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Give A Computer A Cookie

November 30, 2007 by mac

SafeLike the famous book “Give A Mouse A Cookie…” by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Illustrator Felicia Bond, “cookies” are often used by advertisers and Web analytic firms on most all web sites.   They place “tracking cookies” on your computer.  And like the book, the mouse will “ask for a glass of milk…” you can sure bet those web advertisers and analytic firms will be asking you for something. 

In most cases they don’t even let you know that they’ve ask!  Let me explain.  On the web, a “cookie” is a small text file that contains a string of alphanumeric characters. The tracking cookies tell companies what you are doing online, even though they don’t typically record your name or other personably identifiable information. The cookies are used by companies to try and match ads to a user’s interests or in the above mouse example they will “ask for a glass of milk”. 

There are two types of cookies used on most websites: a persistent cookie and a session cookie. A persistent cookie gets entered by your Web browser into the “Cookies” folder on your computer and remains in this “Cookies” folder after you close your browser. Persistent cookies may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the site. A session cookie is held temporarily in your computer’s memory and disappears after you close your browser or shut off your computer. There are websites that use Web beacons (also called “clear GIFs” or “pixel tags”) in conjunction with cookies. Web beacons are small strings of code that are placed in a Web page. For example, if you arrive at website by clicking on a banner ad for a product or service, a session cookie may be used. This cookie will contain an identification number for the ad that you clicked on, or will contain an identification number for the site that you were visiting when you clicked on the banner ad. 

Most web sites tell you nothing upfront about tracking cookies, or how to get rid of these tracking cookies assuming that you want too.  Cookies are used all over the Web, but in most cases, their presence is only disclosed deep inside privacy policies.  When was the last time you read a privacy policy? 

Some of the more reputable web sites want you to know how to get rid of these tracking cookies or opt out of the cookies set by any ad-placement or analytic contractor they might use and will provide the information.  For example, here is a link to a page where you can opt out of the cookies set by an ad-placement or analytics contractor of Omniture. 

 I’d prefer a totally opt-in system, but, as far as I know, the ad industry doesn’t have a practical one yet and not enough consumers have complained about tracking cookies to make an impact for the industry to change. If you want to clean out all tracking cookies from all your Web sites the following links take you where you can download three programs that can help clean out tracking cookies: 

 I’ve used some of these applications and been satisfied with the results, but give them a try and let me know your results. You can also change the preferences or settings in your Web browser to control cookies. In some cases, you can choose to accept cookies from the primary site, but block them from third parties. In others, you can block cookies from specific advertisers, or clear out all cookies. 

Not all cookies are tracking cookies. Like a lot of Web sites, they may place cookies on your computer, in addition to any placed by advertisers. But they aren’t “tracking cookies.” They merely do things like save your registration information, if you choose to register. They do not tell the companies what you do or where you go online. 

I’ll take warm milk with my cookies, thank you.

Posted in Etiquette, Links, Opt-in, prediction, Privacy, Technology, Trolling | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

26 Years Later Mobile Penetration at 50%

November 29, 2007 by mac

Image

November is an important month in the global mobile business.  First off, Apple launched its iPhone in the UK, Germany and France, after a successful launch in the US. Google put a line in the sand on the mobile space with the release of Android and the formation of the Open Handset Alliance.

According to a report from Informa Telecoms & Media , worldwide mobile penetration hit 50 percent. The report states there are 3.3 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide. At the end of September there were mobile networks operating in 224 countries, which is up from 192 countries in 1997 and 35 in 1987. Even though there are now an estimated 3.3 billion mobile subscriptions activated currently, its important to note that some countries have a mobile penetration rate of more than 100 percent, meaning some users have more than one subscription.

And in related mobile news, Apple plans to release a developer kit for the iPhone in February.  That is notable since they have routinely controlled access to many of their products, but now will welcome software written by outside programmers.

Posted in Apple, Google, iPhone, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , |

Wand Waving My iPhone Remote

November 27, 2007 by mac

iphoneOdds are that as a developer you went to college, earned a degree to specialize in something and avoid a career serving up burgers and fries at the local grill. But now day’s developers are spending most of their week developing mobile applications for the fast-food giants.  That’s ironic! 

According to Adweek, consumers are facing mobile advertising saturation and a growing number of brands are turning to mobile developers to create interactive wireless services and tools in lieu of conventional mobile media buys.  Advertisers are investing in “branded utility”–i.e., services they believe enable their customers to perform tasks, rather than interrupt the mobile experience. 

