Category Archives: Uncategorized

When Writers Talk: Hanging on the Telephone

I self-describe as a “you can pry my keyboard out of my cold dead hands” person who likes to use physical or virtual keyboards to communicate. But what about using a telephone handset (when used for voice rather than data purposes)? That’s a different matter entirely.

By Jonathan Mauer – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50534668

If you have a personality that gravitates away from verbal communication, you sometimes find that you need to get out of your comfort z…I mean, you need to stray from your normal routine and use your non-preferred communication method.

I just did that earlier this week, and refrained from sending an email or other written message, instead choosing to use good old-fashioned voice communications to contact someone. And it worked, showing that voice and written communication do not have to compete with each other, and can complement each other.

This post takes a look at how writers function, both in textual and verbal environments, and what can happen when writers stray from their normal routine (or comfort zone).

The flip side of my written compulsion

I’ve talked before about my compulsion to write. Whether on a piece of paper, a typewriter (yes, I’m that old), a computer, or a smartphone, I am very accustomed to putting words to a text-based medium.

Writing compulsion, or writing obsession. Designed by Freepik.

Maybe I’m TOO accustomed to typing words into devices.

  • I communicate to a number of different people on WhatsApp, but recently took a break from non-business WhatsApp communications for a few days—probably to the relief of my friends who saw my FREQUENT written comments at ALL hours. (“Not a text from John again…”)
  • Which reminds me; I have to ask my younger German daughter if she has returned from her out-of-country trip.
  • And I also need to ask my artist friend if she has set up her art room yet…

It may not surprise you to learn that my VERBAL communications are less frequent. While I’m not mute in front of crowds, I gravitate toward written rather than verbal communications when I have the choice.

This preference is not uncommon, and Highly Sensitive Refuge speculates that there is a reason for this.

If you have noticed that it’s easier and more enjoyable for you to write rather than speak out your emotions, thoughts, and experiences, you might be a highly sensitive person (HSP). Highly sensitive people are the roughly 30% of the population who are wired at a brain level to process all information more deeply. This makes them more sensitive to the world around them, both emotionally and physically.

In other words: if you’re a highly sensitive person, you’re experiencing the world very differently than others do. You think more deeply, feel more strongly, and have a lot going on in your head. That can make it hard to get your words out — unless you have the time to sort them out in writing.

From https://highlysensitiverefuge.com/do-you-prefer-writing-to-speaking/
By Eleven authors named in the source journal article. – Greven, Corina U.; Lionetti, Francesca; Booth, Charlotte; Aron, Elaine N.; Fox, Elaine; Schendan, Haline E.; Pluess, Michael; Bruining, Hilgo; Acevedo, Bianca; Bijttebier, Patricia; Homberg, Judith (March 2019). “Sensory Processing Sensitivity in the context of Environmental Sensitivity: A critical review and development of research agenda”. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 98: 287-305. Elsevier. DOI:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.01.009. “This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/)”.This SVG file contains embedded text that can be translated into your language, using any capable SVG editor, text editor or the SVG Translate tool. For more information see: About translating SVG files., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=96282736

I’m not sure if I am a 100% match to the descriptions above; for example, I believe I have a LESSER awareness to environmental subtleties. However, I certainly tend to be sensitive about some things. (Are my WhatsApp friends tired of my incessant messages?) And you already know that I enjoy the process of working in my brain through drafts 0.5 and 1.0 of a piece of content.

But there are drawbacks to staying within your comfort zone.

Excuse me. Sorry, but there’s something going on in my head that I have to address.

Why I’m tired of the phrase “comfort zone”

I’ve decided that I’m tired of the phrase “comfort zone,” in the same way that I’m tired of “game changer,” “thinking out of the box,” and (shudder) “best of breed.”

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the phrase “comfort zone.” Unlike the other phrases above, the literal meaning does not radically differ from the common usage. But “comfort zone” has reached an oversaturation point.

Google search results for the phrase "comfort zone." About 65,200,000 results (0.59 seconds).
Google search results for the phrase “comfort zone.”

Now I’ll grant that some of these 65,200,000 search results are non-psychological and refer to air conditioning and other things, but the phrase “comfort zone” is used an awful lot.

