I’m speaking at WordCamp Dublin 2017. Come and say hi!

WordCamp is coming.

In just under 2 weeks I'll be taking to the stage at WordCamp Dublin to talk about social media and mental health. Seems fitting, right?

For the first time ever, WordCamp will be coming to Dublin and I'm honoured to be speaking at it. WordCamp is a 2-day conference for entrepreneurs, WordPress users, designers, developers and website owners, and will be taking place on the 14-15th October 2017 at DCU Business School. Over the 2 days, there will be sessions on how to use WordPress more effectively, how to get security and SEO right, how to drive more traffic and sales to your website, PHP/CSS customization techniques, plugin development and theme design. However, I'm talking about something a little different (and less technical)!

My talk is entitled "How social media is helping destigmatise mental health in Ireland". I feel that while there always seems to be discussion on how social media (our constant need for “Likes” and the consumption of superficial celebrity lives) is damaging to us, we should also look at it from the opposite perspective. I want to take a different approach and highlight how much progress is being made to destigmatise mental health in Ireland by both our own actions and those of organisations across online channels. I'll be focusing on social media campaigns run by businesses & charities, the increase in mental health blogging by young people, the open sharing of emotions and discussions on mental health issues, and how all of this is actively helping individuals across the country.

I've been selected as a must see speaker for people looking to grow their businesses - so if you're an entrepreneur or use social media for business, it might be of interest to you. Catch me on the Track 2 stage on Sunday at 12.50pm. Hope to see you there!