bredemarket

Why No BOI?

(Business terrorist image Imagen 3/Google Gemini)

I asked my good buddy Google Gemini to describe the court arguments against FinCEN beneficial ownership reporting (which as of this hour is on a court-mandated hold pending a possible Supreme Court stay). Two of the items identified by Gemini are Bill of Rights related.

“Some argue the reporting requirements force businesses to disclose information about their owners, which they consider a form of compelled speech. The First Amendment protects freedom of expression, and this argument suggests the government is overstepping its bounds.”

“Critics argue that the collection of beneficial ownership information constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. They contend that this collection is overly broad and lacks sufficient justification to meet the constitutional standard of reasonableness.”

Human sources, including Engage Wealth Advisors, mention these same concerns.

So the big boys are still subject to KYC, KYB, and AML regulations, while the little boys (sole proprietors) aren’t. The ones in the middle who would have been subject to the Corporate Transparency Act remain in a state of limbo.

Of course, if an anonymous entity claimed that BOI opponents are Putin lovers who want to hide terrorist activities, those same opponents would want to know who is saying that about them. What’s good for me isn’t good for thee…

Oh BOI Again, Subject to Change

On December 23, 2024, we learned that Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting WOULD be required, albeit later than originally planned.

The next day, December 24, I wrote a Bredemarket blog post about this.

Two days later, December 26, my December 24 blog post was already outdated.

“On December 26, 2024, a different panel from the Fifth Circuit issued an order that vacated the court’s prior December 23 order granting a stay of the preliminary injunction. As a result, the injunction issued in Texas Top Cop Shop remains in effect nationwide and reporting companies are currently not required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN.”

The notice above was published on January 4.

Check back on January 6.

Infrastructure!

Ontario’s Measure Q sales tax increase is funding infrastructure.

““This is a big measure for us,” he continues. “It’s going to bring in anywhere between 65 and 95 million a year in extra funding for our community.” The majority of that is going to be used for capital improvement projects like infrastructure, and so we’re really trying to make sure that our strategy for Measure Q means being transparent in where residents can see the money in their community.””

City of Ontario, CA

Meta Verified is Worthless

I thought X’s blue checks were bad enough, but Meta has topped (or bottomed) Elon in the realm of meaningless identity verification.

The janeaustenpen Instagram account is Meta verified.

From janeaustenpen on Instagram: Meta Verified!

Even though Jane Austen is dead.

Come to think of it, Austen never had a driver’s license. How did she get verified?

But Meta’s AI creation isn’t dead.

And you can’t block “her.”

And probably can’t report “her” for impersonation.

I really dread what LinkedIn is planning. Will Henry Ford dispense advice? Steve Jobs?

You Need a Driver’s License

(Imagen 3/Google Gemini)

My latest wildebeest picture is called “You Need a Driver’s License.”

Hey, non-person entities need identity verification also.

Lack of Differentiation Limits Your Available Talent

I’ve talked about differentiation ad nauseam, and even created a video about it last spring.

And I’ve provided some examples of lack of differentiation from my own industry:

(Company I) “Reimagine trust.”
(Company J) “To protect against fraud and financial crime, businesses online need to know and trust that their customers are who they claim to be — and that these customers continue to be trustworthy.”
(Company M) “Trust is the core of any successful business relationship. As the digital revolution continues to push businesses and financial industries towards digital-first services, gaining digital trust with consumers will be of utmost importance for survival.”
(Company O) “Create trust at onboarding and beyond with a complete, AI-powered digital identity solution built to help you know your customers online.”
(Company P) “Trust that users are who they say they are, and gain their trust by humanizing the identity experience.”
(Company V) “Stop fraud. Build trust. Identity verification made simple.”

This isn’t effective. Trust me.

But prospective customers aren’t the only ones who are turned off by “me-too” messaging.

Further ramifications of lack of differentiation

What about prospective employees who don’t want to apply to your company because they see no compelling reason to do so?

I’ll grant that the tech job market is so out of balance right now that people are applying to ANYTHING.

But the more choosy ones are…more choosy in their applications. Just like choosy mothers choose…you know.

From funkystay, https://imgur.com/gallery/choosy-mothers-choose-gif-ykZIPRe.

I recently received this message from a product marketer after I shared a particular identity/biometric job description with them.

Not so sure that company is well positioned for evolving identity landscape.

From a selfish perspective, this benefits me, because I DID apply for this position while they DIDN’T. Reducing the competition increases my chances of getting the job.

But the company (which I’m not naming) doesn’t benefit, because at least one experienced identity verification product marketer doesn’t want to work for them.

So be sure to differentiate…as long as the differentiation resonates with your hungry people (target audience). If your audience is repelled by your differentiation, then that’s a problem with your customer focus.

From the Gary Fly / Brooks Group article “7 Tips for Implementing a Customer-Centric Strategy,” at https://brooksgroup.com/sales-training-blog/7-tips-implementing-customer-centric-strategy/.

Now Bredemarket can’t help you with your job search, because I’m certainly not an expert in that. But I can ask you questions that help you create content that conveys that your product is great and your competitors’ products…are not so good.

Visit Bredemarket’s “CPA” page to learn how I can help your firm’s content (and analysis, and proposals), and to schedule a meeting.

Update on the Apple Vision Pro

(Image from Apple)

For Bredemarket’s first blog post in 2025, I’m updating a blog post from 2023 with updated information from Duncan Riley of SiliconANGLE.

“Apple Inc. may have ceased production of its first-generation Vision Pro headset after the product, which came to market in 2024, turned out to be a massive flop for the company.”

Riley cites a MacRumors post as his source. Why stop?

“Apple now has a sufficient number of Vision Pro units in its inventory to meet demand for the device’s remaining lifespan through to 2025.”

You may recall that I characterized the Apple Vision Pro as a technological biometric advance. But the difficulty and the expense of capturing irises has apparently prevented Vision Pro from achieving world domination.

Back to face, finger, and voice—with some exceptions.

Who Will Tell Your Stories, the YouTube Version

There was once an old storyteller who sat by the fire near the beach, sharing his stories with the young.

Then one day the storyteller was rightsized in a move to generate efficiencies and optimize outcomes.

This is not fiction.

Who will tell your stories? Bredemarket can try (learn about my content-proposal-analysis services here), but in the end I will probably be forced to construct new ones that lack the depth of the old ones.

From https://youtube.com/shorts/_89Jtq6AKno?si=KmcdeuSRCAA6KC9a

Who Will Tell Your Stories, the Instagram Version

There was once an old storyteller who sat by the fire near the beach, sharing his stories with the young.

Then one day the storyteller was rightsized in a move to generate efficiencies and optimize outcomes.

This is not fiction.

From https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEPzECfJIyk/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Who Will Tell Your Stories?

(All images from Imagen 3—Google Gemini)

There was once an old storyteller who sat by the fire near the beach, sharing his stories with the young. All the kids were fascinated with the tales told by the storyteller. The story of how the fire was lit. The story of why they came to the beach.

Then one day the storyteller was rightsized in a move to generate efficiencies and optimize outcomes.

And no one told the stories any more. So the kids ate Tide Pods.

This is not fiction.

Companies are draining their acquired institutional knowledge, or never acquiring any in the first place.

Perhaps today is the last working day for someone at YOUR company. Someone whose knowledge will be forever lost.

Because your company’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion stops when the hairs turn gray. We don’t want any of THAT around here. Who cares about the brain drain when we have AI?