George Moen

George Moen

George Moen  //  George Moen: http://www.georgemoen.tel

 
May 24 / 6:38am

HST vs No HST - A New Poll - A New App

by George Moen

HST vs No HST - Take A New Poll

 

Social Media has provided a new platform for the

average citizen to engage in all forms of discussion

in social, business and political issues.  We in BC are

faced with a vote in June 2011 to give our opinion

on the HST.

 

What I have done is a set up a Poll with some very

cool and new software I am testing call Quik Piq.

It is real easy and only takes a few minutes.  I set

up the poll right from my iPhone in under 5 mins.

 

I have been running a couple of fun polls over the

past while and decided to use it to see what people

are really saying about the HST. 

 

Take Poll here - it is simple as  a click!

 

Support / Don't Support HST:

 

http://quikpiq.com/jzwhvq4h

 

Here are a couple of more links that you might find

of interest if you get a vote.  If you don't vote you

don't get to bitch!  There are people around the world

that are fighting in the streets for the privilege many

in Canada take for granted.

 

HST Public Forums: http://www.hstpublicforums.ca/

 

About Quik Piq:    http://quikpiq.com/polls/home

 

Download App:    http://bit.ly/mNQc4l         

 

In conclusion, I like the fact that I can take my own poll

and don't have to wait for the "traditional" sources to

send me the info.  We live in interesting times.

 
Mar 27 / 7:10am

The George Moen Guru List - How I Struck Gold

by George Moen
The George Moen Guru List - How / Why It Happened!

Over the years I have assembled a list of people known and unknown
that I recently called "My Guru List".  I found when I was looking for
information and trying to figure stuff out I would read , meet , talk to
this group.  Many you will know and I simply don't have direct access
but can read their thoughts and opinions. Others are folks who I live
near and can meet for coffee or run into at different events to get their
take on things from the economy , politics and most recently one of
my passion-social media.

Over the past few years I learned a very valuable lesson and it is one
that took me some time to learn.  I listen to the likes of Paul Krugman
Richard Russell , Nouriel Roubini , Meredith Whitney , Jim Rogers
and more. What happened is that I sold real estate at the right time,
then the stocks at the right time, sold income trusts at the right time,
bought bonds at the right time and boy did I buy gold and silver at the
right time. The net results was every year including 08 / 09 & 10 have 
all been positive years to the investments I have.

I do not say that to brag or prove I am a shrewd investor. But I did not
get lucky...I listened.  When the "conventional" world was saying 
stuff and much what the clients wanted to hear these folks mentioned
above were painting a different view and had you listened anyone 
could have done what I had done.  

I guess the point I am trying to make is this.  At the end of the day 
it comes down to me.  If I do not let in other opinions and do not 
constantly test what I think to be true I run the risk of running with the
herd and we can see where that got us aka "meltdown 2008".

So a while back I started to share this brain trust with the world in
a list on Twitter I call "My Guru's":  

You can follow them or even follow the list.  It is the best few clicks
you can do for brain food.

Then when "Paper.Li" came along I could create the "George Moen's
Guru Daily": Here you can see their best stuff each day in a online 
newspaper format.  You can even subscribe to remind you to go read.
I do even to my own paper and I find gems everyday.  It allows me 
to filter down to the relevant stuff on twitter.

And most recently I have now launched my Guru section on my Dot
Tel so I can provide even more information on the Guru Group.  I will
be adding 1 or 2 a week over the next few months. My first one is 
Paul Krugman.  He writes for the NY Times and is probably what will
encourage me to buy a subscription ( they are going paid version ) and
it's not cheap as subscriptions go..couple of hundred a year.

I will continue to add to the list.  I get to meet a lot of fascinating people 
in what I do and everyone has a story and something to say.  I find 
listening and reading is way more valuable and profitable.  I hope you 
find your gems.  And most importantly go be some one's Guru!
 
Feb 6 / 6:27am

PNEC2011 Are Universities Doing Enough?

by George Moen

PNEC2011 Are Universities Doing Enough?

 

This past weekend I was invited onto the Venture Capital &

Entrepreneurship Panel to talk and answer questions.  The

audience consisted mostly of students and a few folks from the

rest of the community.  My fellow panellist were awesome

group and I find I tend to learn as well as chat in these sessions.

I have developed a bit of a profile for each one of them here.

