PowerBlog Review: Patent Pending
Published December 03, 2004
Some of the historical patent posts are absorbing — even when they're about subjects you'd think would be a snooze. Take for instance, the plow. There is a great post on the history of the plow, replete with diagrams of a John Deere patent for a plow. Boring it sounds, but boring it is not. A lot of interest is added by the different patent diagrams and images Robert inserts in the post.
The way Robert approaches his subject matter heightens the interest. One of the techniques he uses adeptly is to tell a story using background information about inventors. One of my favorite posts is about Thomas Edison's invention of the ticker tape. The post illustrates Edison's capabilities as a negotiator, and how he received over ten times the amount for the invention than he expected — all by knowing when to ask a question rather than answering one. While the post is ostensibly about the ticker tape, it is really a vignette about Thomas Edison the entrepreneur.
In addition to all the invention and technology topics, Patent Pending also gives practical tips about patents for inventors. For instance, did you think getting a patent was expensive? Well, perhaps it's not as expensive as you think, as this post, Patenting Basics, Q & A, points out.
The Power: The Power of Patent Pending is in the content that is full of trivia, but hardly trivial. And it is also in the way the blog tells stories, covers unusual topics, and uses images and diagrams to make for fascinating — even addicting — reading out of what would otherwise be dry subject matter.
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- PowerBlog Review: Patent Pending
- Published: December 03, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Culture
- Writer: Anita Campbell
- Anita Campbell's BC Writer page
- Anita Campbell's personal site
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Comments
great job on this Anita, love the graphics - this is an excellent feature - thanks!








Great to see others following the pursuit of better innovation (www.bettergetter.com). Check out Juice by Evan I. Schartz for a good read on the fuel that feeds world class inventors.