My application to curate was a simple one; ‘Hi, I’m Úna, I’m a Vietnamese-born-Irish-adoptee just coming out of college with fluent Irish and I think I’ve a story to tell.’

I found that the @Ireland audience was welcoming, friendly and interactive and that’s what I loved about curating. You build relationships and connections with people from a community who love Irishness as much as you do, who are genuinely interested in what you have to say and are experiencing life with you through social media. It’s so much fun but it’s also a challenge. Everyone’s taste is different and sometimes people don’t like what you say. But that’s ok! I remember when I sent out that first ‘good morning’ tweet on the Monday, I was very wary of how it would all pan out but there was no need to worry. I had a ball of a week! The vast majority of the audience were incredibly welcoming.

Curating @Ireland is an opportunity not to be missed. It opens your eyes to the vast array of different Tweeters, opinions and even tweeting styles out there. Before I began curating I was used to a certain audience, my own following, at the time a modest 1,200 with the majority of them being journalists or current affairs based. The audience of @Ireland is on a different scale, with all sorts of people interacting with you and that’s what makes it brilliant.

I’m now working with Blathnaid Healy, WorldIrish Content Manager, with all the applications for curation and the amount of different and personal stories that we’re getting is fascinating. We have had applications from the four corners of Ireland and the Irish living in Norway, France, the United Kingdom, Wales, USA, Sweden and Canada!

Go in with a plan is my advice. If you apply, and you should, you should be prepared with what you plan on talking about. It’s a week that’s full of interaction, sharing and learning.

If you have a story to tell, if you have something that you want to share with the Irish community I would totally recommend to apply. @Ireland is all about different voices and one of them of them could be you. Why not give it a go?

People can apply to be the voice of Ireland on Twitter for a week or nominate a person they believe would represent Ireland well online. To apply or nominate someone send an email to: [email protected].

More information about the @Ireland project here