 

Learn More About PNEC 2011 Here:

http://pnec2011.past-events.speaking.georgemoen.tel/

 

The Venture Capital & Entrepreneurship Panel Here:

http://bit.ly/hJXIcd

 

One of the questions we got from the floor was from a VC in

the room ( he asked a bunch of great questions ) was the
Sauder School of Business doing enough to connect the students

with the Business Community.  I got the feeling he did not

think so.  If you asked me that 10 years ago I would said "no way".

I have done a 180 and I would say they are doing a great job.

 

Over the past couple of weeks I spoke at this event ( PNEC 2011 )

and at a Sauder sponsored Networking event downtown.  I am

also speaking at two more over the next few months.  This did

not happen in my time at Sauder.

 

Also, what I was impressed with is that these events are run

by the students themselves.  I am not sure if they have any folks

standing in the background or mentoring but I have yet to see

that at the two events I have attended.

 

Further, these events are as well run as any I have seen in the

city. In fact they really have their stuff together and lots of

of the students are involved when I was on site.  ( Great training ).

 

I have to applaud the Sauder School of Business for their efforts. I

have been in the past a critic of most educational institutions

disconnect but I have to say this no longer the case. Is there still

more to do sure. I think there is room to improve particularly in

teaching students the "art of biz to biz networking" that is a huge

gap and a skill that is very important in business today.

 

I am speaking at a couple of more Sauder School events and am

looking forward to connecting again. Check Out:

 

The Me Inc Conference: http://bit.ly/hRj2i1

 

Style In The City 2011:  http://bit.ly/idMVDo

 

The student today is not the student of my time. We were not

bad.. but these young people today are focused , smart  and talented.

We are in good hands .

 

Thanks to Kim Nguyen , Jason Heng , Adam Millard , Chloe Gow-Jarrett

and the rest of the team @ PNEC 2011 for having me.  I had a blast.

 

And thanks for giving me the opportunity to hang out with you all.

As I said above I always learn as well as share knowledge at these

events.  Thanks Again.

 

George Moen - Sauder School Grad.. ( even more proud of it ).

 

 
Jan 29 / 9:57am

Scott Stratten - The Best Marketing Tip He Never Gave!

by George Moen
Scott Stratten - The Best Marketing Tip He Never Gave!

In December of 2010 I have the privilege to sit on a Panel
with Scott Stratten @unmarketing & Gillian Shaw @gillianshaw
and we talked about Social Media..I had a blast going back
and forth with these two fine minds! 

Typically when I speak or do panels I arrive early to get a
feel for the audience and event.  I got there just in time to
see Scott do his presentation and he was great..the guy
knows his stuff.  Get his book its worth the investment
in your marketing efforts.

However the great marketing tip I took away was not from
the talk or the book ( I do use many ) but was what he said
about the use of cell phones during the talk. He said take
them out, tweet, post, do facebook or even blog what ever
and if you like something talk about it in real time. So like
many in the room I did. Who does that..all our life we are
told to put the dam things away.  I instantly saw the marketing
brilliance. I could not wait to try and see if it worked for me. 
Well I did not have to wait long.

Fast forward to Jan 27, 2011. I am the keynote at the
Vernon Chamber of Commerce @vernonchamber and after
the audience was told to put their phones away and on
silent I start my speech going against my hosts requests
( they were OK in the end ). I gave them all permission to take
out their phones of what ever model and if you use social media
post in real time during my speech. Out comes the phones on
mass.  I mean I look around the room earlier and many
are doing the "sneak under the table check" ( anyway..
come on.... we know we all do it at some point ;)

Here is the good news...I can show you what happen as
a result of this new experiment in Social Media.  It is really
cool and I have to tell you this will be incorporated into all
my presentations.  It is good for the hosts, in this case
the Vernon Chamber of Commerce and it is good for me
because I am getting real time feedback and testimonials.
( I would never get most of this anyway ).  We both got a
ton more of brand extension, they got as much if not more
from my talk as a result and I got a lot of feedback I can
share in the future.  Here are couple of links that really
give you a feel of what I am talking about.

The Feedback:  http://bit.ly/g5KjUi

The Twitter Stream: Search http://bit.ly/ea7Gab
#Vernon George Moen ( It's Impressive )

I got great blog feedback, Pictures of the event and a lot
of brand recognition on both facebook and twitter.

