Shawn Whitson joins us on the podcast to discuss the transformative journey he has been at the intersection of Faith and Technology. He shares the inspiring genesis of his social platform, Act Social, which aims to foster positive interactions and spiritual growth within the digital realm. Shawn shares how he desires to see a social media platform that inspires and encourages and he has developed the alogorithms to support that mission and aim.

Dick Foth returns on Back Channel with Foth Dick shares the inherent challenges faced in leadership roles, particularly when decisions inevitably lead to dissatisfaction among certain stakeholders. Throughout our discussion, we explore the significance of seeking counsel and grounding decisions in principle rather than mere pragmatism, thereby emphasizing the importance of divine wisdom and guidance in such critical moments.

Takeaways:

• Shawn shares the significance of gratitude and its positive impact on mental health amidst the pressures of modern social media.
• Listeners are encouraged to remain steadfast and resilient in the face of setbacks, using personal stories as examples of perseverance and faith.
• ActsSocial provides an encouraging social media experience that lifts up rather than promoting rage, hate, and anger.
• This podcast episode emphasizes the importance of prayer and seeking wisdom in decision-making, particularly during challenging times.
• The discussion highlights the reality that not all decisions will satisfy everyone involved, and the necessity of making choices despite potential backlash.

Foreign.

Podcast.

This podcast is all about providing clarity, insight and encouragement for life and mission.

And my name is Aaron Sanemier and I get to be your host.

Today we have the phenomenal opportunity to have with us back on the podcast our friend Dick Foth for another session of Back Channel with Foe.

And then we're going to jump into our interview with Sean on actual social.

Dick, welcome back to the podcast.

Always a privilege to be with you and your hundred thousand friends around the world.

It is, it is a fun, fun, fun time, fun, fun time.

Dick got two questions, which is our normal first question says, I'm faced at times with impossible decisions.

Whatever decision I make, someone will not be happy or satisfied.

How do you navigate impossible decisions?

Well, and I, you know, I read that and I think, well, they certainly feel impossible, but they will be possible because I have to make them right.

And I'm not trying to split hairs here.

I'm just saying that that idea is that there's no win.

When I look at the decision I have to make, this decision will be made, but the outcome will, will be less than optimum.

Sometimes I think that I get caught between, I get caught between this moment when I have to make the decision and history of the institution or the entity.

So I've got the pressure from, from the, the history of this movement, whatever I'm involved in and this particular moment.

There are almost always, if it's an institutional decision, there are almost always vested interests, parties, people who have thoughts.

Sometimes I even get caught between the council of friends.

I'll say to a friend, so here's the thing.

What do you think I should do?

And I say to another friend, here's the thing.

And the truth is that when it comes to pleasing people, the old adage comes up, you know, perhaps the.

Well, first of all, those kind of decisions were the greatest stressor in my institutional life.

And by institution, it could be as a local pastor, which I was, but more so as president of a college.

John Lydgate, or Lydgate in the 15th century, was a monk and poet, and this was his quote.

But Abraham Lincoln, I think, took it and tweaked it and popularized it.

You can please some of the people all the time.

Please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.

And I think the key, the key thought here is, what are the decisions about?

And for example, am I making this decision alone or with a team, with counsel?

Is this.

Do I operate out of principle?

When I'M making this, this decision or pragmatism.

Sometimes it's a combination of both.

One other thought is, does this decision have to do with money?

Because most often, whether in, in a marriage, often times finances are the big item.

When you talk to counselors, you know, what's the biggest thing people fight about or can't agree on so forth.

I think that's true institutionally as well.

This idea about if we have a lot of money, sometimes decisions are, on the face of it, easier.

And if we don't have very much, decisions are easier because the money makes the decision for us.

But coming back to the core question, The impossible decisions have to be made.

You're in a position or responsibility place, responsible place, that you have to make it and you make it and you move forward and you make it with counsel.

That's the thing that I would emphasize,.

I think for sure.

Dick, their second question is any scripture or biblical references you use to guide you in impossible decisions.

You know, I was, I was thinking of one and I don't know that I had one on the rack that I pulled off to make decisions, but I think this one first.

Thessalonians 5, 16 and 18.

Rejoice, always pray without ceasing.

You start with prayer, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Now Paul is writing to people talking about their personal lives, but the place I serve is my personal life.

