Tag Archives: iew

The Two-Way Door Decision

In business there’s something called a “Type 2 decision.” Because of my biometric background I shy away from the term (which means “false positive” in biometrics) and prefer to use the term “two-way door decision.”

If you’ve been through an airport security checkpoint, either entering or leaving a security area, you know that you can only go one way.

Google Gemini.

Amazon and the two-way door decision

But other entrances and exits DO allow you to change your mind.

“The [two-way door decision] concept was introduced by Jeff Bezos in his Amazon shareholder letters, using the metaphor of walking through a door. With a two-way door decision, you can walk through the door, see what’s on the other side, and if you don’t like it, you can easily turn around and come back through. If you make a suboptimal two-way door decision, you don’t have to live with the consequences for long—you can reopen the door and go back through.”

Amazon Fresh is not a good example.

Google Gemini.

While in the end the original decision was reversible, the reversal was not without pain. The rise and fall of Amazon Fresh took years. (Technically less than a year in Upland, if you don’t count the years of planning, but still a long time.)

But what about trying a new product marketing idea? While some ideas, such as pricing a luxury car at one dollar, can cause permanent damage, others can easily be reversed.

I’ll use Bredemarket as an example. Back in 2020 I was heavily pushing my Bredemarket 404 Web/Social Media Checkup. While it remains on my website, I haven’t promoted it in years. I could certainly still do it (and did it for one client), but while it parallels my analysis strengths, I find other areas (such as market and competitive analysis in the biometric industry) much more satisfying and financially rewarding.

Google Gemini.

On the other hand, I DID pull my editing services from the Bredemarket website. That’s not rewarding at all.

Enough about me…what about you?

But what if YOU want to try a new product marketing idea and see if it resonates with your prospects?

Google Gemini.

Now you could go through an entire tiered go-to-market launch,

Or alternatively, you could send up a trial balloon such as a blog post, a social media post, or a data sheet.

Google Gemini.

Then measure the results.

  • If the content resonates with your prospects, double down.
  • If your prospects are indifferent, never mention the idea again.
  • If your prospects hate it, delete it.

Because of my “I ask, then I act” bias, I gravitate toward these trial balloons. As long as the idea doesn’t kill your company, why not try it quickly, rather than paralyzing yourself by repeated inaction?

Your trial balloon

Google Gemini.

Are you ready to launch a trial balloon, but need some help with the helium? Set up a meeting with Bredemarket and we can discuss your options.

A Less Serious Observation of Memorial Day

Last year I wrote a very serious observation of Memorial Day, noting that it is not just a pool party and grill day.

“To be blunt about it, Memorial Day is a day about death, and if you can’t handle this truth, go back to the pool.”

I encourage you to read this to understand what Memorial Day is about.

Riverside National Cemetery picture Sigris Lopez, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source.

Since I covered the serious side of Memorial Day last year, today I will instead acknowledge that it IS a day for many to relax.

Patriotic shorts inspired by Danie Wylie, but with an Inland Empire feel. (For the IE and other tech firms that need marketing and writing services…tomorrow.)

Google Gemini.

IE Tech Firms, Stop Letting Outside Agencies Misread Your Tech

Deploy Inland Empire product marketing that converts.

Inland Empire technology firms (May 23, 2026).Download

Expert product marketing offered by Bredemarket in Ontario.

Schedule your free content needs assessment: https://bredemarket.com/mark/

Amazon Stale, May 2026 Edition

Foothill and 2nd, Upland, California. Wasn’t I just at a grand opening here a little over a year ago? But you know what happened to Amazon Fresh, here and elsewhere.

On Thursday afternoon I finally had a chance to see what was left, two months after the end. I doubted that this location would become a Whole Foods since one already exists just a few miles away. Looks like I was right.

Even the EV charging stations are pulled out.

I’m not charged up, do put me down.

In an unusual co-location of retail upheaval, the store just west of this one is a Dollar Tree…that used to be a 99¢ Only Store. Other stores were converted.

And that’s just the consumer world. We know what the business-government world (where Amazon also plays) is like.

Why Does California Support Two Separate Digital Wallets For Its Mobile Driver’s License?

This morning I was attending a NIST webinar on mobile driver’s license use at financial institutions, and began looking at the services I could access in April 2026 with my California mobile driver’s license—financial and otherwise.

Of course I already knew that I could use my California mDL at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Ontario International Airport. In fact, the mDL in my Apple Wallet (obtained in 2024) recorded the fact that I used my mDL at the airport on August 31, 2025.

Google Gemini.

But today I learned that some services are NOT available with the mDL in my Apple Wallet, but ONLY while using the “CA DMV Wallet” app.

So I downloaded the app, which I last used in my initial unsuccessful attempt to obtain an mDL. (I finally used Apple’s facility to get one.) I assumed that since I already had my mDL in my Apple Wallet, it would automatically show up in the app.

You know what happens when you assume. My buddy Google Gemini pointed it out to me.

“It’s a common point of confusion, but the Apple Wallet and the CA DMV Wallet app are actually two separate “containers” for your digital ID. Because California uses a secure, decentralized system, your mDL doesn’t automatically sync between them. Even if it’s already in your Apple Wallet, you have to go through a separate enrollment process to “provision” it into the DMV’s official app.”