I wasn’t sure what would be better. So I asked my buddy Google Bard.

Sure, here are some succinct, less jargony alternatives to the phrase "comfort zone": Normal routine Safe space Known territory What you're used to Your comfort bubble
From https://bard.google.com/share/3ef66dd50a4d

In my view, a couple of these (“safe space,” “your comfort bubble”) are just as bad as “comfort zone,” but “normal routine” and “what you’re used to” are much better and less jargon-y than “comfort zone.”

So I’ll use that instead.

OK now, where we were?

Returning to the flip side of my words obsession

Sorry about that.

But there are drawbacks to straying from your normal routine. Sometimes written communication just doesn’t cut it. (“Doesn’t cut it” is another piece of jargon I should eliminate. But one per post is enough.)

I don’t know how many times I’ve had this exchange with coworkers, friends, and family.

PERSON: Did you resolve the issue with Jane?

ME: I emailed her a couple of days ago but haven’t heard back.

PERSON: Why don’t you pick up the phone and call her?

ME: I’ll email her again. Or maybe I’ll text her.

PERSON: CALL HER!

ME, IRRITATED: OK, I’ll call her!

From a meaningful apocryphal conversation. Not put to music…yet.

When I strayed from my normal routine, good things happened

I thought about this during a recent interchange with one of my Bredemarket clients.

I had emailed a question to the client, and the very busy client said they would get back to me with the answer. After a while, I emailed the client again. And again.

At this point I started to get worried. (Maybe I am sensitive. A bit.)

But before I jumped to the wrong conclusion, I decided that I had better pick up the phone and call the client.

Not that day, but the next day. I mean, you can’t be rash about things like that.

So the next day I did pick up the phone and called the client…but the client wasn’t available.

A few minutes later, I received an email with an explanation for the delay (the busy client had been even busier than usual due to unanticipated circumstances), AND the client provided the answer to my question. Everything was very good.

All solved by a simple phone call.

Maybe I should do this more often.

Hanging on the telephone.

“Not a phone call from John again…”

How Bredemarket Works

Bredemarket logo

(Updated question count 10/23/2023)

I’m stealing an idea from Matthew Mace and adapting it to explain how Bredemarket works.

What am I stealing from Matthew Mace?

Matthew Mace is a freelance content writer who recently posted the following on LinkedIn:

Do you need a freelance content writer but don’t know what to expect?

I created a “work with me” pdf that explains what I do and how I can help you.

From https://www.linkedin.com/posts/matthewmace-contentmarketing_cycling-running-wellness-activity-7094675414727450624-8U_Y/

His post then explains what is included in his “work with me” PDF. If you’d like his PDF, send him a message via his LinkedIn profile.

But what if I want to know how to work with Bredemarket?

Glad you asked.

After reading Mace’s LinkedIn post, I realized that I have a bunch of different online sources that explain how to work with Bredemarket, but they’re scattered all over the place. This post groups them all the “how to work with Bredemarket” content together, following an outline similar (yet slightly different) to Mace’s.

And no, it’s not a stand-alone PDF, but as you read the content below you’ll discover two stand-alone PDFs that address critical portions of the process.

Question 1: Why would I work with Bredemarket?

As you’ll see below, “why” is a very important question, even more important than “how.” Here are some reasons to work with Bredemarket.

By Federal Bureau of Investigation – https://washingtonian.com/2016/11/24/the-fbi-opened-its-crime-lab-here-in-dc-back-in-1932, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=128508441
  • You require the words to communicate the benefits of your identity/biometrics product/service. I offer 29 years of experience in the identity/biometrics industry and am a biometric content marketing expert and an identity content marketing expert. I have created multiple types of content (see below) to share critical points about identity/biometrics offerings.
  • You require the words to communicate the benefits of your technology product/service. I have also created multiple types of content to share critical points about technology offerings.
  • You require the words to communicate the benefits of a product/service you provide to California’s Inland Empire. I’ve lived in the Inland Empire for…well, for more than 29 years. I know the area—its past, its present, and its future.
  • You require one of the following types of content. Blogs, case studies / testimonials, data sheets, e-books, proposals, social media posts / Xs (or whatever tweets are called today), white papers, or anything. I’ve done these for others and can do it for you.