So I think the idea that we pray in all situations means that I pray in times of decision making.

I can't tell you how many times I've had to pray and say now, Lord, you said in James that if I pray for wisdom, you would give it to me.

You would not call me an idiot here.

And I think I have one, one example, and I don't think he would mind me using this.

I mean, this huge thing.

And I would go to see him every couple of weeks and almost without exception, when we would have a little prayer at the end, we would pray for wisdom.

I still talk to him quite often, almost every week and oftentimes he'll just bring up that he said, do you remember that?

In that terribly difficult situation when I didn't know if I could do whatever it was or, or continued doing whatever it was because of X, Y or Z complications, huge complications that had all kinds of implications for.

And one time we prayed in a particular situation that he would be, that he would be able to ask a question in the particular thing he was going into that would move the ball down the field and, and he started thinking that way and things changed 180 degrees over the next few months.

So I think, when I think the idea of praying for wisdom as a baseline for what we do, I think the Lord has said, I'm there, I'm with you.

I'll help you with that.

Good word.

Good word, Dick.

Always enjoy our times on Back Channel with both.

I'm going to go ahead and jump into our interview with Sean on Act Social.

Well, there's no time better than now to get started.

So here we greetings and welcome back to the Clarity podcast.

So excited to be here with a new friend.

Sean, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you, sir.

Blessed to be on.

Sean, one of the good things about being a podcast host is I get to meet new people and get to learn about them before, before the interview.

For those who have not yet met Sean, will you share a little bit about yourself before I start asking you some questions?

Oh my goodness.

So I guess over the years I get made fun of as the serial entrepreneur.

I haven't worked anyone since I was 20 years old.

I've hopped around, done business startups.

I failed at some of them and got some of my best lessons.

Some were a success.

But yeah, that's, that's me up to this point.

I'm now 51, going to be 52 this year.

My wife and I have been married 30 years.

We have three grown children and four grandkids and we're just cruising along.

But this latest company here that I started up was something that I was horrible at consulting with God on.

So I guess we'll get into that.

And he, he, he, he lovingly corrected me.

So that's, that's where we are today.

Awesome.

And so you're speaking to a lot of missionaries, that they have that entrepreneurial spirit that's part of being a missionary, the part of it to go to another country to establish the church.

So I'm sure this conversation is going to resonate for sure.

So share me, Share with me the genesis story of your engagement with social media and the tech world.

Wow.

So we'll get to the part of being called to build this social platform with a Christian backbone.

But I am not the guy who likes social.

It's always irked me, you know, when you're, I guess I'm a go getter.

I guess when you're an entrepreneurial spirit, you don't always like to waste time scrolling on social.

You kind of.

You become the minute manager, you know, and you realize, oh, my goodness, you just told me about you're going to jump in the shower or you're about to have a hamburger.

It's wasted my day.

So I deleted most all of my social long ago.

You know, I kept LinkedIn, but it still irks me to no end to get 40 messages a day selling me something.

But I keep it anyway and I just check it every now and then.

But.

So, yeah, that was, that was me.

That's the genesis story on my backbone there.

And we, we did a couple of products and they were doing so.

So.

And Covid hit, you know, and then those products necessarily wouldn't work.

I was getting ready to shut it down.

And that's when in prayer, multiple prayers, broken prayers.

Yeah.

Got the gut punch from the Holy Spirit.

So that's.

That's up to that point.

Yeah, for sure.

So the gut punch from the Holy Spirit.

So.

So is that when you were led to create Act Social?

And, and can you share about what Act Social is?

Yeah, absolutely.

So my wife and I always have a devotional early in the mornings.

We've done that for the last few years.

It's much better than picking up the phone and digging into email and, you know, get your blood pressure up.

But so we would do that.

And this morning was no different.

I had been praying in private broken prayers of, you know, just disappointed in this company.

You know, especially after Covid was done.

We just can't create a tech product that's, you know, working.

We were building products for other people.

We never had our own product.

We were just software development.

And Sheree jumped up out of bed.

We finished our devotional and our prayer and stuff, and she went to get ready.

And I just continued sitting there because I didn't have any meetings and, And I went back to God in prayer and I said, you know, I prayed to you this many times.

