Calling all technology transfer professionals! Whether you use social media in your work or not, this survey is for you. Longtime readers of Fuentek’s blog may remember that 2 years ago we invited the tech transfer industry to complete a survey about current/planned use for social media. The results of that survey showed that many respondents had started (or planned) to use LinkedIn®, Twitter®, and to a lesser extent Facebook® and blogging to build their brand, market technologies, and build community. Well, 2 years is an eternity on the Internet. And since I’m participating in a panel called “Social Media Unplugged: Is It Worth the Hype?” at the annual meeting of the Association of University Technology Managers® (AUTM®) in San Antonio, Texas, later this month, it’s time to revisit the question:… Continue reading →
Reprinted from AUTM Newsbrief. 
Last week I had the great opportunity to participate in a social media panel at the 2013 meeting of the Association of University Technology Managers®. My fellow panelists and I were thrilled to have a large audience with very engaged participants. I’d like to share a few of the themes that I found to resonate most strongly with our audience, based on both their questions and their facial expressions! 
Not too long ago, a Forbes post from UCLA’s John Villasenor entitled “Intellectual Property Awareness at Universities: Why Ignorance Is Not Bliss” caught my eye. It discussed the importance of teaching the next generation of engineers, scientists, and innovators “what IP is and why it matters.” Having conducted an informal survey of engineering grad students, Villasensor discovered that their understanding of IP was woefully lacking. He rightfully raised the question:… 
Like the Boy Scout mantra, there is no substitute for being prepared. Before you reach out to marketing prospects – or even place information about a technology on your Web site – be sure you have the resources to respond quickly. (Hint: If you’re going to be traveling, don’t begin a big email push just before you depart.) If someone makes an effort to inquire about a technology, the best time to hook that prospect is… 
Even though next summer feels far away, now is the time to begin planning for next summer’s internship program, especially if you’re establishing a new one. As Laura Schoppe and I point out in our article “Doing More with Less: How Interns Help Accelerate Tech Transfer,” published in the Sept/Oct issue of Today’s Campus, timing is everything. Ideally, interns should begin working in the TTO… 
We’ve blogged often about how planning for technology marketing helps TTOs be more proactive and efficient in selecting innovations to market. If your TTO is like most, you have more active marketing projects than you have the resources to handle. Therefore, prioritizing (and reprioritizing) your projects is the key to developing a strategic and agile marketing process that will provide long-term value. In today’s Stories from the Field post, I share details of how to apply what we’ve learned through years of identifying high-priority projects. 
We at Fuentek have blogged often about how tweets, blogs, and “likes” are key paths by which a technology transfer office’s (TTO’s) messages reaches the general public as well as about how effective use of social media can connect TTOs with licensing prospects and potential partners for specific opportunities. But federal TTOs face unique challenges in developing and maintaining effective social media strategies. Aside from tight budgets and overloaded staff, these TTOs have to operate within the confines of the highly controlled federal government. TTOs want to get the word out about what they do but, in most cases, a public affairs or communications office is responsible for the information flowing out of a federal organization. So what’s a federal TTO to do? 
Although we’ve been blogging a lot lately about effective technology marketing strategies (especially given our new 
Technology transfer offices (TTOs) have much to gain from incorporating social media into their communications toolbox. With adequate planning and preparation, a TTO’s foray into the social media world can be a successful experience, yielding great exposure and benefits. We at Fuentek have blogged often about how social media’s tremendous reach can deliver real value to TTOs. And as of today, we have yet another resource for tech transfer professionals. We’ve released our white paper entitled, “Leveraging Social Media for Technology Transfer Marketing.” 