Question 2: Why WOULDN’T I work with Bredemarket?

This question is just as important as the prior one. If you need the following, you WON’T want to work with Bredemarket.

  • You require high quality graphics. Sorry, that’s not me.
I did not draw this myself. Originally created by Jleedev using Inkscape and GIMP. Redrawn as SVG by Ben Liblit using Inkscape. – Own work, Public Domain, link.
  • You are based outside of the United States. Foreign laws and exchange rates make my brain hurt, so I only pursue business domestically. But depending upon where you are, I may be able to recommend a content marketer for you.

Question 3: What are Bredemarket’s most popular packages? How much do they cost?

Here are the three most common packages that Bredemarket offers.

By Staff Sgt. Michael L. Casteel – [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2407244

Note that these are the standard packages. If your needs are different, I can adapt them, or charge you an hourly rate if the need is not well defined. (But as you will see below, I try to work with you at the outset to define the project.)

If you follow the link above for your desired package and download the first brochure on each page, you’ll get a description of the appropriate service. The pricing is at the bottom of each brochure.

Each brochure also explains how I kick off a project, but the procedure is fairly common for each package.

Question 4: What are Bredemarket’s working practices?

When I work with a client, I hold a kickoff to make sure that we have a common understanding at the beginning of the project.

The first seven questions that we address are critical. In fact, I wrote an e-book that addresses these seven questions alone.

  1. Why?
  2. How?
  3. What?
  4. Goal?
  5. Benefits?
  6. Target Audience?
  7. Emotions?
Go to https://bredemarket.com/2023/10/22/seven-questions-your-content-creator-should-ask-you-the-e-book-version/ to download this e-book.

But that’s not all that we address in the kickoff. There are some other lower-level questions that I ask you (such as the long and short form of your company name).

Once we have defined the project, I iteratively provide draft copy and you iteratively review it. The number and length of review cycles varies depending upon the content length and your needs. For example, I use up to two review cycles of up to three days each for short content.

Eventually I provide the final copy, you publish it and pay me, and both of us are happy.

Question 5: What about samples and testimonials?

Because I usually function as a ghostwriter, I cannot publicly provide samples or identity my clients. But I’ve written yet another e-book that anonymously describes some sample projects that I’ve performed for clients, including a testimonial from one of them.

Go to https://bredemarket.com/2023/04/16/four-mini-case-studies-for-one-inland-empire-business-my-own/ to download this e-book.

Question 6: What are the next steps to work with Bredemarket?

If you believe that I can help you create the content your firm needs, let’s talk.

Or if Matthew Mace’s content services better fit your needs, use him.

Three Key Ways to Receive Bredemarket Information

Are you considering contracting with a marketing and writing service?

Would you like to know more about Bredemarket’s marketing and writing services to provide the right words for identity/biometrics, technology, and local B2B firms?

Would you like multiple options to learn about Bredemarket?

This post is ONLY intended for people who want to stay up-to-date with information from Bredemarket. If you have no such interest, you can skip reading this post and I’ll “give a couple of minutes back to you.”

There are a number of ways to get the latest Bredemarket information, but these three are probably the most important.

Bredemarket blog

To subscribe to the Bredemarket blog and get the latest information directly from Bredemarket:

The Bredemarket blog contains over 400 posts on marketing, writing, identity and biometrics, technology, and California’s Inland Empire. It also lets you know how you can use Bredemarket’s marketing and writing services for your company.

LinkedIn Bredemarket page

To subscribe to the LinkedIn page and see the latest content from Bredemarket, and special content from Bredemarket’s market-oriented LinkedIn pages:

I’ve found LinkedIn to be a valuable source of information, and much of the third-party information I find on LinkedIn is reshared on the Bredemarket LinkedIn page and its market-oriented “showcase” pages on identity, technology, and local business. (You can follow those three pages also.)

Bredemarket mailing list

To subscribe to the mailing list and receive special private content in advance of everyone else:

I’m revitalizing the mailing list to let those with a keen interest in Bredemarket know about my future plans.