I know your little while is not necessarily my little while because I'm anxious.

You know, I'm like, I'm the kind of person like, oh, I'm going to give this to God.

And I'm like, well, you're not doing anything with it.

I'm going to pick it back up.

You know, here we go.

So.

So I gave that, that prayer again.

And, you know, I've had, I guess as we get older and we work at it.

We become more spiritually mature, obviously, and we learn to be quiet and listen to those still voices and those little promptings from the Holy Spirit, I guess, is one of the best definitions to call them that.

So I think I've definitely had a few of those over the years, trying to be still and listen to his voice.

Sometimes it's my own voice, a lot of times.

So, you know, you get a.

Maybe a tad better at trying to differentiate those.

But this wasn't that, Aaron.

This was.

This was a gut punch.

It's something, something, not something.

Holy Spirit came over me.

I've never had that happen before.

And it stood all the hair up on my body.

I was scared, but peaceful.

It even makes my spine tingle.

Now, just telling the story again, I can never put into words, trying to explain to people, Christians, you know, mature Christians, get it.

Others probably doubt it, but it was a super clear, not a voice.

But it just came to me.

It said, use your tech.

We have a great team.

You know, use your tech team and your talents, your company, to build a social platform that glorifies my kingdom worldwide.

And I was like, I can't stand social media.

You know, I can't stand it.

This is, you know, I'm definitely not your guy, you know, Ha ha.

You can't argue with that.

But I still do to this day.

I'm still like, boy, we could have.

He could have picked someone a lot better father.

But.

So, yeah, that's what happened, man.

And we immediately started dropping outreach for any new clients.

We, of course, would take care of any old clients we built software for and stuff like that.

But we turned our attention, me and my team.

There's 18 of us total.

We pointed towards building our own product for the first time ever.

The team took it incredibly well.

I'm sure it spooked them a little bit on the inside.

They're like, are we sure we want to start midstream?

So I guess the reason I don't like social media is where Act Social did its best birth, I guess out of that by accident.

Because, you know, you can pull up your Facebook and your wife's Facebook and, you know, lo and behold, your doom scroll ads are way different than hers.

You know, they know so much about that and they're using.

In fact, I'll say this statement boldly.

I think that besides the pornographic industry, I think that the social media industry is one of Satan's biggest tools to play you against the father.

I think that's.

I think It's a huge.

Because of the algorithms, the algorithms that steer you and show you what you didn't realize you wanted through those algorithms, the doom scrolling, the stuff that makes the, that kind of gets your blood pressure going, maybe get you a little bit angry.

Or for those poor souls that are not real strong and depend their God is, their followings, their likes and their reactions, they.

That becomes a little bit of their worship there, if you will.

Those poor souls are also the ones that suffer so much from the anxiety and the depressions and things like that.

So simply put in an extremely complex back end.

We took Facebook and TikTok, took the time to study because it took us three and a half years to build this.

We're seven weeks old today.

Wow.

We launched seven weeks ago, so.

So it took us three and a half years of building and studying what makes the algorithms do what the algorithms do.

And we flipped it on its head.

That was the cleanest way to do it.

We totally flipped it around.

So to answer the last part of your question, what makes us different?

You get on act social, you bully someone, you put them down, you demean them, you talk down to them, you post images or videos that your children wouldn't even really need to see, even down to the point of maybe, if you hear me correctly, showing too much skin in a photo, if you know what I mean by that.

Our algorithm picks up on that and suppresses you.

And if you are positive, picking people up, praying for people, showing gratitude, you know, all of God's fruitful seeds, there you go viral.

And to tell you the truth, it confuses some users.

We've had complaints out of it.

Like I posted this and I don't understand your algorithm.

Like it's just totally opposite of what they do.

But, but if you doom scroll on our program, on our program, you're still going to get the dopamine rush that you do on your other social medias.

It's just our dopamine is the holy Spirit.

That's our difference.

Wow.

Very, very cool.

So you share about these.

You already talked a little bit about algorithms advertising.

So how do, how do they shape our online behavior?

There's anger, there's outrage, but is that something that they've mastered those, Is that.

Like the.

Bad trilogy of things together?

But how do those things play into us doom scrolling being involved in social media?

And obviously it's impacting our soul for sure.

