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Tomorrow I leave for the States on a journey to be inspired, receive an award for my work and charge positive energy. To all of you out there who supports and beliefs in Awoque, our values and share our High5:s, the Gutenberg Award is for you.

“The Gutenberg Award recognizes individuals for distinguished professional achievement. We are so pleased to honor Victoria Ahlen for her excellent work as a leader in the use of social media for not only effective dissemination of news and marketing information, but also for her commitment to its use for the greater good. She emulates what we want our students to accomplish as professionals in mass media”, says Dr Cheryl Bacon at Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at ACU.

Awoque socialized the World Transplant Games in Göteborg in the summer of 2011 and increased awareness for organ donation. Our team at the time – Maria Gustafsson, Björn Kåberger, Paul Williams, Martin Lindeskog, Kristina Svensson and other fantastic co-workers. I will blog more about you in the days to come.

Follow my journey in a videoblog. High5 to you.

In August, Awoque focused its core business to social good campaigns and talks. Yesterday, I had the privlege to moderate a political debate in Kungsbacka. Awoque also started, moderated and fueled the online conversations on Twitter and Facebook. Read more (and use Google Translate) in this blog post about using your right to vote:

If you need help to monitor your brand and/or get social media consulting, please contact me at my new job. I joined the competent Scream Mediabyrå in Göteborg together with Digital Analyst Sarah Johansson from Aitellu on August 6. Together with 54 other Media Advisors, we help our clients get visibility both in traditional and digital media in Sweden.

I look forward to staying in contact on all social media for social good matters. I am still the same happy, energetic person, with more added business strengths creating a better world together with you.

Time to sum up a great year of new opportunities and challenges. I want to thank all my clients, followers and fans for your support and trust in Awoque. I learn from you daily and constantly meet new people who inspire my future adventures with the power of social media.  A few hightlights:

- A journey to Texas in March: We are all Rockstars of the Future>> and Proud Alumna to ACU>> 

- Socializing Restaurant Pinchos to a successful launch in April

- Participating in many great events: The Event, Folkmästerskapen i Omelett, Venture Cup, Avalon Outside

- A big applaude to “Sommarlovsentreprenörerna” in Kungsbacka, and my team members this spring Johanna Olsson, Olivia Widén and Bill Selander. Thanks also to my former chairwoman Deborah Lygonis. You guys rock!

After a well-needed energy boost at midsummer with my family, I will be off hiking in a non-cellular, non-wifi zone in a few days. I might tweet every once in a while so keep up at @victoriaahlen. This blog rests.

When Awoque restarts in August, I will introduce news and new beginnings. Stay tuned for that. Have a #high5 summer and wear out that sun chair.

Congratulations to Venture Cup winners in the 2012 competition.

Awoque´s got the mission to create digital exposure for the winners, the competition and entrepreneurship during the Swedish finals. Many companies support events in various forms and place their roll-ups and broschures in the event arena. Traditionally companies support events and show their brands with, roll-ups, banners and broschures in the event arena. Our ambition was to create exposure in the digital meeting arena as well surrounding #VentureCup. We moderated the conversation and crreated content online for fans to follow through Twitter, Bambuser, YouTube and aided the guest bloggers.

With Matter, we produced a live talk show only minutes after the prize ceremony was over broadcasted via Bambuser. Guest in the program was winners Speximo, chairwoman of the jury Deborah Lygonis (Constant Innovation), Robert Odenjung (Västsvenska Handelskammaren), artist Emil Jensen, risk capitalist Susanna Falkengren, and Christina Jaremo who will be in the Regional Manager for Venture Cup West.

And the broadcasts reached our Enterprise Minister in Sweden, Annie Lööf on Twitter:

High5 to Olivia Widén for the professional attitude all day and to the staff at Gothia Towers for helping us set up the mini-studio quickly.