No, I Don’t Need Two Refrigerators

In some cases, a customer’s purchase of a particular product or service indicates possible future interest in that same product or service.

But this indicator only goes so far.

If you just purchased an expensive item such as a refrigerator or a car or a house, chances are you’re not in the market for a second refrigerator or car or house.

Arthur “Two Sheds” Jackson (a Monty Python character who became a beer) is a notable exception to the rule. From https://untappd.com/b/ganz-anders-brau-arthur-two-sheds-jackson/4055802

But some companies don’t understand that high priced items are not usually purchased in bulk. According to a parcelLabs emotional shipping experience study:

People have lost patience with brands who send incorrect or inaccurate marketing materials. In fact, brands that do this are driving their customers away.

Of the 49% that say they were incorrectly targeted to in the last six months, 42% said they immediately unsubscribed from the brand’s marketing content. Another 24% chose to block the brand on social media!

43% said that they received marketing for a product they’d already bought.

You have to be more intelligent in your customer focus. Once a customer has purchased an item, they may—or may not—need a second one. In a different context, I have referred to this as “somewhat you why,” or the need to understand the intent of what someone is doing.

If I’m standing outside my former employer’s office with some computer equipment, perhaps I’m returning equipment to my former employer.

If I’m purchasing a refrigerator, in most cases I’m not contemplating purchase of a second one immediately.

Although if I’m opening a chain of restaurants…

From By Id1337x – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6354368

Updates, updates, updates, updates…

If I hired myself to update the Bredemarket website, I’d be employed full time.

Early June website updates

My “opportunity” that allowed me to service identity clients again necessitated several changes to the website, which I documented in a June 1 post entitled “Updates, updates, updates…“

Then I had to return to this website to make some hurried updates, since my April 2022 prohibition on taking certain types of work is no longer in effect as of June 2023. Hence, my home page, my “What I Do” page, and (obviously) my identity page are all corrected.

From https://bredemarket.com/2023/06/01/updates-updates-updates/

Basically, I had gone through great trouble to document that Bredemarket would NOT take identity work, so I had to reverse a lot of pages to say that Bredemarket WOULD take identity work.

I may have found a few additional pages after June 1, but eventually I reached the point where everything on the Bredemarket website was completely and totally updated, and I wouldn’t have to perform any other changes.

You can predict where this is going.

Who I…was

Today it occurred to me that some of the readers of the LinkedIn Bredemarket page may not know the person behind Bredemarket, so I took the opportunity to share Bredemarket’s “Who I Am” web page on the LinkedIn page.

Only then did I read what the page actually said.

So THAT page was also updated (updates in red).

From https://bredemarket.com/who-i-am/ as of August 8, 1:35 pm PDT. Subject to change.

So yes, this biometric content marketing expert/identity content marketing expert IS available for your content marketing needs. If you’re interested in receiving my help with your identity written content, contact me.

To be continued, probably…

Catching Financial Fraudsters with Physical Evidence

There are a variety of ways that you can catch fraudsters who try to steal someone’s financial identity, but sometimes the simple ones work best.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently reported on a traffic stop that occurred three years ago.

From https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/macon-man-sentenced-prison-resulting-identity-theft-investigation

Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies found eight debit cards and three driver’s licenses belonging to other people in (Jamal Denzel) Austin’s possession during a traffic stop for reckless driving and failing to maintain lane on Jan. 19, 2020. A subsequent investigation revealed that Austin, who worked at an Atlanta club, had used two stolen identities to register two separate fictious (sic) businesses with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office to obtain two Capital One business credit cards with credit limits of $30,000 and $20,000.

From https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/macon-man-sentenced-prison-resulting-identity-theft-investigation

Three driver’s licenses? Yikes.

The investigation, which also included participation by the United States Secret Service and other local, state, and federal agencies, also uncovered a stolen $49,000 check.

Well, Austin lost the stolen money and his freedom. He was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison.

Now I’ll grant the early stages of this investigation aren’t as sexy as other fraud detection methods, but it worked.

Fraudsters, stay in your lane.

The Difference Between Identity Factors and Identity Modalities

(Part of the biometric product marketing expert series)

I know that I’m the guy who likes to say that it’s all semantics. After all, I’m the person who has referred to five-page long documents as “battlecards.”