And speaking of branded utility, AppleInsider reports that Apple filed a series of patents for sensor layouts, mobile sensors and compliant conductors, together indicating they are working on a multi-touch device that recognizes more intricate gestures–e.g., grabbing or swiping motions with one or more fingers–and selectively disables input depending on context. In the patent, Apple explained that pressure-sensitive technology could recognize rolling, tilting, or twisting motions for manipulating content in 3D. And because the touch controls need not be flat, the technology would enable more unique and ergonomic device designs. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to the day where I can twirl and whirling my iPhone to buy a burger and then roll that perfect 300 bowling game!

Posted in Apple, iPhone, Nintendo®, Technology | Tagged , , , , |

Blog World and New Media Expo

November 15, 2007 by mac

Sorry about the delayed post on this, but I was flying home late last Friday night and there was a little gal coughing the entire 3 hour flight in my row…needless to say I contracted whatever she was spreading into the air.  Ugh!!  Anyway here is my delayed post on Blog World.

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Summary:

A bunch of bloggers getting together sounds like “geekfest” and this conference delivered.  It’s dedicated to promoting the blogging industry and “new media”. This was a first for an industry-wide exhibition, and BlogWorld featured more than 50 seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from a who’s who of personalities.   The conference was for the serious blogger, podcaster, or vlogger who want to increase readership, improving functionality of blogs, but most important were the discussions and examples of new business models leveraging affiliate or ad/promotion programs.   

Blogging Statistics – Level Set

  • Over 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog.
  • More than 147 million Americans use the Internet.
  • Over 57 million Americans read blogs.
  • 1.7 million American adults list making money as one of the reasons they blog.
  • 89% of companies surveyed say they think blogs will be more important in the next five years.
  • 9% of internet users say they have created blogs.
  • 6% of the entire US adult population has created a blog.
  • Technorati is currently tracking over 70 million blogs — over120 thousand blogs are created every day.
  • There are over 1.4 million new blog posts every day–22 of the 100 most popular websites in the world are blogs.
  • 37% of blog readers began reading blogs in 2005 or 2006.
  • 51% of blog readers shop online.
  • Blog readers average 23 hours online each week.

 Blog statistic info/source: HERE. 

Conference Details:

The conference had a lot of exhibitors that provided product services to bloggers, vloggers, and podcasters. Another way to view this is a tradeshow catering to individuals and businesses that tie at least some of their efforts to the process of communication and commerce through the internet.  Exhibitors included: Blog publishing software, RSS services, Broadband ISP’s, Wi-Fi services, Podcasting services, Advertising networks, News readers, Aggregators, Badges, Widgets and Plug-ins, Web hosting companies, Blog designers, Affiliate program partners, recording hardware/software, and more. 

I thought about blogging a blogging conference, but there was no time to post.   Conferences (at least the good ones) are about action and events. And when formal events (like panels or keynotes) aren’t in progress, there are numerous informal conversations, exhibits to visit, etc.   I can’t write, talk, and listen at the same time. 

The event started with an opening keynote which was a Q&A between Ed Sussman from FastCompany.com (also Inc.com) and Matt Mullenweg who is the founding developer of WordPress. This was not very dynamic. The speakers sitting down in leather chairs and had the energy of The Actor’s Studio. It was interesting, but wasn’t the best morning kick-off for a long day packed full of sessions.  Ed asked the questions and Matt provided answers and weaved in a “state of the union” on the blogging industry (both content & software) and where things are heading.  Matt had several interesting comments, and the key points were: WordPress will ALWAYS be an open source project.
WordPress is working an “auto-update” feature (ala Firefox) that lets you update your blog through a single button click when you log in to your admin section. 

Overall I found the sessions to be very interesting and the exhibits had many ideas on how to add to a blog and earn affiliate or ad banner revenue/cash. 