So yeah, more thoughts on algorithms advertising and the outrage that that comes with it.

You know, it is so all of us, no Matter how strong in our Christian faith we are, we are all still sponges through the eyeballs, you know, and through the years on that.

So what we see and we hear, I don't care how strong you are, even the strongest of all pastors still listen to what people say and it still bothers them, you know, on that none of us are bulletproof.

So when that social media feeds are coming through, granted there's good on social.

And my opinion is we should not back out of traditional social media.

We should be cross followers and wade through the swamp, you know, every day to do that so we don't tell people completely quit your other social media, be the light.

If you've got a following on there, be the light to them.

That's, that's what that is.

However, none of us are bulletproof.

So if you stay in the swamp and you live in the swamp and you absorb the swamp, you will have no choice but for your soul to be, you know, singed from it.

There's no way around it.

Wow.

And, and man, it's a, it's a challenging place to be and as you said, we're not, not moving away from it.

But at the same time the, the impact of it is, is important.

So one of those impacts is on people's mental health.

How can we be more cognizant of the impact of social media on our mental health and any, any, any wisdom you can share when it comes to that?

Yeah, you bet.

So studies have proven over and over again that, that of what the Bible said.

Haha, we'd say that over and over again, man.

Maybe, maybe these people will pick up on it at some point.

Being grateful is one of the number one remedies for softening your anxiety and depression for those people that really, really suffer from it.

And learning to be grateful about everything and in everything giving thanks, it just, it magically, you know, in a weird way of saying that dissolves those things.

Social media is, is built to be the absolute opposite.

So if we will just learn that someone made a joke the other day out of our name.

We were built off acts, you know, two, you know, the community coming together and being one.

But some people take it as once they've been on our platform, we get little pings like, oh, I get it now.

This is how we should act on our social.

And we thought, oh, ha ha, that's actually, that's a good point.

So, so yeah, we're kind of retraining people, you know, how to be loving and kindness and you know, the Beatitudes.

And the feeds, so on the better.

So, so genesis of the name.

You just talked a little bit about it.

What, what led you to name it?

Act social.

Oh wow.

A threatened lawsuit from Amazon did.

When?

I'm not kidding man.

When we first started we wanted to come up with a name.

And sadly nowadays when you create a company, you don't create your own name.

You go to Godaddy or whatever and you find the dot com version.

Sadly, that's just kind of how this world works now.

So we got on.

I got on and Doug and Doug and Doug and came up with a name that was, I thought cool at the time.

God didn't.

But it was Neighbos, it was neighbors with a Z.

Because one thing, Aaron, we want to make sure we're not.

We want to make sure that in all our marketing, at least to the world, we do it a little differently in our verticals through our Christian channels and things like that and advertising.

But what we don't do want to be, we don't want to be a Christian only bubble because, because the father's instructions were strict is to spread my kingdom, you know, world worldwide.

And if we look like a church from the outside, all those people, which are the biggest reason people don't go to church now is because they've been burned, you know, or there's some hypocrite situations or something there.

That's the majority of all the reasons people don't go.

We want to make sure we don't come off that Persona.

So we always want to make sure in our front facing we're a social platform.

Yeah.

And then a lot pause with cross centered values, you know, as our backbone on there.

So that's how we always are there.

So, so back to your question with that.

I chose Neighbos because we wanted to be neighbors with a Z.

Kind of ran together all your neighbors, you know, bring your names to one place and that's, that's where we'll run this.

And we built the platform for.

We were a little over two years in, we had our trademarks filed and stuff like that.

And our trademark attorney called up one day and said I was going to send this to you an email, but you're not wrong.

But also you're not going to win this.

He said, I just got notifications from Amazon that if you launch with this publicly, they're coming after you.

And I was like, what do we have to do with Amazon?

They don't even have social networks.

And he said, well if you remember Amazon bought ring doorbells, and in the back of the Ring app, they have neighbors where people can chat amongst their lost dogs and package thieves.

And your name percentage matches neighbors to neighbors, and they trademark neighbors.

I'm like, who trademarks neighbors?

And he said, well, people that have, you know, attorneys sitting around eating pizza all day because they don't have anything else to do, you know.

So he said, so you're not wrong.

We could fight this totally different platform.

He said, but you'll never win it.

So we were like, oh, you're kidding me.