But sometimes the semantics are critically important. Take the terms “factors” and “modalities.” On the surface they sound similar, but in practice there is an extremely important difference between factors of authentication and modalities of authentication. Let’s discuss.

What is a factor?

To answer the question “what is a factor,” let me steal from something I wrote back in 2021 called “The five authentication factors.”

Something You Know. Think “password.” And no, passwords aren’t dead. But the use of your mother’s maiden name as an authentication factor is hopefully decreasing.

Something You Have. I’ve spent much of the last ten years working with this factor, primarily in the form of driver’s licenses. (Yes, MorphoTrak proposed driver’s license systems. No, they eventually stopped doing so. But obviously IDEMIA North America, the former MorphoTrust, has implemented a number of driver’s license systems.) But there are other examples, such as hardware or software tokens.

Something You Are. I’ve spent…a long time with this factor, since this is the factor that includes biometrics modalities (finger, face, iris, DNA, voice, vein, etc.). It also includes behavioral biometrics, provided that they are truly behavioral and relatively static.

Something You Do. The Cybersecurity Man chose to explain this in a non-behavioral fashion, such as using swiping patterns to unlock a device. This is different from something such as gait recognition, which supposedly remains constant and is thus classified as behavioral biometrics.

Somewhere You Are. This is an emerging factor, as smartphones become more and more prevalent and locations are therefore easier to capture. Even then, however, precision isn’t always as good as we want it to be. For example, when you and a few hundred of your closest friends have illegally entered the U.S. Capitol, you can’t use geolocation alone to determine who exactly is in Speaker Pelosi’s office.

From https://bredemarket.com/2021/03/02/the-five-authentication-factors/

(By the way, if you search the series of tubes for reading material on authentication factors, you’ll find a lot of references to only three authentication factors, including references from some very respectable sources. Those sources are only 60% right, since they leave off the final two factors I listed above. It’s five factors of authentication, folks. Maybe.)

The one striking thing about the five factors is that while they can all be used to authenticate (and verify) identities, they are inherently different from one another. The ridges of my fingerprint bear no relation to my 16 character password, nor do they bear any relation to my driver’s license. These differences are critical, as we shall see.

What is a modality?

In identity usage, a modality refers to different variations of the same factor. This is most commonly used with the “something you are” (biometric) factor, but it doesn’t have to be.

Biometric modalities

The identity company Aware, which offers multiple biometric solutions, spent some time discussing several different biometric modalities.

[M]any businesses and individuals (are adopting) biometric authentication as it been established as the most secure authentication method surpassing passwords and pins. There are many modalities of biometric authentication to pick from, but which method is the best?  

From https://www.aware.com/blog-which-biometric-authentication-method-is-the-best/

After looking at fingerprints, faces, voices, and irises, Aware basically answered its “best” question by concluding “it depends.” Different modalities have their own strengths and weaknesses, depending upon the use case. (If you wear thick gloves as part of your daily work, forget about fingerprints.)

ID R&D goes a step further and argues that it’s best to use multimodal biometrics, in which the two biometrics are face and voice. (By an amazing coincidence, ID R&D offers face and voice solutions.)

And there are many other biometric modalities.

From Sandeep Kumar, A. Sony, Rahul Hooda, Yashpal Singh, in Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education | Multidisciplinary Academic Research, “Multimodal Biometric Authentication System for Automatic Certificate Generation.”

Non-biometric modalities

But the word “modalities” is not reserved for biometrics alone. The scientific paper “Multimodal User Authentication in Smart Environments: Survey of User Attitudes,” just released in May, includes this image that lists various modalities. As you can see, two of the modalities are not like the others.

From Aloba, Aishat & Morrison-Smith, Sarah & Richlen, Aaliyah & Suarez, Kimberly & Chen, Yu-Peng & Ruiz, Jaime & Anthony, Lisa. (2023). Multimodal User Authentication in Smart Environments: Survey of User Attitudes. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • The three modalities in the middle—face, voice, and fingerprint—are all clearly biometric “something you are” modalities.
  • But the modality on the left, “Make a body movement in front of the camera,” is not a biometric modality (despite its reference to the body), but is an example of “something you do.”
  • Passwords, of course, are “something you know.”