Notable Sessions:

  1. Blogging 101 – by Andy Wibbels.  Great presentation.  Discussed how 73% of journalists are looking for expertise from blogs.  Discussed how the unexpected connection changes your life, your perception.  Kind of exciting, but also a bit creepy.  Mention that 1/3 of all blogs are in Japanese.  We’re missing a lot of good insight due to language.  Discussed multiple streams of blogging income:  Contextual text ads (Google Adsense); Impression based ads (Tribal Fusion); Traditional Affiliate Programs (Amazon Assoc., Commission Junction); Contextual Widgets (Chitika.com); Paid Reviews (payperpost.com) and other branded schwags and RSS “tip jars”.  He also mentioned several blogging search engines: Blogpulse, BlogCatalog, IceRocket, BlogDigger.  I really liked Andy’s analogy of “Why are people on-line?”  a. Fun/Entertainment, b. Utility/Get Info (What’s that rash?), c. Community.  This was a similar theme in other speaker’s presentations as well and needs to be constantly referenced to make sure we are serving our customer.
  2. Good to Great: Blogging & Profit Potential – by Jim Kukral.  Jim has made more $500K blogging.  He is a jedi master so’s to speak.  Deliver a great presentation, with topics covering how blogs are making money and that everyone should be tapping into the money with online videos.  Like his “MarkCubanCallMe” blog idea.  Never spoke with Cuban, but generated a lot of views.  Jim discussed that the majority of blogs do not make money.  It’s a lot of work and with out setting a goal or serving a targeted niche or solve a problem you will not succeed.  He worked thru the mechanics of click-thru payments.  Jims view is that people got to the internet to have fun or get a problem solved.  That if you have a passion and can be an expert then you will do well producing quality content.  Described how problogger.net bought a home on blogging revenue.  Referenced one of the most successful blogs is by Tim Carver “askthebuilder.com”.  Think of it as a how to blog.  He discussed how no one is doing video on blogs.  Very small numbers today and that Google are doing a lot to drive video search.  Jim stated buy a $100 flip video camera and solve problems for people.  A secret to success.
  3. Building an Online Community – by Wendy Persall and David Nalle.  Wendy runs Emomsathome.com and David runs blogcritics.org  Discussion around content for the clicks and building a blog so that people don’t leave.  Meaning sometimes the affiliate or ad’s will redirect a reader away from your site and it might be more advantageous to run direct ads on your site so they stay and read more content or ads.
  4. Social Media vs. Pay-per-Click – by Jalali Hartman.  Played an interesting video “EPIC 2014” by museum of media history. Basically states to watch out for Google world domination.  Jalali talked about a project Wardancethemovie.com and how “movements” attract much larger and passionate members than a movie can.  He discussed the viral content elements of the project and type of tricks he used.  He mentioned an example of a movement on the Colbert for President on Facebook groups was generating 120 users join requests per second during the first 24 hours.  When people would post comments to The Wall they wouldn’t show up for hours.
  5. Using Social Media to Drive Traffic to your Blog – by Robyn Tippins and Larry Bailin.  Great presentation and primarily a Q&A session.  Robyn is super knowledgeable.  Works for Yahoo.  I met with her after the session and learned that she did some work for ISN while back.  I learned several techniques on how to cross reference/link for maximum exposure of a blog.  Mybloglog is a gold nugget.
  6. The Web 10.0 – by Thomas Frey (DaVinci Institute).  This was a futuristic discussion and Thomas pushed the level of understanding of what the net/blogs will become.  Basically his presentation is about the net being group into 3 categories:  Education, Global Systems, Techno-Nation.  Depressing to learn that in 1970 30% of all college graduates lived in the U.S., but today it’s 14%.  The most educated country in the world is Canada.  He discussed how future of education would evolve.  The Techno-nation area discussed economic borderlines of the world will not be drawn between countries, but around economic domains.  Virtual countries and no land involved.  With borderless economies it’s caused countries to lose control of commerce.  Lastly he discussed how search will become increasingly more complicated and an even bigger business opportunity with taste, texture, reflectivity, smell being some of the attributes.
  7. Social Media – by Chris Heuer and Marshal Kirkpatrick spoke on the Social Media landscape. An interesting discussion group and the Q&A session were good.  The main point is that Social Media enables us to tear down the walls between each other. It opens all of us up to one another and it allows us all to connect with the community around us and bond with it. In the end the Social Media Landscape is up to us and what we make of it.  Chris answered the “What is Social Media?” question by: “Its evergreen & persistent, it creates more opportunities to be found, puts a human face on your business, builds trust in the market and allows you to co-create with your customers.” Thinking about this statement it’s very true and we apply it every day to our Social Media usage whether we realize it or not.

I didn’t conduct in-depth research, but did listen to several brief demonstrations in the exhibit area.  Some of the notables are: 

  • Ligit: I’m going to use this site!
  • AdaptiveBlue: If you like movies, books, and music and blog about them often this site would be a great addition to your blog and a great way for you to make a little money as well.
  • SezWho: This is interesting but to be truthful, I need to play with it more before I totally understand it.BlogCatalog: Great site.  I’m just putting it here in case you haven’t been introduced yet.
  • WooMail: These guys hit me up while I was outside on break and were not part of the show. I know nothing about them other than its e-mail but I’m going to have a look. 