As a speaker I can provide a lot more value to host and
their audience can share with even a wider audience the
benefits they are bringing to their members and community.

I did not count the number of impressions and views but
it is safe to say it is the 10's of K or 100's of K with the
amount of posts and RT's on Twitter. 

We are in a different time and we have a vast tool kit at our
fingertips...time to break some rules :)  We intend to do
that at our #BlenzRedBand Launch on Feb 1, 2011 in Yaletown

Event:        http://on.fb.me/hvjprt  Feb 1, 2011 5:00 PM

Posting / Tweeting / Foursquare all in facetime join us for yet
another grand Social Media experiment.

Special Note to the folks in Vernon.  If you have any content
I have miss and want a link on the Feedback page let me know
and I will get you up there and besides link backs are good
for your SEO..:)

Again thanks to the team @ Vernon Chamber of Commerce,
President Deb Leroux of Harris Flowers and a special thank
to Val Trevis who reached out to me via Social Media, built
this relationship and brought me to Vernon...had a blast!

George Moen
 
Jan 22 / 7:05am

Come In For A Blenz Coffee - Leave With A Date!

by George Moen
Come In For A Blenz Coffee - Leave With A Date!

Now there is a competitive advantage if I have ever heard of one!  And soon
( starting Feb 1, 2011 ) we are going to do exactly that at our Blenz Coffee
Stores across British Columbia.  It is call the Blenz Red Band Promotion and
the program was inspired by a young lady by the name of Yuliya Talmazan.

So here is how it all happened.  She connects thru Twitter with a direct
message and say's hi and she has this marketing idea she wanted to bounce
of me.  Typically this is always done by our marketing department but some-
thing just told me do take the meeting myself.  She told me later that she
had no idea I would meet her and within a few days she was in my office
telling about this cool promotion. 

The old saying goes "If you keep doing the same thing - you will get the
same results" and I am looking at our brand and saying you know we want
to be different so let's start doing some different stuff.  This totally fits the
program.

A coffee place today is a lot of things.  It's a place to get a drink. some food
, have a meeting , park your butt between meetings and a lot more.  Over
the years it is a place to hang out and also meet a new person ( date ) and
simply connect.  Social media is starting to support even a deeper connection
you can see that big time with Foursquare.  The Foursquare So Media platform
has really taken hold in our operations...we have mayors!  If you want to learn
more about this cool engagement
tool check it out.

Learn more here: http://foursquare.com/

So we went to work and started to scope out the promotion and build the
Blenz Red Band program and has this taken a life of it's own.  Now it has
become a major promotion and is what we called a complete "Integrated
Marketing" initiative with a lot of moving parts.  So I got to thinking why
not talk about that and while we running this promotion I will drop the odd
blog about what and how we are doing it and specifically how we are using
many aspects of Social Media in support.

You see I am convinced that Social Media is a game changer. More
importantly individuals and small companies can use the power of Social
Media and have a huge impact both on sales and  their bottom line.  Never
before in the history of business has the tools been made available to
compete globally and or locally for the SME / SOHO markets. 

All that said..many are still trying to figure it all out and how it works. 
Well we will share some of that with you over the next 5 weeks.  I will dive
into some of the components and you can track this online.  Will it work...
sure hope so! But ask me in March.  ( you will know I have posted by
notices popping up in the my twitter account ).

Check out Blenz Red Band Here: http://blenzredband.com/

Press Release Here: http://bit.ly/gH6ECx

George  C ya on the side of this one ;)

Everything about me is here:  http://www.georgemoen.tel
 
Jan 2 / 9:16am

George Moen Launches Daily Newspaper

by George Moen
George Moen Launches Daily Newspaper Jan 2011

Kinda a catchy line don't you think and totally real.  I have some of the best reporters

in the world. They write everyday about some of the coolest and intelligent topics 24
hours a day 7 days a week - It's Free to Read and it's Free to produce..What it is!

The George Moen Daily Guru.

It is produced on a new platform from paper.li they describe their platform like this:
"Read Twitter and Facebook as a daily newspaper" and it's true.  You can take a
couple of approaches with it. What I did was took my "Guru List" on Twitter and
have their posts ( tweets ) organized in a online Newspaper format. It brings in
online content in the  form of text, photo's and videos. It quite unique actually.

