One question is, how would a “free” social network support itself without income? This is the question social networks have been wrestling with since their inception. The answer is simple, they can’t! What we have today is income models that basically use you and the records of your activities as the product. And who are the paying customers? Anyone who will pay for that information and access to you, of course.

No big surprise there. For decades, even before social media, our snail mailboxes were stuffed with junk mail. The junk mail senders were using information about us from public records and purchasing histories to know how to zero in on us. With social media, we have, in effect, made our choices public and they can be mined and analyzed to tailor ads catering not only to our buying patterns, but to our specific ideological patterns and tendencies. Now they’re really  zeroing in on us. This is very valuable data!

It seemed okay and quite innocent when the commercial marketeers hit us with ads seconds after we made a purchase. It was commercial, they were selling stuff, and that’s just part of business, we thought. But now it’s clear that anyone could buy the data and use it for whatever sinister purposes they want. They can interfere with our elections, undermine our institutions, exacerbate our political divisions, vilify those we oppose, and validate our suspicions – no matter which “side” we are on!

“Divide and conquer” is an ancient and classic war strategy. It is being used effectively today by the weaponization of the social media. You voluntarily provide the data that makes you vulnerable. It gets sold to the groups who use that data to manipulate you and others.

There’s talk today about regulating social media. These regulations would presumably make it harder to sell sensitive data, post hateful comments, disseminate false news, and proliferate political messages. But they would apparently leave in place the sale of personal data for commercial uses. At this point social media platforms want to protect their source of income while appearing to reduce the abuse of this data for political reasons.

Because the service would still be “free,” the proponents expect wide ranging support. But it will be almost impossible for the platforms to prevent political abuse while allowing commercial access to your data.

So, we ask again, would you pay a monthly or annual fee for a social networking service that used your fees as their income stream and not the sale of your data? Proponents of this idea say that fees would be minimal to support the platform and provide the services you now enjoy for “free.” And your data would be private!

Imagine a platform where you are not solicited either commercially or politically. Imagine a platform where your choices and data history were not for sale. In other words, imagine a platform where you are the customer and not the product! What is that worth to you?

With the next scandal just around the corner, this “preposterous” idea of paying for something we now get for free may become practical, feasible, and even desirable. At some point, you might prefer being the customer rather than the product! This may be a disruption whose time is rapidly approaching. After all, there is no “free” lunch!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post How Much Is Your Privacy Worth? appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

It didn’t take long for our adversaries to figure out that they could take advantage of this new “system” of perceived credibility. It was no longer based on potential liability, established reputation, or even science, but solely on clicks!

And who was doing all that clicking? We were! We got suckered into 3 major misconceptions:

1. Entertainment is equal to facts. If it’s interesting but not vetted, the temptation is to share it and be appreciated as the source of the entertainment. You get more “likes” but you can spread falsehoods.
2. Agreeable posts must be right. When you share any “news” that supports your opinions, even if it’s not vetted, both sides of any issues are being duped!
3. Popularity = Credibility. Some folks believe that the number of interactions and engagements make posts reliable. However, the interactions can be made up from borrowed accounts or bots.

Now add to that a loss of interest in civics, which is how and why our government was designed to protect us from mob rule on the one hand, and dictatorship on the other. In other words, checks and balances.

Enter a tech savvy adversary with the goal of disrupting our democracy. How to do it? Simple, just undermine our confidence in the institutions that provide those checks and balances, like the executive, legislative, judicial branches of our government and our free press. Create millions of stolen identities to qualify for social media accounts, and use bots to create mega campaigns simultaneously on both sides of every trending divisive issue. Amplify the divisive posts already made by our own people and make millions of new ones.

If our adversaries can get us to lose faith in our 200-year-old institutions and distract us with infighting, then they have executed the age-old art of war – “divide and conquer.” Now they are free to move about the world and pursue their own interests at our expense while we get more cynical and divisive.

So, how do we defend ourselves from this kind of attack? This is not a quick fix, but a sustained effort. We have been working with students over the past five years and we have admired their desire to understand the world and be successful in it. It is precisely our freedom and democracy that provide the solid bedrock upon which they will build their new businesses. It is the enabling environment startups need to succeed.

Now Uncle Sam needs the students to take action to defend these institutions. Here is how it is done:

1. Accountability. Hold social media companies accountable for allowing false accounts and bot manipulation. Social media companies should not be making money from attacks on our institutions or the sowing of divisiveness.
2. Healthy Skepticism. Question all posts on trending divisive issues. Look for validation from news sources that have liability insurance and reputations at stake.
3. Take Civics. Understand and appreciate how our government is organized and why populist demigods cannot legally deliver what they promise. Appreciate and defend the checks and balances that have been put in place. If Civics is not offered in your school, create a club of like-minded students to learn the way our government works.
4. Vote. Even if your candidate doesn’t make it into the finals, still vote for the “lessor of two evils” so you don’t get the greater of two evils! Learn to compromise.
5. Speak Out! It’s your life, your safety, and your future that’s at stake. When students speak, the country listens. You represent our future and our new voters. Expose politicians taking checks from interest groups that undermine your future.