Summary:

Putting all this data and learning’s about blogs/Internet into good use:

  1. Focus on building relationships between businesses, bloggers & readers
  2. You will not succeed unless you focus on the things you have passion
  3. Commenting on Blogs to increase visibility and credibility.  Not something routinely done today.
  4. Always provide value by offering substantive material.
  5. Further the conversation in comments and be inviting/friendly so as to promote community and the sharing of ideas.
  6. Experiment with affiliate programs and continue to leverage any viral element.

Posted in blog, Social Networks, Technology | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

The Red, White and Blue

November 11, 2007 by mac

ImageThere are certainly varying viewpoints about the war, but one thing is for sure: The men and women who are fighting for us deserve to be respected and certainly there are many who have been disabled or severely injured who need all our support and assistance.

So, here is a big SHOUT OUT for all of you who served on this Veterans Day and do what you do.

We all show patriotism differently, but we can all do something good for a Veteran today and every day for that matter! Don’t be afraid to carry out even the simplest act of “thanks” for fear that your neighbor or some reporter for the Times is lurking in the shrubs to call you a crazy nationalist or accuse you of supporting a corrupt government.

Many of you will honor your brothers and sisters in arms in different ways…from working to increase public awareness of the cost of war or to end the arms race. Or maybe it’s a patriotic symbol of putting out a flag to demonstrate that you’re paying attention.

This year stirs more memories for me than others have because it seems like Iraq is the war that will never end. For comparisons:

WWI – 1 year, 7 months and 5 days
WWII – 3 years, 8 months and 26 days
Iraq – 4 years, 7 months and counting

**Vietnam War was certainly longer (1965 – 1975), and you could debate that we were involved as early as 1959.

Today I plan to say hello to a vet and thank them for their service. At the same time I plan to re-join the conversation vs. avoid debate because of my own ambivalence.

I’m a patriot and proud to be part of this country so, servicemen and women THANK YOU.

Posted in Life, war | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Open Letter to David Oringdulph – Housing Market Abuse

October 27, 2007 by mac

Legend Homes LogoI’ve avoided the entire “Chicken Little” the sky is falling on the housing market to pump up my blog stats. But, I’m sooooo tired of the constant whining about the mortgage crisis and especially annoyed at a naive article from Matrix Development (Legend Homes) CEO, David Oringdulph on Sunday, October 21st that Ryan Frank wrote in The Oregonian. They ran a “5 Questions” snippet interview where Mr. Oringdulph RANTS about the media as the main culprit behind the housing recession.

He states:

“There’s really nothing wrong with the housing market from the standpoint of economics. The loan rate is low. The income level is doing about 11/2 percent this year as far as income increase. We also got a population growth of close to 2 percent a year. If you look at all the numbers and you look at how everything else is doing, why isn’t housing doing well?” He goes on to say: “Why? The media. We blame it a lot on the media. Where else would someone get the idea that there’s something wrong with our housing market when it’s not?”

So, if we are to believe Mr. Oringdulph the housing recession doesn’t exist and is only a perception of the media making a big deal out of nothing. Well sir, not to be disrespectful, but you are full of hot air!

Mortgage companies were greedy and made loans to people who shouldn’t have qualified. It’s commonly known that in Portland, any real estate broker you chat with had a saying — if you could “fog a mirror” then you could get a loan. No money down, 110% financing, low-single digit ARM’s, — no problem — and any other “creative” financing method you want — now it’s no shirt, no shoes. This flies in the face of common sense sir and if something is too good to be true then it likely is.

Mr. Oringdulph/Legend Homes wants us to feel sorry for their reduced revenue while they whine about how the market recession isn’t REAL? It’s a fabrication of our over active imagination which the media created and continues to foster. If only the evening news would stop talking about all those foreclosures the market would magically be robust again. What planet did he just beam down from? Good grief! Just today BofA quits wholesale mortgage business laying off 700 jobs and shares of Countrywide plunge to $13.07 which is the lowest in more than 4 years. Oh yeah, it’s just our imagination Mr. Oringdulph!!

Many of us have gone without the double whip carmel machiotta so we can make mortgage payments and have made hard financial decisions to purchase a home with out being enabled by “no money down” predatory promotions from the “mega” builders and/or their cooperative lending divisions.

