A tweeting good time

Cork celebrated World Social Media Day in style last Saturday, regardless of the social media platform you use.

Over 200 social media enthusiasts were involved in the day-long free event at the Rubicon centre at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT).

“We wanted to show how communities of like minded people are growing online and the connections being made are real and beneficial,” said Margaret Smith, one of the organisers of the event.

"Social media can enrich our lives in so many ways.  Bringing people together today ‘in real life’ has proved a major success.”

There were three main panels doing talks during the day, which was live streamed around the world using both AER TV and CIT Live Stream. The panels included speakers from the Coder Dojo movement, a silver surfer, Imogen Bertin talking about how the face of education is changing and Conor O’Neill on the reality of keeping your kids safe online.

“The massive emotional reaction to the experiences of our speakers today has been a great way to show to the world that Social Media is not all about selling and business,” said Cian O'Regan, a graduate in New Media from CIT.

“There are people behind each username and everyone has a story to tell.”

More than 10 free workshops took place covering blogging techniques, Audioboo, creating a website, food styling, blog photography, demonstrations of the Raspberry Pi and much more. Organisers are already looking towards the next World Social Media Day in 2013.