Social media has evolved to more than just a forum to communicate with others as tweets, status updates, and wall posts are becoming the communication in the technological age.

Social Media 2.OU is a seminar sponsored by Oakland University Career Services, the OU Journalism Department and The Oakland Post.

It hopes to increase attendees’ knowledge of social media, as well as how to use and maximize it as a tool for career planning and succeeding as a nonprofit organization.

“It’s a great opportunity to learn about social media in general, how it can help business owners and nonprofits as a marketing tool and what laws and rules users should keep in mind when dealing with social media,” said event organizer and OU integrative studies major Wibke Kraemer. “Students, local business owners and nonprofits will have the chance to mingle, exchange ideas and business cards.”

The seminar will take place in the Oakland Room of the Oakland Center on Wednesday, April 14 from 3-6 p.m. and is open to students of all majors, faculty, and representatives of nonprofit organizations and businesses.

According to Kraemer, this is the first event of its kind on campus.

There will be several keynote speakers, all of whom have unique perspectives regarding social media.

The speakers include Derek Mehraban, Matt Friedman, Susan Evans and representatives from OU Career Services.

Workshops like “Social media and yOU,” will inform students of what they should know about various facets of social media and how it relates to specific individuals.

Each presentation will be 15 minutes, followed by a question and answer session, as well as further networking opportunities.

“(It’s) a chance for students to connect the dots between real world and best practice examples and class lectures about new media,” said Kraemer.

After the presentation, Career Services will help attendees navigate through OUCareerLink to effectively utilize the online database.

Those looking for more information can go to the event’s website at http://socialmedia2ou.wordpress.com.