Mr. Oringdulph needs to step down off his Lake “O” perch and talk to the people in foreclosure about how this is the media’s fault and is only imagination.

I’m annoyed at his attempt to dismiss the whole crisis as psychological trickle-down economics. He obfuscated facts after trends were well established. And, I for one don’t want to subsidize financial mistakes of others or the lending institutions that recklessly loaned money to people who clearly were at risk. Hey David, here’s an idea…lets have the mortgage company or builder reward the home owners that have purchased homes responsibly and continue to make their payments. Now there’s an idea!

Mr. Oringdulph statements were offensive to those of us who work hard to be responsible and his PR team was very foolish to allow a public peek into his philosophical views and executive prowness! The Oregonian (that’s you Mr. Ryan Frank) should have been more assertive in challenging his thinking vs. providing him a soap box to evangelize his incorrect perspective. No, I don’t work for or in the media, but I know “spin” when I see it.

The housing market will run its due course with out any artificial stimulus that he or others may want to wish up on it!

If you feel the same as I do then email Ryan at: [email protected] and tell him what you think. Maybe the power of the blog-O-sphere will force a follow up article with some balance.

Posted in Legend Homes, Oregonian, prognostication, Real Estate | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Ho, Ho, Ho – It’s A Merry Imus Season!

October 16, 2007 by mac

Is this a bad dream? Imus coming back to the radio dial? Not to satellite radio, but to AM radio…didn’t he just leave? Didn’t the broadcast exec’s learn anything? I previously blogged on this HERE.

For nearly 3 whole weeks the offensive Imus statement focused attention on offensive rap lyrics. So called “leaders” leaned on the music industry officials to work and/or eliminate racial words from their artist gig list, but that has since faded…we’re right back to the same ‘ol same old with Gangster Raper T.I. (born Clifford Harris) arrested in Atlanta for buying a machine gun. He’s a convicted Felon buying a machine gun? Stick to rapp’n rythmes T.I.!! He has quite the “rap” sheet.

I think the exec’s learned that Imus makes money. He brings large national advertisers and his core audience is older, affluent and highly likely to rejoin. Lots of blog buzz about WABC-AM being his new home where several other syndicated hosts: Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity reside. The “I-man” gracing WABC with his presence would only add to the Arbitron ratings.

I suppose the backlash could become very intense. After all it’s getting old news reporting on the home loan bubble and market crash. And how many times do we have to listen to “nanny-gate”, the Rita Crosby double top secret phone recordings of bribes?!

As I’ve stated before I’m not an I-man fan. He seems determined to take WABC’s money and rejoin the trash talk AM dial — absent thousands of angry people gathering outside ABC HQ.

Posted in Imus, Life, Talk Radio, WABC | Tagged , , , , , , , , , |

Tektronix and Craftsman Tools?

October 15, 2007 by mac

tek logoThey have something in common now that the grand-daddy of Oregon’s high-tech will be sold to a Washington, D.C., conglomerate called Danaher Corp. (DHR) for $2.8 billion in cash. They offered $38 per share prior to the NYSE opening bell and Tek gained 33% to a five year high. And to think the Tek alma mater were never consulted on this Danner acquisition. It smells fishy.

tek stock graphic

I remember the heady days of the 80’s when Tek employed 24,000. I remember the founder Howard Vollum and Earl Wantland, and the Ferrari days of Norm Winningstad. Some other notable people who worked at Tektronix: Tom Bruggere; Gerry Langler; and Dave Moffenbeier all co-founded Mentor Graphics in 1981.

Danaher is a diversified manufacturing and technology company known for superior business processes and outstanding shareholder value.

Danaher is also known as the maker of Sears’ Craftsman tools which I seem to use most every weekend in the garage. Speaking of garage…having built an HBO “Folgers-Can” receiver back in the day, I hope they don’t want to reconcile the outstanding special stock inventory spread out all over my garage.

I’m heading home now to hide that stash of Gallium arsenic High-Frequency tranny’s….

Posted in Bruggere, Coffee, Danaher, Howard Vollum, Langler, Technology, Tektronix | Tagged , , , , , , , |

Intel Launches Cool Software

October 8, 2007 by mac

coolsw page

There was joke floating around a few years ago about “What’s the difference between Intel, Inc. and Jurassic Park?”  As the joke goes one is a high tech dinosaur park and the other is a movie! 