In fact, each authentication factor has multiple modalities.

  • For example, a few of the modalities associated with “something you have” include driver’s licenses, passports, hardware tokens, and even smartphones.

Why multifactor is (usually) more robust than multimodal

Modalities within a single authentication factor are more closely related than modalities within multiple authentication factors. As I mentioned above when talking about factors, there is no relationship between my fingerprint, my password, and my driver’s license. However, there is SOME relationship between my driver’s license and my passport, since the two share some common information such as my legal name and my date of birth.

What does this mean?

  • If I’ve fraudulently created a fake driver’s license in your name, I already have some of the information that I need to create a fake passport in your name.
  • If I’ve fraudulently created a fake iris, there’s a chance that I might already have some of the information that I need to create a fake face.
  • However, if I’ve bought your Coinbase password on the dark web, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I was able to also buy your passport information on the dark web (although it is possible).

Therefore, while multimodal authentication is better tha unimodal authentication, multifactor authentication is usually better still (unless, as Incode Technologies notes, one of the factors is really, really weak).

Can an identity content marketing expert help you navigate these issues?

As you can see, you need to be very careful when writing about modalities and factors.

You need a biometric content marketing expert who has worked with many of these modalities.

Actually, you need an identity content marketing expert who has worked with many of these factors.

So if you are with an identity company and need to write a blog post, LinkedIn article, white paper, or other piece of content that touches on multifactor and multimodal issues, why not engage with Bredemarket to help you out?

If you’re interested in receiving my help with your identity written content, contact me.

Scientific Literature about Biometric Applications in Education

I recently wrote a blog post that addressed educational identity.

It turns out I missed some things.

While searching for a post-COVID article that discussed the use of biometrics in education (to supplement my existing educational identity information), I found an entire scientific paper on the topic.

The paper, “Biometric applications in education,” was shared on the U.S. National Library of Medicine website.

From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8318548/

Here’s an excerpt from the abstract:

Educational institutions are acquiring novel technologies to help make their processes more efficient and services more attractive for both students and faculty. Biometric technology is one such example that has been implemented in educational institutions with excellent results. In addition to identifying students, access control, and personal data management, it has critical applications to improve the academic domain’s teaching/learning processes. Identity management system, class attendance, e-evaluation, security, student motivations, and learning analytics are areas in which biometric technology is most heavily employed.

From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8318548/

Hmm…I didn’t even think about class attendance. But a camera capturing faces that walk into the classroom or join the online webinar should do the trick.

You can read the full paper here.

Three Levels of Engagement With Your Content Creator

(This post addresses something that I already announced last week to the Bredemarket mailing list. If you are already subscribed to the mailing list, then you can skip this post. If not, (1) subscribe via the http://eepurl.com/hdHIaT link, and (2) read the post below to catch up on what you missed last week.)

There are three ways that your firm can engage with your content creator.

  • On one extreme, your firm can hire the content creator as a full-time employee. This gives you the benefit of content creator availability at any time (or at least during office hours; don’t make TOO many 3:00 am calls to your employees).
  • On the other extreme, your firm can contract with the content creator for a single project. Maybe a blog post. Maybe a white paper. Maybe a tweet. Maybe a proposal responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP).

These extremes satisfy most firms. But a few firms—perhaps yours—need something between these two extremes.

The Drawbacks of Per-Project Content Creation

There are three potential issues with engaging content creators on a per-project basis.

  1. The first issue is work flexibility. If you engage a content creator to write a blog post for you, you get that work done easily. But when you need something else, you need to re-engage the content creator under a separate project.
  2. The second issue is budget predictability. Sure, only engaging content creators on a project-by-project basis helps you save costs (to some extent), but it’s very hard to predict what your future costs will be. Do you think you’ll need two new white papers four months from now, or five months from now.
  3. The third issue is consultant accessibility. You may approach a content creator for a project that you need, only to find that the content creator is completely booked for the next few weeks.

Is there a way to ensure work flexibility, budget predictability, and consultant accessibility—short of hiring the consultant as a full-time employee?