So is this.

Is this a setback?

But no, it wasn't.

We dug for the next few days, and I'll tell you where the name came from.

One of our support girls spoke up on a call one morning, and just in her very soft little voice, she said, what about Act Social?

And I was like, act Social, that's brilliant, but fat chance that domain's available.

And there it was.

Wow.

I feel like I couldn't get my credit card out fast enough.

Like, get it bought.

I couldn't believe there it sat.

And that's why the name came up.

It actually came before the Acts 2, you know, theology behind it.

It just.

It appeared there.

And, you know, thanks.

Thanks God.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so what?

Yeah, Just amazing to see how in his providence, for sure, that.

That it works out.

You mentioned earlier being grateful, and you just.

You just gave an example of that, of how you've been grateful and you had a name.

It didn't work out, but God provided.

That's gratitude.

Any other practical.

Any other practical things you would share?

Somebody's listening in on how you've learned through ups and downs in the tech world.

You talked about COVID How have you remained grateful and intentional in that and not drift?

I don't think in life we drift towards gratitude.

I think we probably.

I think we drift away from it.

So how have you tethered yourself?

So that's not just something that.

That you're.

Something you're doing intentionally?

Is that a fair question?

It is a fair question, and it does take practice.

It is certainly not something that comes automatically, I think, you know, when we say, oh, we need to train our brains, that's such a vague thing to do.

You know, like, you could tell anyone that, and, like, they're on it for two days.

So you got to pair that with actions.

So I think one of the things that really.

So I have a book coming out later this year.

Because I was a wild child growing up, I was in trouble.

I stayed in in school suspension, I was always getting licks, I was always skipping, yada, yada, lots of trouble, trouble, trouble.

We won't get into that on this podcast, but God got a hold of me one day and things got better and better and better and better.

And I've spiritually matured now that I just broke the 50 line.

And just a few years ago, Cherie and I started these morning devotionals and really that's my action step.

I truly believe that if I'm going to start my day fresh, you know, every morning anew, is that I don't pick up the world first.

I pick up my My God goggles first and then have to put on my world goggles to do real life after that.

But it sets the tone every day because people always say, oh, you've to be grateful.

You've just got to change your mindset.

And that's.

They mean well and it is true, but if you don't match it with actions, you'll never get the habit down.

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

And you, and I think a great point there, you and your wife are doing that together.

And any, any lessons you've learned in doing that together.

Let's see, let's see what we could say on the podcast.

Just kidding.

Let's see.

It's habits, man.

I can't really, I can't.

I can't go any further than it just has to be a habit.

And thankfully, thankfully, praise God, I have a wife that is stronger in the faith and I consider myself to be stronger in the faith.

So if I get up on a Saturday morning, that's not a normal regimen, if you follow me and I'm ready to start tackling something, then she's the pole that says, well, before you head off, let's knock our devotional out.

So I can't take credit.

I.

As we laughed on the first of this podcast, I always say I'm one of his worst children.

So, yeah, all right, good deal.

So you've built a technology company around biblical principles.

What does it mean to be an entrepreneur that is building a tech company?

Which my opinion, from the outside world, the tech does not seem infused with the love of the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

So.

And you're going to ship your, you know, so in my opinion, you're going against that.

So what does it look like to build a tech company based on biblical principles?

It can be pretty tricky.

Pretty tricky.

And I'll tell you why.

It's pretty tough to find vendors who are first of all, when I say vendors, three and a half years.

The reason it took us three and a half years is we wanted everything we possibly could to be proprietary to us.

So we didn't, we didn't go out and borrow pieces or anything.

We would go out and subscribe to a piece, see how it worked, cancel the subscription, come back and rebuild it again internally.

One of my terrifying things is, for me personally is to get to the Pearly gates and tell God, because we could have built this in two months or three months, we really could have pulled that off.

It would have been on WordPress and it would have looked a little more like the old Craigslist website.

It would have been horrible.

It would have been terrible to look at, but it would have functioned and I would have done what he told me.

But how horrifying would that be to get to the gates and realize that I built something cheesy that wasn't just, you know, the best of the best and the best and bulletproof.

So it's a very interesting question you ask because as we began to build, we got pushback.

We were forced to move those domains I told you about.

