, also having some effect)
Also, I think the mounting legal costs of filing and then PROTECTING patents is increasing. Because of this, fewer individuals have the resources necessary to pay a lawyer $10,000-$20,000 to file, and potentially hundreds of thousands to defend a patent if it is infringed.
So there you have it. When the economy is good, more people invent (albeit with a little lag).
Have you ever thought of an invention that can actually help people cool themselves during the summer heat? How can you use the summer to brainstorm ways to save people suffering from the heat? As you sip through the glass of ice cool lemonade or iced tea, think about this.
Iced tea was first invented at the 1904 World’s Fair. According to the story, Richard Blechynden, a tea plantation owner, came to the fair and was providing the samples of his tea to the prospective customers. As the temperature was soaring, he suddenly had an idea to put some ice in his samples. He took the risk and it paid off, the popular beverage iced tea was invented.
Lemonade is another famous ‘cool’ invention to beat the heat of summer. You know what prompted the invention? In 1630, because of imports from the French West Indies, the price of the sugar dropped dramatically. Since sugar, the main ingredient, was now cheap, lemonade was born and priced for the masses.
For those of you who like a cool hard drink, Daiquiri is the ideal thirst quencher. It is also ideal for those who are spending their holidays in sun-kissed beaches under a mini umbrella. The main ingredients for this cool drink are rum and lime juice. It is said that the inventor of this drink, the American engineer Jennings Cox, invented it out of desperation when he ran out gin!
So while sweat is pouring down your face this summer, think whether you can create a drink that would make you famous!
- Bryan Daigle
President & Founder of ideatango.com – the #1 site for inventors & invention ideas For more good info & advice, check out the official IdeaTango Blog
Do you have a friend who is a lover of latest gizmos and wants to know everything about what’s coming out? For his or her birthday, don’t spend sleepless nights thinking about what gift to give. Instead, gift the book ‘101 Unuseless Japanese Inventions’. This is regarded as the best coffee table book about the latest (and most amusing) gadgets available in the market and includes gorgeous photographs of the latest models.
Need some dust slippers that your cat can wear to go walking with you? If you think that such a thing doesn’t exist in the real world, then flip through ‘The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions’. Here you will learn about more whacky inventions like Drymobile, a solar powered torch, and others. Those of you wanting to impress friends at parties with the history of air-conditioners and washing machines should try the book ‘Gadgets and Necessities.’ Or even better, try to get a hold of ‘Samuel Todd’s Book of Great Inventions.’
If you or your friend is on the verge of some great invention, then you must educate yourself on patents. The book ‘Patent It Yourself,’ written by David Pressman, is a how-to guide to filing your own patent.
‘The Incredible World of Spy Fi,’ as the name suggests, is the best guide for those who plan to become a new era James Bond or Austin Powers. Who doesn’t want to know about all the spy gadgets that have been used by infamous spies?
So, next time when you need to give a gift to your inventive friend, you know what to get. You’re welcome.
- Bryan Daigle
President & Founder of ideatango.com – the #1 site for inventors & invention ideas For more good info & advice, check out the official IdeaTango Blog
WARNING: THIS POST GIVES A HEAVY DOSE OF REALITY! PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
Being a business owner in the invention industry, and an inventor myself, I felt I needed to voice – eh hem – vent, some fallacies that are prevalent in the industry. Here is a short list of common misconceptions of people, businesses, and general issues in the invention industry:
Fallacy: People and Businesses are out to “steal” your idea. The truth is, it takes a lot more than an idea to have a successful product. Talk to any successful inventor and they’ll tell you the idea was just the start. Business savvy, determination, marketability, money, management team, and execution – that’s how you make your great idea successful. In fact, don’t take my word for it, listen to Paul Graham (a very very successful tech entrepreneur).*Note: This advice is for the US. China, Vietnam, etc. will copy your product no matter what.
Fallacy: All companies in this industry are scams. In fact, out of the hundreds of thousands of patent attorneys, product developers, and marketing firms, only a few dozen companies and individuals are suspected scams (as counted on inventnet.com’s list of suspected scams). The reason we often hear of the “scams” is because they’re the ones advertising on TV & radio, and the ones with the biggest wallets. So 99.9% of service providers and individuals in this industry are ethical human beings. So how do you distinguish the handful of bad apples from the good ones? The quality of their work and their references. Ask for samples and check InventorEd for the latest news on scams.
