Some 2.45 Things You Do
A study entitled “Browsing behavior exposes identities on the web” (also cited by Biometric Update) offers an informative view of how “something you do” can identify you when combined with other things you do.
“Though most users are unique in their four most-visited domains, we find that we often need fewer data points for user identification. To determine how many domains are needed to pinpoint a user, we examine fingerprints at the individual level. For each unique user i, we randomly select a domain from their fingerprint and group all unique users who have that domain in their fingerprints (see Methods). Then, we select another most-visited domain from user i and narrow our group to those with both domains (Fig. 1c). We repeat this step, incrementally adding domains, until we isolate user i. At this point, we have a set of domains which exists only within user i’s fingerprint. Our analysis shows that we need an average of 2.45 steps to identify a unique user within the data set (Fig. 1d). This finding indicates that although four domains guarantee uniqueness, users’ distinct online habits facilitate their identification with fewer domains.”
Think about the four domains that YOU visit the most. If you don’t know what they are, Chrome users can visit chrome://site-engagement/ and order the list. I can almost guarantee that one of my four most-visited websites is NOT one of yours.
And as for my wildebeest friend…
This Morning’s Camera Fun
This morning I went to join my 6:00 am client / client’s client meeting and found my camera wasn’t working in Teams.
After the meeting I discovered that it wasn’t working in Google Meet either.
So I turned the computer off and turned it on again…still not working.
After exploring a bit, Windows told me that something else was using the camera…and also told me that something had turned the camera off. I assumed the latter was the correct diagnosis.
After exploring some more, including every function key combination, I found a barely visible switch.
Thanks, Google Gemini:
…there is no keyboard button to turn the camera off.
Instead, HP placed a physical privacy shutter directly at the top of the laptop screen.
Where to look and how to use it:
- Look at the very top bezel (border) of your laptop screen, right where the camera lens is centered.
- Directly next to or built into the glass over the lens, you will see a tiny manual sliding tab.
I slid the tab to the right, and my camera was working again.
I must have slid the shutter to the left yesterday when I transported the computer away from and back to my home.
Learn a new one every day…
You Can’t Market Product With a Lampshade Over Your Head
You can’t market product with a lampshade over your head.
Unless, of course, your product is a lampshade. Yours probably isn’t.
Don’t be a lampshade-wearing wombat. Use Bredemarket to let your prospects know about your identity, biometric, or tech product.
Before and After Words
Lovers of 50 year old music note that the title of this post references the days in which “records” had “sides.”
But yes, you can communicate without words. Even I could.
Summer Reading
Rural Data Centers: Music To Our Ears?
More next week.
No One Cares About Features…Or Your Product
With apologies to “experts” who can detect AI-generated text—they know who they are—I want to DELVE into a statement I made in my 9am post.
“I don’t ask for your feature list; no one cares.”
Over the years I have managed or marketed a number of products and services: Omnitrak, Printrak BIS, MorphoBIS Cloud, Morpho Video Investigator, Incode Omni, AEM Resurgence, IB360°, and many others.
All of which had extremely impressive lists of features.
And over the years I slowly realized that prospects and even happy customers didn’t care about ANY of those features.
Because customers don’t buy features…or products.
They buy solutions to their problems.
- If you’re telling prospects about your 1000 pixel per inch resolution, they will respond “So what?” and ask about reducing their jurisdictional crime.
- If you’re telling prospects about your certifications, they will respond “So what?” and ask about keeping privacy lawsuits away.
- And if you’re telling your prospects about your financial integrations, they will respond “So what?” and ask about making money. Lots of money. Loads of money.
Your product marketing shouldn’t talk about your products.
It should speak to your prospects.
Because then your products won’t only make money for your customers, but will also make money for you.
And don’t you want money, rather than a long feature list?
Let’s talk.
Don’t Bore Your Prospects; Compel Them
If your product marketing is so “me too” that you only generate leads for your competitors, how can I help?
I ask, then I act.
I don’t ask for your feature list; no one cares. I ask to uncover YOUR “why” story that compels your prospects to buy your stellar product, rather than all the products that aren’t as valuable as yours.
Then I act. I create a draft for your review. And you act in reviewing it. And when we are both happy, you publish.
And your prospects respond.
Talk to Bredemarket.
Before Fingerprints, Words
From “Who I Am”:
“I am John E. Bredehoft, and I have enjoyed writing for a while now. And for a while I’ve been able to make a living at it.”
For a while.
And it has been a compulsion, even today.
“I guess I’m a “you can pry my keyboard out of my cold dead hands” type.”
Although I’m presently using a phone’s virtual keyboard, same difference.
Bredemarket 