Second annual Social Media Week at Kansas State University explores maximizing the power of social media
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University will host the second annual K-State Social Media Week Feb. 13-17 for students, faculty, staff, alumni and area community members.
The week-long, all-university event is dedicated to bringing together students, educators and industry professionals to provide insights and opportunities for maximizing the power of social media.
This year features multiple in-person and online panel discussions, presentations and unique opportunities to engage with social media professionals and content creation tools. A schedule of daily events and free registration can be found on the Social Media Week website.
"Given the multitude of ways social media impacts not only college students' lives but the world we all share together, taking a week to highlight and educate our K-State community about this powerful tool and topic seems especially relevant and timely," said Thomas Lane, K-State vice president and dean of students.
Featured events this year include:
• Wednesday, Feb. 15, 11 a.m.-noon., Town Hall, 114 Staley School of Leadership: Panel discussion with K-State Vice President of Research David Rosowsky, K-State Dean of Libraries Joe Mocnik and more, regarding social media's role in K-State's forthcoming strategic plan to become a next-generation land-grant university.
• Wednesday, Feb. 15, 4-5 p.m., 1088 College of Business Administration Building: Panel discussion about how college athletes can attract attention from brands on social media and drive successful NIL — name, image, likeness — partnerships, featuring Wildcat NIL, K-State quarterback Will Howard, Robbins Motors and public relations and brand communications experts.
• Thursday, Feb. 16, noon-1 p.m., Forum Hall, K-State Student Union: Interactive presentation with writer, composer and viral content creator Julia Riew, highlighting student opportunity to use social media in strategic and creative ways to spotlight and engage in topics they care about.
The Thursday, Feb. 16 event featuring Julia Riew is co-hosted by the Staley School of Leadership, the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication, and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. In 2022, Julia recognized a lack of Disney princesses representing her Korean heritage and decided to create her own. Attendees at the event will be inspired by Julia's musical creativity that generated nearly 2 million likes on TikTok, earned her national media attention, elevated the conversation on the importance of diversity in media and stirred audience demand for her work to be made into a movie.
"We all have issues we care about, and to lead change we need others to care too. Learning to creatively and strategically engage others builds our capacity to lead," said Mary Tolar, dean of the Staley School of Leadership. "Understanding how to practice leadership through influential communications platforms like social media is critical to achieving the impact we seek — as professionals and as civic actors."
As social media continues to offer new conveniences and present new challenges for students, Kansas State University launched the first K-State Social Media Week in spring 2022. Nearly 500 K-State students registered and attended to learn more about social media careers, personal branding and influencing, creative collaboration on social media, content creation and more.
"K-State Social Media Week provides an engaging opportunity to address emerging topics and issues brought about by the changing social media landscape and to be thoughtful about how we meet the challenges and opportunities of a digitally networked society," said Greg Paul, director of the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication.