Fallacy: I can invent successfully without spending much money. Inventors and small business owners around the world wish this were true. Unfortunately, it’s going to cost money, most likely your money. Most inventors and entrepreneurs finance their invention on piles of credit card debt (85% according to Entrepreneur Mag). The trick of inventing is to know where it’s smart to spend money, and where it’s NOT smart to spend money. You need to think of inventing more like a business. Of course, you can always get creative and cut your costs, but at a minimum it’s going to cost tens of thousands of dollars to get your invention to a point where retailers want to even talk to you.
Fallacy: Wal-Mart will buy my idea and Venture Capitalists will invest in my idea. Wal-Mart doesn’t buy ideas, they buy already manufactured products that have a proven track records of sales. Very few Venture Capitalists invest in inventions, because the success rate is so low, and admit it, we inventors can be difficult to deal with. Be prepared to spend your money and get family & friend investors instead of VCs. Don’t worry, as mentioned before your in the same boat with 85% of entrepreneurs.
Fallacy: If I get a patent, my invention will make millions. Not to be the bearer of bad news (again) but according to an MIT study 97% of patents never become commercially viable. Too often inventors focus too much on the patentability and not enough of the marketability of their invention. Not to undermine patents, they are good, but they shouldn’t the only thing on your mind.
So I gave you the straight juice tonight. I don’t mean to discourage anyone from inventing or starting a business, but point out some hard facts that you will be up against. That’s where the persistence & determination comes in handy.
Last weekend we headed down the road to Austin for the 2007 Maker Faire. This was the first time Make Magazine & O’Reilly Media was doing the show in Austin, and they expected 25k attendees. Inventors, hobbyists, garage tinkerers, robots, and craft makers displayed all their stuff. Everything from art cars, to pedal powered fair rides, to a life size mouse trap, Pleo the robot pet, to ping pong ball shooting robots & more. We’ve posted all the Maker Faire videos on our site so you can get a sense of what the Maker Faire all about.
Because we now have blogging capability on the NEW IdeaTango.com, we’re moving the IdeaTango.com blog here. Not only will I continue writing the blog, but now famous inventor of the French Twister, and partner of IdeaTango.com, Lisa Lloyd will be sharing her wisdom on the new blog.
This blog at bryandaigle.com will become my personal blog (less corporate) to share my thoughts with inventors, entrepreneurs, and to anyone else who will listen. Let me know what y’all think of our new site, we’re super excited!
Dear Blog,
I’m sorry I have neglected you over the past few weeks. I know you’re very reasonable but I just wanted to let you know I didn’t want to hurt you. It’s just that with my online community for inventors and their invention ideas, IdeaTango.com, we were launching a new, and much improved version of our web site. If you don’t believe me, go to IdeaTango.com right now and you’ll immediately see the difference. Our team was very excited to get this out.
I realize that’s not enough to help you forgive me, but in addition to IdeaTango, I was helping launch another company, InventWise. At InventWise we’ll provide inventors with market research, cold hard facts, that will help them prove the viability of their product. It’s a fantastic group of people, and we’re all driven by a desire to deliver credible, independent research. Normally maybe launching a new IdeaTango.com wouldn’t be enough to keep me from you, but our InventWise team also had to launch a whole COMPANY in a period of a month (web site, team, 800 number, services …). Luckily we had a running start with the experienced founders, but starting a company in a month is no less than an amazing feat. And we did it.
I know what you’re going to say, this isn’t good enough. But let me stress that we were limited by a hard deadline, the Yankee Invention Expo in Waterbury, CT October 11-13th. We had no option to do all this before then. if you don’t believe me, you can go see pictures from the invention show.
So I hope you understand and can forgive my absence. Lucky for you not only will I be writing to you, but also Lisa Lloyd, our wonderful, and successful inventor partner. I hope we can have what we had before.
The Bluetooth Bracelet – When phone holsters are too cumbersome, and you just don’t want to put your phone in your pocket, you can safely leave it in the car, in your jacket, in your purse or other hiding place and not miss a call. The bluetooth bracelet sits almost inconspicuously at your wrist, to alert you of phone activity.
Guitar Amp in an Altoids Can – On everyone’s stocking stuffer list, this is a whimsical and hip twist on a practical solution to a real problem. Electric guitarists can’t always just plug in and turn it up, so pocket-sized amps that either include self-contained speakers or jacks for headphones are essential. Given a choice between this and the Smokey Joe amp (plain old plastic box about the size of a pack of cigarettes), this one wins all the style points.
And finally a problem solver that shows some real observation skills – the Coffee Cup Power Inverter. Not only does it give you somewhere to plug in those annoying AC powered devices that don’t come with car chargers, but it keeps the connections stashed in the cup holder!
Breaking news on 