Announcing the Bredemarket 4444 Partner Retainer

My new offering, announced last week to the Bredemarket mailing list, is a retainer offering that allows you to use Bredemarket for ANY writing task, up to a set number of hours per month. In effect, I’m embedded in your organization to serve you as needed.

By Staff Sgt. Michael L. Casteel – [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2407244

Within the hours you select in the partner retainer contract, Bredemarket can create any content you need—blogs, case studies / testimonials, data sheets, e-books, proposals, social media posts / Xs (or whatever tweets are called today), white papers, or anything.

In addition, the retainer hours are discounted from my usual rate, so you save money that you would have spent if you contracted with me separately for multiple projects.

How can you learn more?

To learn more how the Bredemarket 4444 Partner Retainer works,

  1. Visit the Bredemarket 4444 Partner Retainer page.
  2. Download the brochure at the end of this post.

And if you have questions on any other matter:

Bredemarket 4444 Partner Retainer (August 2023)Download

Human Cloning Via Artificial Intelligence: It’s Starting

Years ago, I joked that Printrak/Motorola/MorphoTrak/IDEMIA’s research and development group shouldn’t be researching fingerprint algorithms, but should REALLY be researching human cloning. This would allow the company to have multiple “Peter Lo” entities researching and developing new fingerprint algorithms.

Today the jokes are becoming reality. Not for biometric scientists (yet), but for online gamers.

What (or who) is Kwebbelkop AI?

The Publish Press’ most recent daily newsletter begins with the article “Kwebbelkop Turns to VTubing.” I can forgive you if two of the four words in that article are puzzling; I hadn’t heard of Kwebbelkop or “VTubing” either.

(Before I proceed to explain Kwebbelkop and VTubing, I’d like to encourage you to subscribe to The Publish Press yourself, via my link. You get an informative daily newsletter focused on creators, while I get stickers and stuff.)

Back to Kwebbelkop (real name Jordi Van Den Bussche), who is a YouTuber who has posted over 5,200 videos. That’s a lot of work. So he needed some help.

From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghDcOhx_TsI

A recent Kwebbelkop video included the debut of “Kwebbelkop AI.” That’s him in the corner. That’s him in the spotlight.

From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghDcOhx_TsI

Now I’m not familiar enough with Kwebbelkop to know if this is truly an AI-generated bot, or just a Max Headroom-like deception. But here’s what is claimed:

“The Digital Kwebbelkop,” as the new character is known, was developed at Van Den Bussche’s company, JVDBStudios. The gamer and his team have revealed several new tools: They are training VTubers to mimic specific creators (Kwebbelkop, in this case) and using AI technology to streamline the video production process. The result, at least in the first Digital Kwebbelkop video, is a character who looks like Van Den Bussche, sounds like him, and plays Minecraft like him.

From https://www.tubefilter.com/2023/08/02/kwebbelkop-gaming-star-ai-vtuber-character-bloo/

What (or who) are AI VTubers?

It’s important to differentiate between VTubers, where a person controls the animated appearance of the avatar (a la our old friend Max Headroom), and an AI VTuber, where AI controls all the actions of the avatar.

Kwebbelkop AI is not the first AI VTuber. In fact, this is the second AI VTuber that Kwebbelkop has created himself; his first one is Bloo.

By https://m.twitch.tv/videos/1830790778, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73907648

Another AI VTuber is Neuro-sama. This Live3D article discusses the “AI” part of Neuro-sama:

Deep Learning: Deep learning endows AI avatar with the ability to understand viewers chats in stream. It uses large text database training to enable AI vtuber to have the ability to understand and answer questions.

From https://live3d.io/blog/what-is-AI-vtuber

What’s next?

It is a very tough problem to create an AI VTuber who can appear to play video games in a realistic manner, and even converse with people watching it (them) play.

It’s an even tougher problem to to create an AI entity that can create accurate biometric algorithms.

And the toughest problem of all is to create an AI-generated content marketing expert who can address your customer needs in your company’s tone of voice.

OK, maybe the biometric algorithm expert is a little tougher than the content marketing expert.

Maybe.

Oh no, I’ve said too much. I haven’t said enough.

From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwtdhWltSIg