THINK UP-START: SOCIALIZING YOUR BUSINESS Posted on August 10, 2011 by JUSTIN KORN Email Within the next

few weeks or so, approximately 300,000 students will migrate back to Boston for the fall. Essentially, Boston is a college town at heart; it gave rise to some of the most prolific minds in the country. Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates are products of Boston, names that bring as much pride to Boston as Ted Williams and Bobby Orr. Whether or not you attend a university or have a B.A. in basket weaving, Bostons youth is driving an entrepreneurial movement that is exciting and promising. Got any top 40 entrepreneurs under 40? We do. Shes only 23 and shes wise beyond her years. Kristen Ruby, founder of Ruby Media Groupan agency that specializes in Social Media Marketing, Public Relations and Personal Brandingis another product of her environment: Boston. She graduated from Boston Universitys College of Communications and patented RMG (Ruby Media Group LLC) right after graduation. While RMG is well on its way to climbing Forbes lists in years to come, Kristens goal is paving the way for other young-minded thinkers to drink the Kool-Aid and start their own company. So instead of sending out hundreds of resumes, deforesting ponderosa pine trees with your printed CVs, try creating your own job stability. Yes, you still need to put food on the table, and yes, you will have to motivate yourself to turn off Springers paternity test specials and take charge! But, theres nothing like being your own boss ask anyone, especially Kristen. In Short, Kristen came to a lot of realizations that if left untreated, clash together in a not-so-pretty midlife crisis. Kristen interned for a company that later gave her a trial run as a social media specialist, which would eventually turn into a full-time regular job. During her internship, she was lucky enough to discover her passion for social media, albeit she also became weary of answering to a higher power the boss. Kristen jettisoned big corporate America, taking what she learned and delivering a product businesses thrive on. She interned, she saw, and she conquered.

Tired of working for a 9-5 job? Fancy yourself an entrepreneur? Intern. Youll need to discover what your passionate about and what the job actually calls for, something that delves deeper than just chapters from Entrepreneurship For Dummies. Looking for an internship? Do a Google search or send Ruby Media Group a friendly inquiry. Interning! I had 13 internships by the time I graduated. Try to intern at smaller companies as well, or do apprenticeships where you really work one on one with someone. We [RMG] are always working with and training new interns, especially from BU COM PR! Kristen says. TIME magazine online recently did a piece on Kristen Ruby entitled How I started a Web 2.0 Social Media Site. While I maintain I am somewhat Internet savvy; this is only true for Ebay and Spotify social media-wise, Im a deer in headlights. My first question for Ruby, In Laymens terms, what does Web 2.0 mean? She kindly explains, Web 2.0 is a new form of communication it is the opening up of 1way to 2-way communication. Gone are the days when a business transaction was just a handshake, and signing the papers was just a formality. Weve evolved. Information uploaded in one region of the globe can be downloaded and instantly accessed by prospective clients at a moments notice. Reputations are always at stake. With countless modes of communication Twitter, Facebook, and other social media channels it is almost impossible to keep track of the dos and donts to reach a broader audience. For example, if a company has liked your business page, have you liked theirs back? Have you blocked a co-worker from seeing your private wall, when they havent blocked you? Do you post too much and lose fans as a result of this? Are you tarnishing or growing your companys reputation based on what youre posting? This is extremely important when considering a companies business growth today, Kristen elucidates on social media snubbing. Kristens impromptu RMG start-up came shortly after discovering a lack of communication between three vital corporate outlets. The void was the gap between public relations, marketing and social media. Companies were hiring separate firms to do all three. I wanted to bridge the gap between social media and PR, which we believe we

have done effectively. We love to also work with PR agencies and create a synergy between content creation and content distribution, says Kristen. RMG continues to grow under Kristen Rubys watchful eye, two years in the making. For more information about RMG, or tips on forming your brands identity, check out Kristens blog.