Author Archives: bredemarket

Marketing and writing services.

Stefan Gladbach’s “A PMM Christmas”

And the Oscar goes to…

Well, probably not. But I enjoyed contributing to Stefan Gladbach’s Christmas video “A PMM Christmas” as the only biometric product marketing expert in the cast.

And if you heard me mutter in the last few weeks that attribution is a myth, now you know why.

As you can see, Gladbach assembled an all-star cast. Credits at the end of the video, and also in the text of Stefan’s LinkedIn post.

Well, one additional credit: Susan Bredehoft was the camerawoman for my contributions. For lighting and background removal purposes, my scenes were taped outside in our back yard. Since my glasses lenses automatically adjust to sunlight, I can, um, attribute my Roy Orbison look to that.

And I did not follow instructions to wear an ugly Christmas sweater for the end credits…because I haven’t got one. (Ugly sweater, yes. Ugly Christmas sweater, no.) I should have stolen one from Talya.

And for those keeping score (only me, to be honest), I appear at 2:15, 4:40, 5:40, and 8:05.

And now I’m wondering if Roy Orbison ever covered a Smiths song. But again, that’s just me.

Merry Christmas.

Bredemarket’s Own “Why” Story

My own “why” story for Bredemarket isn’t a powerful one about how I saved the world. In fact, I kind of fell into consulting. This post is adapted from a September 2020 personal post.

When I became a “free agent” in early July 2020, I was devoting my time to landing another full-time position. (After a one-year pause, I still am.) So, I was busily doing that when I received a message from someone in late July 2020. I’ll paraphrase the message:

Hey, John, I know you’re looking for full-time work, but in the meantime I have a small project that perhaps you could complete for me.

This sounded interesting, so I provided a quote for the project, completed it, got paid (which is always important), and learned a lot in the process. 

Around the time that I completed that project, I received a message from someone else. Again I’m paraphrasing it.

Hey, John, I know you’re looking for full-time work, but in the meantime I have a small project that perhaps you could complete for me.

This one sounded interesting also, so I provided a quote for the project, completed it, got paid (again), and learned a lot in the process. 

And then I got a message from a third person.

Hey, John…

So I established Bredemarket.

And over the years the messages, projects, and payments have continued.

You can send me a message if you like. Or better yet, we can talk.

The Power of Customer Testimonials: Silicon Tech Solutions

In my vocabulary, “casetimonials” refers to case studies and testimonials, which have different lengths but serve the same purpose. However, I’ve concentrated so much on case studies that I sometimes neglect talking about testimonials.

Bredemarket testimonials

Take the recent one Bredemarket received.

(From David Deady, Director of Marketing at Bredemarket client Integrated Biometrics, October 2025)

John,

You got big props on the huddle tonight (our exec team meeting). We are very grateful for the quality of your work and your ability to know what needs to be done with a quick turnaround. The FBI RFI response was mentioned specifically, but all projects have been equally appreciated. Thank you.

And an earlier Bredemarket testimonial from an anonymous client.

“I just wanted to truly say thank you for putting these templates together. I worked on this…last week and it was extremely simple to use and I thought really provided a professional advantage and tool to give the customer….TRULY THANK YOU!”

Silicon Tech Solutions testimonials

But I’d also like to highlight the testimonials that Silicon Tech Solutions has accumulated over the years.

OrionQ:

“Silicon Tech Solutions has been a fantastic partner for OrionQ. Their expertise and reliability helped bring our AI RevOps platform to life at scale. We value their proactive approach and ability to turn complex ideas into seamless solutions.”

Coding Sphere:

“Silicon Tech Solutions stood out for their expertise, collaborative approach, and commitment to understanding our needs. They delivered high-quality, seamless solutions on time, making them a trusted and highly reliable partner.”

Wexpy Technologies:

“From February 2023 to October 2024, Silicon Tech Solutions developed a critical feature for us. Their expertise, commitment to excellence, and timely delivery exceeded our expectations, making them a reliable tech partner.”

Silicon Tech Solutions.

If you have product development needs, talk to Silicon Tech Solutions. Offering a complete suite of services (custom software development, digital transformation, product development, and IT outsourcing), Silicon Tech Solutions addresses multiple needs for small and mid-size businesses. With a team that has gained experience from employment at Amazon and Facebook and from multiple consulting projects, Silicon Tech Solutions is ready to help your firm.

Get more information from Silicon Tech Solutions by contacting them via Bredemarket at my Silicon Tech Solutions page.

The Facial Recognition Vendor Is Not At Fault If You Don’t Upgrade Your Software, December 2025 Edition

This is the third time that I’ve seen something like this, so I thought I’d bring attention to it.

Biometric Update recently published a story about a United Kingdom agency that was criticized for its use of Cognitec facial recognition software.

Why? Because the facial recognition software the agency has is not accurate enough, particularly in regards to demographic bias.

Note “the facial recognition software the agency has.” There’s a story here.

“Cognitec released its FaceVACS-DBScan 5.5 software for biometrics matching at scale in 2020….The current version is 5.9, but Home Office’s Police National Database uses 5.5, which is why that version was tested.”

Important clarification.

Now perhaps the agency had its reasons for not upgrading the Cognitec software.

But governments and enterprises should not use old facial recognition software. Unless they have to run the software on computers running PC-DOS. Then they have other problems.

And if you detected that this post sounds really really similar to one I wrote back in April…you’re right. Back then an Australian agency continued to use an older version of the Cognitec algorithm, even though a newer one was available.

But I’m still using the pre-Nano Banana illustration for this new post.