You can schedule as many issues as you want , track views and even allows you
to develop a subsciber list. Once it is generated you can have it post to your Twitter
account and this is all done automatically once you have set it up and that only takes
a few mins.  After the initial set up your done. ( unless you want to change frequency ,
reporters etc .)

I was not sure at first and wondered if it was just more spam.  Then a funny thing
happened.  I started to read it.  When I caught a headline I liked I read it. I found that
it quite useful to track the content produced from the list of thought leaders I have
put together. ( See Guru list link below ).

Then I found that it started to get views and a couple of people have already
subscribed. I get to build my brand awareness while at the same time organize the
news the way I want. Kinda like PointCast if you remember back to the late 90's
( I miss that platform...this is not the same but has elements. ).

I have no idea where this goes but I like it. 

I also find that links to stuff I post on Twitter is starting to show up in other people's
Newspapers, if can call them that.  So I again is an extension of my posts on Twitter
gaining yet more reach.

Anyway, it's all good and I suspect there will be a wide range of opinions about this
new strategy but you just have to appreciate the creative mind of man.

More About The Platform Here: 

Made it to my list of social media tools I use here:

So who made my Guru list?: Guy Kawasaki , Ryan Holmes ( Hoot Suite ) ,
Shane Gibson, Gillian Shaw ( Van Sun ), Nouriel Roubini , ( He's Very Cool )
David Chalk , Pete Cashmore ( Mashable ) , Rich Patterson and a few more
very intellegent people worthy of a follow. Check out the complete list here.
( or you can read them everyday if you subscribe to the feed ).

So, the only resolution I kinda made was to post more to my blogs..so Jan 2, 2011
I get started. Let's see how I do. Got lots of cools stuff in the hopper including one
using Social Media in a Blenz Valentines Day Promo...stay tuned and I hope 2011
finds you well.

George Moen

What's New:

 
Nov 20 / 7:45am

Dot-Tel - Why Are Digital Business Cards Gaining Steam-Fast!

by George Moen
.Dot-Tel - Why Are Digital Business Cards Gaining Steam-Fast!
 
I recently completed a series of Interview with an internet based
show called Fuel Radio. http://twitter.com/fuelradioinspir
 
 
The host Rod Janz ( http://www.twitter.com/rjanz ) asked me to explain how
my .Tel ( Dot Tel ) fits into my Social Media strategy and I explained how it
really is the "Hub" or central place on the net.
 
The specific interview can be heard hear.  So if you want to find an affordable
solution check out this interview...it is about 14 mins
 
 
Learn More About .Tel here and find out if you your name is available...I urge
you to protect your brand.
 
Search Your .tel: http://hobn.registertel.com
 
Enjoy.
 
Learn all about George Moen @ where else  http://www.georgemoen.tel
 
 
 
Jul 13 / 8:22am

Blenz Coffee Giving Away iPad & Free Advertising To App Developers

by George Moen

Blenz Coffee Giving Away iPads & Free Advertising To App Developers

Blenz Coffee wants to connect with British Columbia Based iPhone & iPad
App developers. From July 19th thru Sept 4th or so we will be running a
major promotion.  We are going to be giving away a couple of the hard
to get iPads ( 3 G enabled ) with our Promotional Partner Simply Computing
( Canada's largest Apple dealer ).

Here are just a couple of Apps that have been developed in our own
back yard:

Carrot Lines: http://bit.ly/dtf1Xc  ( Blenz nutritional information is now
being placed on this platform. Very smart lady and very cool app. )

Metro News: http://bit.ly/amkzbT Metro and Blenz continue to team up
with innovative programs..miss my paper can grab it here.

Hootsuite: http://bit.ly/ahnOJx To build any serious Social Media platform 
you need Hootsuite. I use it constantly.

Included in that promotion Blenz will feature apps for both the iPad and
iPhone platforms.  The companies we select will be provided a lot of free
advertising on the Blenz internal digital network.  See link below.

See Blenz Digital Network:  http://bit.ly/aJJVgZ

The promotion will run both on the the Customer Display Units ( CDU's )
where you place your order..2 in this pic and on the Poster Digital display
( the screen on the right side of this pic ).  We develop the Ad you get
the final approval and then all our customers get to see your work. It is
that simple.