Well, these days Intel is firing on all cylinders and the latest activity from the semiconductor company is not typical…they launched a new Web 2.0-inspired Web site to engage with the community and solicit feedback from the public on software companies and technologies.  Huh?!

CoolSW is a web site or forum where people — from software developers, gamers and tech enthusiasts — can submit and vote for their favorite software company or products. The site taps into the collective intelligence of the community and, much like the popular site Digg.com, uses user ratings to assign levels of importance or relevance to each company or product. Aside from the entertainment value, the data will provide a growing list of software companies with which Intel or others could potentially engage.  

In addition, CoolSW provides a forum where Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) can raise awareness for their product and/or services. It may well even provide smaller companies an opportunity to share their solution with potential investors or partners.

Very cool!

Posted in CoolSW, Intel®, prediction, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , |

Leahy/Hatch Patent Reform Bill (S 1145)

October 3, 2007 by mac

LeahyThe hi-tech industry is rediscovering the value of intellectual property rights with a major legislative win on Sept 7th as the House of Representatives approved the first significant overhaul of patent law in 50 years.  Most hi-tech companies are at minimum watching, but many are actively engaged in the effort to overhaul the U.S. patent laws.  Although couched in terms of the importance of patents and patent quality. The thrust of many of the measures are clearly directed at “limiting litigation abuses.”   You can get a download of the bill at: 

The Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S 1145) is designed to improve the quality of patents issuing from the Patent Trade Office, allow for more rigorous reexamination of patents that may have been issued in error, and remedy imbalances in the law that encourage patent speculators to file speculative patent infringement suits against good-faith innovators and manufacturers. 
Hatch
Unfortunately many “paper patents” that never built trade in the marketplace created an environment for patent speculators to buy these patents and file infringement suits against F500’s based on ambiguous descriptions of what is patented. The speculators often demand a royalty of somewhere between one and five percent, which literally can mean billions of dollars.  

Sadly, the current state of the U.S. patent laws fails to discourage this practice, a practice that exists nowhere else in the world. And when a multi-billion dollar demand isn’t enough, they then argue to the court that employers are “willful” and should be punished by having the damages trebled because somehow the employer knew of the patent before the lawsuit was filed.  Most often, these charges are based on a brief letter that merely mentions the patents and its possible applicability to unnamed products with no explanation.  

Enough is enough!!  S 1145 is an attempt to “balance the playing field” and improve the system for all users. It will:  

  • Establish new and more balanced procedures for calculating damages and determining “willful infringement”;
  • Improve tools within the Patent Office for reconsidering patents that may have been granted improperly;
  • Create new venue rules that will help ensure that cases are brought in districts that have a real connection to the parties and to the alleged acts of infringement.

The cost of frivolous patent litigation approaches billions of dollars a year and if the Patent Reform Act doesn’t pass, it’s expected that these expenses will continue to rise and will require companies to operate differently.  The impact likely has “off-shore” ramifications on ability to compete, and drives up the costs of innovation.  

How can you help?  Go HERE and look up your congressman, then write them a letter.  To help expedite a sample letter follows.    

Dear [recipient/senator name here], 

I’m writing to ask you to support the Leahy/Hatch Patent Reform Bill (S 1145). We have been actively engaged with other major hi tech companies and many other industry groups in this effort to overhaul U.S. patent laws for the past five years.  

Here’s some background information that I hope will help you understand why I believe its so important to support this bill.  The Patent Reform Act of 2007 is designed to improve the quality of patents issuing from the Patent Trade Office, allow for more rigorous reexamination of patents that may have issued in error, and remedy imbalances in the law that encourage patent speculators to file questionable patent infringement suits against good-faith innovators.  

The current patent litigation costs have a significant impact on anyCompanies bottom line and exist nowhere else in the world. The cost of frivolous patent litigation approaches billions of dollars a year. If the Patent Reform Act doesn’t pass, we expect that these expenses will continue to rise.  This has a real impact upon the ability to compete against foreign based companies, and drives up the costs of innovation.  

Please help enact S. 1145  into law this year!!! 

Sincerely,[Your Name]  

Important to note is the implementation of “logic puzzles“. A few Senators are not responding to emails unless they come from their Senate website. Be assured that your email messages are being received by their office and they’re being tallied and counted. The message you may get back from a Senator who cannot respond is – “he/she will not send a personalized reply to anything that does not come from his/her website”.  If you receive such a response this means that your email was received and will be counted. 

Send your letter today.

Senator Leahy/Hatch pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.

Posted in Government, Hatch, Leahy, S1145, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments »

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