The College of Communication and Information hosted the ninth annual UT Social Media Week, February 18-20 in the Communications Building.
Sessions ranged from disinformation and misinformation on social media – an important news topic leading up to the 2020 election – to social media marketing and branding for teams, companies, and community organizations.
More than 470 students attended the six in-person events. Nine CCI Classes served as official anchor classes with students from 18 UT classes attending overall.
Student social media ambassadors took over Social Media Week accounts to engage the university community. #UTSMW2020 generated 50,000 impressions and over 2,000 engagements on Twitter.
Alumni Andy Bowers (CS ’17) and Sookie Park (AD ’13) led UT Social Media Week sessions that discussed social media strategies for professional sports teams and esports marketing.
Full speaker details are available on the UT Social Media Week website, and each session is available on the CCI YouTube channel.
2020 UT SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK SCHEDULE
DAY 1 (Tuesday, February 18)
Session 1: “But I Saw It on Facebook!”: Social Media As Channels of Misinformation and Disinformation
Time: 9:40-10:55 a.m.
Location: Com 321 (Patrick Auditorium)
Speakers: Jessica Maddox (Assistant Professor, University of Alabama); Mark Harmon (Professor, University of Tennessee); Damian Ruck (Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Tennessee); Brandon Hollingsworth (News Director, WUOT).
Session 2: “According to a Tweet…”: Using Social Media as News Content
Time: 2:10-3:25 p.m.
Location: Com 402 (Scripps Theater)
Speakers: Tonja Burk (Digital Director, News, WBIR; JEM ‘96); Scott Barker (Editor, Compass); Joel Christopher (Executive Editor, the Knoxville News-Sentinel)
Moderator: Darina Sarelska, Doctoral Student, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
DAY 2 (Wednesday, February 19)
Session 1: #OnBrand
Time: 3:35-4:30 p.m.
Location: Com 402 (Scripps Theater)
Speaker: Andy Bowers (Social Media Manager, Philadelphia 76ers; Communication Studies ‘17)
DAY 3 (Thursday, February 20)
Session 1: Esports & Marketing to the New Generation
Time: 11:10 a.m.-12:25 p.m.
Location: Com 402 (Scripps Theater)
Speaker: Sookie Park (Director, Partnership Activation, Complexity Gaming ; Advertising ’13)
Session 2: #9PMRoutine & Creating Community Engagement
Time: 12:40-1:55 p.m.
Location: Com 402 (Scripps Theater)
Speaker: Chase Daniels (Assistant Executive Director, Pasco Sheriff’s Office in Florida)
Session 3: Building a Luxury Travel Brand on a Budget: How to Cultivate Community on Social Media in 2020
Time: Food served at 5:15 p.m.; Session begins at 5:25 p.m.
Location: Com 321 (Patrick Auditorium)
Speaker: Caitlin Riddell (Social Media Lead, The Points Guy)