If you know anyone that fits this have them connect us @ Blenz Coffee
by phone 604-682-2995 or have them track me down via my .Tel See

http://www.georgemoen.tel

We have other cool giveaways from Simply and we will let you in on this
later. They will also be holding free training sessions on how to use both
the iPhone and iPad in Biz...again more on that later.

George Moen

 
Jul 13 / 8:17am

Blenz Coffee Giving Away iPads & Free Advertising To App Developers

by George Moen

Blenz Coffee Giving Away iPads & Free Advertising To App Developers


Blenz Coffee wants to connect with British Columbia Based iPhone & iPad
App developers. From July 19th thru Sept 4th or so we will be running a
major promotion.  We are going to be giving away a couple of the hard
to get iPads ( 3 G enabled ) with our Promotional Partner Simply Computing
( Canada's largest Apple dealer ).

Here are just a couple of Apps that have been developed in our own
back yard:

Carrot Lines: http://bit.ly/dtf1Xc  ( Blenz nutritional information is now
being placed on this platform. Very smart lady and very cool app. )

Metro News: http://bit.ly/amkzbT Metro and Blenz continue to team up
with innovative programs..miss my paper can grab it here.

Hootsuite: http://bit.ly/ahnOJx To build any serious Social Media platform
you need Hootsuite. I use it constantly.

Included in that promotion Blenz will feature apps for both the iPad and
iPhone platforms.  The companies we select will be provided a lot of free
advertising on the Blenz internal digital network.  See link below.

See Blenz Digital Network:  http://bit.ly/aJJVgZ

The promotion will run both on the the Customer Display Units ( CDU's )
where you place your order..2 in this pic and on the Poster Digital display
( the screen on the right side of this pic ).  We develop the Ad you get
the final approval and then all our customers get to see your work. It is
that simple.

If you know anyone that fits this have them connect us @ Blenz Coffee
by phone 604-682-2995 or have them track me down via my .Tel See

http://www.georgemoen.tel

We have other cool giveaways from Simply and we will let you in on this
later. They will also be holding free training sessions on how to use both
the iPhone and iPad in Biz...again more on that later.

George Moen

 
Jun 8 / 6:25am

How To Use Social Media To Raise Funds For Charities & Non-Profits!

by George Moen

Over the next 48 hours we @ Blenz Coffee are supporting a very interesting

initiative that I wanted to share with you today. It involves using Social Media
 
to raise funds for the "Make A Wish Foundation".

The concept is simple. Set up an account with a new platform in this space,

Kasu Funding.

See: http://www.kasufunding.com/

Have a cause: In our example we will use the Make A Wish Foundation.

See: http://www.makeawishbc.ca/index.php

Then working with a group of supporters spread the word using Social Media

directing  them to a specific campaign. The Specific Funding event,
In the Social Media platforms it is donate $20.00 and inform your community
about what you did..simple really.

See: http://funds.kasufunding.com/24hrCampaign/WishitForward

Learn more about the platform behind this project:

See:  http://www.kasufunding.com/?q=node/15

Over the years I have seen many of my friends and business associates

support a large number of  great causes.  With the advent of Social Media,
 
Non-Profits they can now get the word out to a much wider audience using the
 
various Social Media ( ie: Twitter, Facebook etc. ). - simply a very affordable
 
marketing alternative.
 

Today there is a Meetup hosted by Shane Gibson @shanegibson and Kasu

Funding @kasufunding where you can learn first hand how this strategy can be
 
used from child's sports team to any Charity of any size. Do you belong to an
 
organization that is in need of more funding? This may provide you with some
 
ideas to take back to your community.

Note: I will be posting some of our SocMedia along with Shane Gibson on both

our personal and corporate Social Media platforms ( ie Twitter  @georgemoen
 
@shanegibson @blenzcoffee ). over the the next 24-48 hours.

Here are the details of the Networking Event to launch the "Wish It Forward"

event. See how others are doing it!
 

Date: June 8, 2010 from 5:30pm to 8pm

Place: Ceilis Irish Pub (Rooftop Patio) Smithe Street

Join:   http://vancouvertweetup.com/events/make-a-wish-tweetup-organized

Come and network with some of Vancouver's top Social Media folks and learn

about how you can raise funds for the organizations you support.

The 1st beer is on the Boys'

See You There: George Moen - Blenz Coffee

Filed under  //  Make A Wish Foundation   Social Media Fundraising   Sociial Media   Wish It Forward