We first bought on GoDaddy because of some similar things.

GoDaddy had pulled a stunt on some other Christian, Christian entities that are out there that I won't name on the podcast on that.

So, so we moved our.

You, you can't host your own domain.

You just can't.

You know, it has to be from domain authority.

So we moved over to a company that had Christian values and it took some digging to actually find them.

And there may not be another one in existence.

I'll give you a couple of other examples and this is, this is going to be something very interesting to you.

About 18 months ago, we, well close two years now, sorry.

We started building our front side websites, which are like 3% of our platform.

What you see on the splash pages, you know, the act social.com, you land on, you know, it's just that much of the platform.

Diceberg.

Yeah, the water piece SEO takes forever.

So we thought let's get the front side side up.

Let's put our sign up and login buttons there.

Everything as normal.

But when someone clicks it, it's like, oh, we're not ready yet, you know, opt in, we'll let you know when we're gonna release it there.

And so we started putting blogs and things out so we could get our domain floated up on SEO ahead of time.

So we didn't launch day one fresh new on that, well, the countries found us.

And in the last 18 months now, even though we put that two, two years ago, our SEO rankings started skyrocketing.

You know, again, glory to him on that.

However, with that on the tech world came the Muslim countries.

Wow.

And I kid you not Aaron, in the last 18 months there has not been a month we have not had a cyber attack from a country that is predominantly Muslim.

I kid you not.

And sometimes they're vicious.

They even, they even import their, you know, and we know they are because they input their little ally images and you know, texting, you know, the backwards era.

We see it, you know, coming through sitting there.

So.

So yeah, the spiritual warfare has been real in the tech world.

We're definitely not welcomed.

We ended up open sourcing a.

Because we don't want AI from the Internet because that could be bad.

So what we did is they make AI that is called open source.

So you get all the group code in and you can spin it on your servers, not connected to anything and train it to help you like a support tech.

And that's what we had to have because when they would come in and start attacking, sometimes they damage us enough to pull us down publicly to where we couldn't be seen.

And we said we can't have that.

So we also can't do live in time moderation with humans fast enough on certain decision making scenarios, you know, in the algorithm that we still have to do.

So we built our own AI internally, not connected to the Internet.

It protects our users, it protects our user data and all our tables internally.

It is our cyber security.

And we jokingly call it our Iron Dome because every time we get these attacks in from these Muslim countries which are often, there was one day before yesterday they come in and just machine, machine gun stuff out trying to pierce it down.

The Iron Dome will point and protect and put things around it immediately just like the Iron Dome works.

So we have jokingly called it our Iron Dome on the inside and we, we rely only on one host and everything else is underneath the, underneath the dome.

Wow.

And custom built so that we can't be pulled.

So guys like you that have the, the knowledge to.

I'm a medical guy, all that tech stuff makes me, I know how to maybe get on tech but I don' how to write codes and make iron domes and all that other kind.

But I am very, very, very, very thankful for, for people like you that have the ad ability and skill and in God given insight on how to navigate that.

And so you know, I have been to the.

I've had not cyber attacks like you're talking about, but I've been hacked and that kind of stuff.

And it's frustrating on a personal level.

I can't imagine on a, on a corporation level.

So.

So how can churches or missionaries that are listening in use tech to serve the local community with the gospel rather than.

You've talked about that.

So how can we use tech and the things that you're moving forward, you see, as we move forward, how can we use those things to proclaim the gospel and to get the message of the good news out there?

Exactly.

So we think that in the early Acts church, we think that they weren't really welcome in Rome's square with their new, you know, theologies.

However, we do know from word that people were attracted to it.

You know, they came out, they, they, they standed firm in their faith and Rome pushed against them, but people flooded into them, you know, because it was attractive, you know, on the, the Christian values.

With that said, we try to consider our platform with those same standards that are there.

So when the Father said use the platform to spread the gospel, we gave some very interesting features to the churches and nonprofits.

We allow churches and nonprofits to send mash push notifications out to all the followers on their business pages, something that Facebook and others don't allow.

So, you know, the messages that pop up on the, you know, push notifications, you can imagine as a church being able to get on and, you know, have their members there and be able to send mass emails or mass push notifications saying prayer request and ping, ping, bing.

You know, everybody's phone's going off all at once.