I had a dream when I was 7 yrs old to change the world to a better place. My dream grew stronger for every day. Today I live my dream every day with Awoque – social media for social good – and inspire others to chase theirs. A great job, do not you think? Last week, I hade the privilege to give a lecture on Storytelling at Xelera, I told them my story, my why, that inspired my whole life, my carrier, the company I own.

photo by Henrik Johansson - Victoria Ahlén lecturing on Storytelling

Thanks to Henrik Ladström for the recording.
Part 1 on Bambuser:

photo by Henrik Johansson - Henrik Ladström recording

Part 2 on Bambuser :

Xeleras blog post (in Swedish) from the Storytelling lecture >>

I had the privilege to inspire on the topic “Finding business online” in Dalsland at the Event arranged by Innovatum. Erik Nissen Johansen from Stylt Trampoli also gave a lecture on Storytelling. The two subjects connect because it is all about your “WHY”. When telling the story of your brand, your product, yourself, your staff etc, tell it straight. Be personal, stay honest and give the reader a good story.

Most of the people I meet think social media is a trick or really hard to learn. My usual answer is – you all ready know how to do it successfully. If you act online as you would with your best friends and as you would in your greatest client relationships you are on your way. The technique – to post, show photos, upload videos, create buzz etc- you might need help with. Ask your fans, followers and in forums and you will get feedback. Do not hesitate to ask professionals for help as well. Social Media is the best honest marketing, PR tool out there.

Read Innovatums own blog post from The Event in Swedish here>>

Here are a few of the videos I mentioned in my talk:

Simon Sinek – Why

Charity Water – on how to tell the story passionately:

The Marmite Social Media Case

Awoque believes that passion and courage is at the heart of all successful social media initiatives. We like to look at the bigger picture, helping organizations to develop and transform their business through sustainable social networking. This is what a common process looks like:
- a couple of meetings with the management to get to know the company, values and goals. We look for the story to tell
- a workshop with as many of the staff as possible
- Awoque scans the online market to get a current view on the brand, its fans and the work field
- our client gets an report and a suggestion on a starting strategy and suggestions of activities

After many successful business cases, we encourage our clients to spend sufficient time on understanding and educating themselves about the various aspects of social media. It is an earned media.  It takes a personal engagement from as many of the staff as possible to increase the chances of becoming a social organization and reaching set business goals.

A great book to read is the “The Thank You Economy” by Gary Vaynerchuk.

Awoque broadcasted the regional final for Venture Cup Väst yesterday live from Draken in Göteborg. Together with Regional Director Jonas Almeling, the sponsors and all entpreneurial fans, we wanted to create the best possible exposure for the competitors. Around 8.20 pm we reached one of our goals and trended as number 1 on Sweden’s Twitter Top List.

In the prize pool, more than 350 000 SKR and around 10 pm the winners were announced. Congratulations to Cyto365, Appbooster, Velit Biologics, Heaven Can Wait och Beliqua.

Our mission to spotlight and create lots of needed PR for all the regional finalists from all over Sweden continues. Stay tuned on the blog from Sverigefinalen and you will not miss a thing.

Interview with winner Micael Törnblom, Cyto365 (in Swedish):

Interview with the bronze medalists Velit Biologics:

A big applaude and High5 also to the young talents hosting tonights festivities Simon and Johanna from Venture Cup Väst.

Yesterday Avalon Hotel in Göteborg celebrated spring and invited 400 guests. Awoque teamed up with event producers Relevent and captured the energy, athmosphere and the fans’ comments online. Here are some more photos on Avalons Facebook page taken by talented photographer Emelie Lager.

Next week we start sharing offices with Relevent on Kungsgatan 42 in Göteborg. Please drop by for a cup of coffee.

Creating a positive, social atmosphere at salon Klippa is one of the missions I am involved with at the moment. Today, 11 creative, talented hair stylists came together to form a clear WHY, set goals and laugh. Take a glance on what route we have taken:

NOVEMBER: I gave a morning pep-talk, inspiring the staff, getting their minds spinning about social media. I showed some videos and asked questions. We start an internal Facebook group to tie the two salons closer together.

DECEMBER: Klippa painted two magnetic High5 walls in each salon where staff could post great articles, write notes and share ideas.

FEBRUARY: I interviewed most of the staff members to get their views on what inspires them, why they do what they do, what their dreams are, suggestions for the future and ongoing events in their lives.

APRIL: Workshop time. We created two mood boards. They will lay the foundation for a strategy for the coming years in social media connecting with in store activities and of course in the daily motivation of the staff.

A High5 day indeed.