If there was ever a time where the future of our democracy was in danger, it is now. The boomers are transplants to the technological age. The students of today are natives. It is up to the natives to get restless! Uncle Sam needs you now!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post 5 Ways Today’s Students Can Save Our Democracy appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

It’s easy to get carried away with the advances in technology and possibly even come to the conclusion that those who didn’t grow up with it have nothing to offer. But this is far from the truth! Technology has given us tools that make communication easier, but also raises questions of privacy. Automation has made business processes more efficient, but sometimes less flexible. Applications have enabled us to quickly perform functions, thus allowing us rely less on our resourcefulness and cognitive abilities. Social networking has increased our ability to interact with a greater number of people, but has dulled our social and communication skills.

The millennials were born into this incredible information revolution. However, experiencing a day and time before that revolution makes boomers keenly aware of how the technology has, in some ways, pandered to our human desire to work less, think less and insulate ourselves from criticism. Perhaps it is easy for boomers to see this because they come from an era before the information revolution, giving them a more objective view about not only what has been gained, but what has been lost. Some of what has been lost may be critical to the very success of those millennials.

Today it is still hard work, critical thinking, resourcefulness, and a willingness to accept constructive criticism, and even rejection, that foster the essentials of true entrepreneurial success. Growing up in a world where information is so easy to access and people have hundreds of “friends” may have diminished the importance of valuable traits such as innovation, tenacity, and relationship building.

As childless boomers ourselves, and as successful entrepreneurs, we have dedicated ourselves to helping millennials achieve their own success. We want them to benefit not only from technology, but also from the time-tested guiding principles and standards that never change – principles which we learned too many times the hard way. We want to cut the time and money it takes to succeed in half by giving them the benefit of our experience. In the past two years we have spoken to millennials in 40 universities in three continents about the lessons we learned in the hopes that they will apply it to benefit their own endeavors. It’s not the rosy picture of super hero success that makes the news and gets all the hits and likes. It’s more about the real and imperfect world in which we live – and understanding how to best communicate with the people in it.

We give the millennials examples of our own mistakes in real life stories they can relate to. We outline the assumptions we made (much like the ones they now hold) that led us to those mistakes. We give them practical and tactical, rather than abstract and philosophical, advice so they can avoid these mistakes. We get granular and hands-on. When the millennials tell us we “connected the dots” for them, we are thrilled! We know we have made a difference with this great generation of new entrepreneurs! It’s what we as boomers have to give that will improve everyone’s future.
Technology is even better when we add in the experience of the pre-techno generation. Millennials are invited to check out our new webinar series we created especially for them. Here we share the guiding principles for success that we used building the Barefoot Wine brand. Some things never change!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Millennials Benefit from the Successes and Failures of Boomers appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

If you are born into a world where you apparently didn’t have to communicate in real time, and if you inherited a technology that provided a comfortable firewall that insulated you from personal rejection, are your social skills more likely to be handicapped? Could we learn to walk if we were handed a crutch at birth?

A close friendship is one that builds on trust and empathy. A relationship can start using text, email, or social media, but in order to be lasting and dependable it has to grow in person. And like learning to walk, we are going to be vulnerable, but that’s why we get so good at walking! Being vulnerable is a requirement in learning social skills. Personal interactions help both parties gain a level of trust for each other. Facebook can’t compare with face time when it comes to building a strong relationship.

Here are 7 advantages to real time, in person, face-to-face relationship building:

1. Facial Expressions. The human face has at least 20 muscles that work in concert to create a myriad of telling facial expressions. Observing those expressions during verbal communication can give you instant feedback about how your message is being received. You can quickly adjust you message on the spot to make it more meaningful or agreeable, and avoid possible misunderstandings.

2. Body language. Unlike a posed profile shot or any still image sent over the internet, you have an opportunity to see the other person’s dynamic reaction and make adjustments. Their real-time body language also provides tons of non-verbal communication you cannot read in a text or email. As humans and social animals we are already wired to get this feedback instantly.

3. Time investment.  When you travel with someone you really get to know them. There likely will be situations that cause stress and anxiety. You will both get to see how the other handles a variety of situations. When you spend time with others, you find out what you truly have in common and you have an opportunity to share your opinions. Spending an extended period with anyone helps you both get to know each other. Visiting someone repeatedly over a period of time can also provide valuable non-verbal clues to his or her values and concerns.

4. Tonality. When spoken, the same words used in a text or email can have different meanings based on the tone, inflection and emphasis of the speaker. You can quickly be aware of intentions behind the spoken word. This can give you a unique opportunity to discuss ideas they may not understand or be comfortable with.

Text, email and friending are great communication tools, but they are not relationship building. Virtual communication is just that – virtual. When you get real, you gain much more than the price of time and vulnerability.

Next week, we will explore other great advantages of face-to-face, real-time communication including Vulnerability, Personalized Attention, and Employability. Plus, we will explore ways to improve your social skills. So, stay in touch.

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Building a Relationship is More than Texting and Friending – Part 1 appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.