So we've got a lot of features there.

And one of the things we, we, I can't say we accidentally realized, but I guess we saw it but hadn't really realized it is, is we're getting some churches coming in and their little thank you notes, you know, if they zap them in after they sign up, after a question or something, they, there's one thing in common is, is they don't like small church.

These are small churches.

Megachurches have their apps and their sites and all their own tech on that.

But let's be honest, a large percentage can't afford an app and you know, can't afford their own.

And their website, a lot of times is their Facebook business page because it's free on there.

So we set up a lot of the same features and then we started adding things that would help them spread the gospel.

Specifically, which means we also drive users that don't have a church home into registered churches automatically.

The algorithm finds them a church home and then stop showing them churches once they, you know, we call it bobos in seats, you know, as its goal there.

That's what it's called.

But anyway, back to your.

That part of the question is the, the churches were giving us feedback that they're switching over because they're telling their users to go to Facebook and no telling what they're going to get involved in, you know, treading through to get through to their church, you know, business page on that.

So that's been our feedback and that's been an accidental whoops.

Plus, you know, that we just didn't realize.

So.

So yeah, it's.

And we never charge churches or nonprofits put all their tithing buttons on there, all of their messages, put everything on there, all their events, which is their sermon series, and we automatically push them for them.

Very, very cool.

What is, is Sean, parents listening into our conversation today?

What should a parent.

What would you say a parent should know about algorithms and advertising and things that maybe, you know.

Yeah, don't.

I'm not asking you to scare everybody, but, but what are some things that you think, man, they should know?

You.

You said you spent this and launching this company.

Any words of wisdom from parents listening into this?

Yeah.

Don't.

Don't for any split second be, you know, naive to what the enemy is doing on traditional social media because that, that cookie tracking and pixel tracking that everybody jokes around.

Oh, my phone showed me an ad and I was just talking about that.

It's real.

It's real no matter what people say.

And if your child lies about their age just to download an app or something, which they have to in most cases for, you know, most, most social apps lapse and things which is super easy for them to get around.

Don't be naive because your child's brain is 10 times the sponge that, you know, your parent brain is.

So with that said, just be cautious of what you let your kids look at and what they scroll to because those algorithms are so powerful that they know your child's age by pretty good guesstimate based on what they stop at, what they click, you know, and what their, what they, you know, or excuse me, what they pause on going through all that stuff is being tracked in those fancy algorithms so and so so.

Algorithm so it's not just what you click on, it's what you pause on.

It is correct.

That is correct.

Interesting.

Even on the Even on the Internet, it's where your mouse goes.

Okay.

Because a lot of us will look at something and then your mouse is kind of your finger and you'll kind of go up and you'll kind of read on something.

Yeah, yeah.

It's called clarity.

They have all that.

Wow.

Wow.

Yeah, it's a little.

That's a little scary.

I didn't know.

I didn't know it was pausing or what you just.

You're scrolling through.

Stop.

That was.

That was what.

What you ended up.

Is there any ways to reset your algorithms or is that.

Is that beyond an average person?

No, not.

There's no way.

There's no way to actually do it.

Yeah, there's no way to actually do it.

Yeah, we don't use the tracking piece of it.

The only thing we use is the sentiment of the post itself.

Okay.

Very, very cool.

So we don't track what people are watching or going through.

But, but, but, yeah, if you post, if you post, if you post.

Because we have prayer requests.

If you post a prayer request that you're dealing with breast cancer, we just use it as interest tags.

And if it continues to go and someone else has a answered prayer for breast cancer down the way, we're going to connect you together.

But it's very, very simple wording and, you know, interest tags is what that is.

It's not tracking your movements.

Yeah.

So many of the people.

I got one or two more questions for you, but.

And then I'm going to ask you to pray.

But many of the people listening into this are missionaries and they face setbacks, delays, uncertainty.

And as you've walked through this process of developing, as God's led you through developing Act Social, Any words of encouragement for somebody out there that's listening in today, that's faced, facing setbacks, delays, uncertainty, and what they thought was going to happen has not happened.

And they're maybe just not.

They just need a word of encouragement.

Well, the, the first and obvious ones that they'll chuckle at is just count it.

Pure joy, brothers and sisters.

You know that you are going through that, that, that, that Romans piece of perseverance and creating character and things.

