Have you ever gotten past a website login error, or been able to establish a new online account, only after getting a security code delivered to you via text to your phone?
Late last year, TechCrunch reported on a security oversight that illustrates the danger of sending passwords or passcodes over SMS: The message itself may have been exposed to attackers, as it was when at least 26 million authentication text messages were left unprotected by password or encryption on a server at California communications provider Voxox.
As a young writer, the parable of the blind men encountering an elephant made an impression on me. The story is all about how someone without sight would interpret a being they encounter. Divorced a bit from reality by their lack of sight, the blind men had to rely on what they could feel.
First-time visitors to your website
Something similar happens when visitors visit your website for the first time—no matter that they can see and read.
If you’ve ever sold a house or are looking to do so, one of the first things people will tell you is to add a fresh coat of paint—to just about everything. New paint is bright. It covers up dirt and generally forces you to repair a whole bunch of dings, scratches, and other flaws that make a house look older.
Selling complex tech is always loaded with uncertainty, but some things are constant.
One is that your first step has to be catching someone’s interest. The best start is to tell a potential customer what you do and then ask for a sale. If that doesn’t work, tell them something else cool about you and ask for a sale.
And if that doesn’t work, your message might be off course.