Which meant that I had to enroll again and get another decentralized mDL, which I did. (After some difficulty; it took four separate attempts to capture my facial image, which was only successful when I went into a very dark room.)

Now that my mDL is in this second wallet, I could go ahead an enroll in the TruAge program for age verification at a private retailer.

Google Gemini.

As I type this, TruAge hasn’t processed my application.

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Product Marketer For Hire, Sunday at 9:00 PM (8:00 PM Central), Sponsored by Marlboro

You know that the video I shared earlier begged to be expanded into a television show. And that for the proper setting, the show itself would market products in a way that is illegal today; yes, the show would be sponsored by Marlboro.

Google Gemini.

So without further ado…

“Product Marketer For Hire,” Sunday at 9pm: “The Stranger”

The introduction to the television show “Product Marketer For Hire.”

(The show introduction is followed by a Marlboro commercial.)

Scene 1: Main Street, Ontario

(Sharp-eyed Inland Empire residents will notice that this depiction is entirely fictional, since the real “Main Street,” officially known as Euclid Avenue, is much wider and less dusty than the street depicted here. Allow me artistic license.)

As the Ontario townsfolk were gathered on the street in late afternoon, a mysterious stranger rode into town. He was a most unusual man. For one, he was smiling, unlike the other strangers that have come before him. For another, his brown/tan/black official western wear issue (Montgomery Ward catalog, pages 333-334) was rudely interrupted by a blue patch with a “B” on it. There was something else odd about him, but no one spoke of it.

The mysterious stranger rode up to the saloon, dismounted his horse, and walked in.

Scene 2: The Saloon, Ontario

The mysterious stranger slowly walked to the bar and took a seat as the bartender eyed him warily.

“What’ll you have?” the bartender asked gruffly.

“Strum,” the stranger replied.

(Hey, Inland Empire residents, I got that one right.)

As he sipped his drink, the stranger couldn’t help but notice the older man in a gray jacket staring at him. As everyone in the saloon quietly watched, the older man slowly walked toward the stranger.

“Sir,” said the older man.

“Yes?” asked the stranger.

The older man gestured toward the stranger’s belt. “Those aren’t guns you have in those holsters.”

The stranger paused. “No, they’re not.”

“In fact,” the older man scoffed, “they look like pencils.”

The stranger nodded. “Yes they are.”

The older man’s face betrayed the slightest smirk. “Why” – he paused – “would a man carry PENCILS in his holster?”

As the older man and the others in the saloon broke out into grins, the stranger eyed them all with a serious expression. He paused before responding.

In a loud voice the stranger replied. “Business.”

Everyone looked puzzled at that unexpected response.

After a long pause, the older man turned back to the stranger. “Sir,” he asked, “exactly what kind of BUSINESS are you in?”

(Time for another Marlboro commercial)

When is a Law Enforcement Camera a Law Enforcement Camera?

Many years ago I was driving on Holt Boulevard in Montclair, California, preparing to make a left turn on Central. I followed the vehicle behind me and made my left turn…only then noticing that the left turn light was now red.

As the registered owner of the vehicle I was driving, I received an email from the city of Montclair a few days later. Because this is when Montclair was using cameras for traffic enforcement.

Off to traffic school.

Montclair doesn’t use traffic cameras any more, but all sorts of cameras are owned by, or accessible to, law enforcement agencies.

But how should they be used?

404 Media reported that the Georgia State Patrol accesses Flock cameras, for the intended purpose of gathering information for serious crimes. But what happens when the camera captures something not serious?

“Georgia State Patrol used its system of Flock automated license plate reader (ALPR) surveillance cameras to issue a ticket to a motorcyclist who was allegedly looking at his cell phone while riding, according to a copy of the citation obtained by 404 Media….The incident happened December 26 in Coffee County, Georgia. The ticket lists the offense as ‘Holding/supporting wireless telecommunications device,’ and includes the note ‘CAPTURED ON FLOCK CAMERA 31 MM 1 HOLDING PHONE IN LEFT HAND.’”

The man went to court and the ticket was dropped, but 404 Media is still outraged that the ticket was issued in the first place. Not because of Georgia’s policies, but because of other policies.

“Many police departments go out of their way to tell community members that Flock cameras are not used for traffic enforcement. For example, the City of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, states in a FAQ that “GSPD [Glenwood Springs Police Department] does not use Flock cameras for traffic enforcement, parking enforcement, or minor code violations.” El Paso, Texas, tells residents “these are not traffic enforcement cameras. They do not issue tickets, do not monitor speed, and do not generate revenue. They are investigative tools used after crimes occur.” Lynwood, Washington tells residents “these cameras will not be used for traffic infractions, immigration enforcement, or monitoring First Amendment-protected expressive activity” (Flock cameras have now been used for all of these purposes, as we have reported.)”

You will recall that I addressed another Flock Safety case, in which a citizen made public records requests from two Washington state jurisdictions. The jurisdictions said that they didn’t have the data; Flock Safety did. Flock Safety said that it had deleted the data.

Basically, Flock Safety is controversial, and some people are going to oppose ANYTHING they do. Even when Flock Safety technology protects people from dangerous drivers.

My view is that if a camera is used by a law enforcement agency, and there is no law prohibiting the law enforcement agency from using a camera for a particular purpose, then the agency can use the camera. There appears to be no such law in Georgia, so I’m not bent out of shape over this.

What are your thoughts? Is this a privacy violation?