A question for you: is YOUR company using outdated content? Are you ready to update it? Talk to Bredemarket.

The Government Wants You To Work for A Company, Not Yourself

I’m sure you’ve heard the empowerment gurus on LinkedIn who say that people working for companies are idiots. Admittedly it seems that too many companies don’t care about their employees and will jettison them at a moment’s notice.

So what do the empowerment gurus recommend? They tell people to take control of their own destiny and work for themselves. Don’t use your talents to fatten some executive’s stock options.

Google Gemini.

However, those of us in the United States face a huge barrier to that.

Healthcare.

Unless a solopreneur’s spouse has employer-subsidized healthcare, the financial healthcare penalty for working for yourself is huge. From an individual perspective, anyway.

The average annual premium for employer-sponsored family coverage totaled about $27,000 in 2025, according to [the Kaiser Family Foundation]. This is coverage for a family of four.

But workers don’t pay the full sum. They contributed just $6,850 — about 25% — toward the total premium, according to KFF. Employers subsidized the rest, paying about $20,000, on average.

By comparison, if the enhanced ACA subsidies expire next year, the average family of four earning $130,000 would pay the full, unsubsidized premium for marketplace coverage.

Their annual insurance premiums would jump to about $23,900, more than double the subsidized cost of $11,050 — an increase of almost $12,900, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Google Gemini.

Do how do those who oppose Communist subsidies propose to solve ACA healthcare costs?

By providing people with an annual health savings account funding of…checks notes…$1,500.

Perhaps I’m deprived because of my 20th century math education, but last I checked $1,500 in funding is less than $12,900 in losses.

People who are on COBRA, or a similar program such as Cal COBRA, experience similar sticker shocks.

So my advice to people is to do one or both of the following:

  • Get employer-subsidized healthcare.
  • Marry someone with employer-subsidized healthcare.

Step Into Christmas: Deepfake?

Deepfakes are not a 21st century invention. Take this video of “Step Into Christmas.”

But here are the musician credits.

Elton: Piano and vocals

Davey Johnstone: Guitars and backing vocals

Dee Murray: Bass guitar and backing vocals

Nigel Olsson: Drums and backing vocals

Ray Cooper: Percussion

Kiki Dee: Backing vocals (uncredited)

Jo Partridge: Backing vocals (uncredited)

Roger Pope: Tambourine (uncredited)

David Hentschel: ARP 2500 synthesizer (uncredited)

The video doesn’t match this list. According to the video, Elton played more than the guitar, and Bernie Taupin performed on the track.

So while we didn’t use the term “deepfake” in 1973, this promotional video meets at least some of the criteria of a deepfake.

And before you protest that everybody knew that Elton John didn’t play guitar…undoubtedly some people saw this video and believed that Elton was a guitarist. After all, they saw it with their own eyes.

Sounds like fraud to me!

Remember this when you watch things.

Updates on Hungary’s FaceKom and “Beneficial Ownership”

Masha Borak of Biometric Update is writing about FaceKom again.

I discussed Borak’s previous article on FaceKom, which noted the alleged ties between FaceKom and the Hungarian government. The whole thing is a classic example of BENEFICIAL ownership, in which someone who is not the legal owner of a company may still benefit from it.

Borak returned to the theme in the current post:

“FaceKom, the identity verification company used by the Hungarian national digital identity program, has been acquired by major local IT and telecom group, 4iG Informatikai (4iG IT). The deal is now attracting attention among media outlets and political watchers due to the companies’ relationship with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán….

“Recent 4iG’s purchases, however, have been raising questions over the company’s reported links to the Hungarian government, which has been accused by critics of enriching political allies, family, and loyalists through state resources and public contracts.”

The details are in Borak’s post, including:

“4iG chairman and majority investor Gellért Jászai is known for his ties to Orbán and was invited as part of his entourage to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort after the 2024 U.S. presidential election.”

“[FaceKom’s] previous owner is Equilor Fund Management, owned by the Central European Opportunity Private Equity Fund (CEOM)….While CEOM has no direct links with Orbán, local media investigations have discovered links with companies owned by the Prime Minister’s son-in-law, István Tiborcz.”

Mere links do not necessarily indicate illegal activity, and Hungarian law may differ from laws in other countries, but FaceKom is being watched.

Messy Negative “Why” Stories Are Powerful

I’ve previously talked about companies with powerful why stories. But Chantelle Davison recently pointed out something I should have realized before.

A company’s “why” story can evoke negative emotions, and for this reason can powerfully resonate with their prospects who are experiencing the same problem, and admire someone who overcame it.

As Davison tells it, her 1:1s with businesspeople often turn into confessionals. Not that I picture the lovebug-loving Chantelle as a priest, but bear with me.

“Then they tell me something they’ve been carrying around for YEARS.

“Something they’re convinced would make people think less of them.

“Something they’ve buried so deep they’d almost forgotten it was there….

“The messy backstory that shaped exactly WHY they do what they do.”

And that can resonate with prospects.

Take the Keith Puckett failure example that I shared earlier: he had purchased a home security system thinking that it would protect him…and then while he was traveling the security system sent him an alarm with no context.

Now I guess Puckett could have been embarassed by this stupid purchase of something that did no good at all. But Puckett wasn’t embarassed at all. And he tells Ubiety prospects that he spent good money on a bad system, experienced fear and helplessness…and that he NEVER wants Ubiety customers to experience those same negative emotions.

Share YOUR why story.

Even if it’s a poor tattoo choice.

Google Gemini.

And if you need help writing your why story, talk to me.