It's.

It's the real deal.

And just keep in mind, God's little while is not your little while.

So be as stubborn as a donkey when you're pushing forward.

That's just what you have to do.

It will be a reward.

And I think that's one of the reasons that God may have chose is I hate being told, no, I have an Authority issue.

That's why I was always in trouble.

So when finances ran thin and the Muslims attacked us, and when this and this and this and this continued to happen over three and a half years, it's, it's.

I wouldn't take no for an answer.

It was just stubbornness.

And God enjoys those pieces of stubbornness when it glorifies his kingdom.

You know, he's built our personality to begin with.

So.

So continue trudging forward.

Yeah.

And you're rewarding.

And you talked about the grateful heart and grateful attitude in the, in the middle of it.

In the middle of it.

Sean, if you might be, you might be thinking, Aaron, if you were a good podcast, you would host, you would ask me this question.

Is there a question that I should have asked you that I didn't ask or something you'd like to share that I've not given you the opportunity to share yet?

Yes.

What are you guys doing for this weekend?

What are you doing this fun this weekend?

What am I doing?

Let's say that one.

Yeah.

What are you doing this fun this weekend?

I should ask you that.

Yeah, I'm gonna, My fun this weekend's gonna be with my wife and kids, so that's, that's what I'm gonna do.

Same here.

Yep.

So, yeah, the grandkids are coming over for a slumber party at our house, so.

No, that's, that's, I think the only ending question.

And if anybody wants to join AX Social, we'd be blessed to have them.

But, but yeah, they can do so at our website, axsocial.com and other than that, Perfect man awesome podcast.

They go, they go to, they go to go to the website.

What the, how do.

What's the process of signing look, look like John?

Sure, you bet.

So we just need their name.

So one of the things that we pride ourselves on is we have 100% real users.

And how we pulled that off is if you've got to put your mobile number in to receive that four digit code, you can't use a voiceover IP number.

You can't use a temporary.

They call them the E SIM cards, you know, for temporary numbers.

You can't use a Google voice number or anything.

You have to have a real cell phone number, Verizon AT&T or some of the overseas odd ones that we don't know here to verify it.

Otherwise you won't get a code.

Well, the cool thing is it's when you, when you see everybody on the platform, they're real, live, breathing human beings.

There are no fake accounts.

They're impossible to get through.

So we get a tad bit of pushback, but for the 95%, people appreciate the outcome when they get in there and, you know, feel real.

We have some people say this.

This feels.

It's almost fake.

You know, everybody's so upbeat.

You know, it's.

I feel good after scrolling for 30 minutes and stuff.

So, yeah, we've got that.

So signup is super simple.

Name, you know, cell phone number.

You don't have to upload a profile picture.

Just tell us what you're grateful for.

And optional, if you have any prayer requests right now.

And then you'll be released right into the feeds where you can search daily devotionals, prayer requests.

You can post regular gratitude post or any post you want to.

We have all the Christian news, all the Christian events.

We got like 386,000 churches listed in there now, so keep in mind, we're only seven weeks old, but we're just a little over 8,000 users now, seven weeks in.

So we're growing quickly, as quick as we want to right now as we fix a few little annoying little bugs as we go through.

But, yeah, they're welcome.

We'd be blessed to have anyone on.

Awesome.

Sean, will you pray for us today?

Yes, sir, I sure can.

Father, you are great God, Lord, you are the beginning of this earth.

And we thank you for the promise that you will be the end of this, Lord.

Lord, that gives us peace.

We know that you're in control, Lord.

Please forgive us, as myself, an entrepreneur, for believing the lies of the enemy, Lord, including if it's.

It's.

If it's meant to be, it's up to me.

That is such a lie, Lord, that we listen to and we get done, Lord.

If it's meant to be, it'll be up to you, Father, please.

Humble our hearts, Lord.

Give us.

Give us the strength, Lord.

Especially those that listen to this podcast, Lord, I pray that you would go with them, before them and in front of them, Lord.

And that you would clear the flaming darts of the arrow that come in from the enemy, Father, at all times.

It's just.

It's constant, Lord, give us.

Give us your armor plating, Lord, as we know you can, through your holy spirit.

Father, you are great and you are love.

We thank you so much.

It's in Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.