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Friday’s community day was all geared towards collaboration. What I found fascinating was the "speed dating". Not real dating, mind. The format was the same, but the outcome was to encourage all the different disciplines that make up Conchango to get to know each other better.

So I had 3 minutes apiece to talk to five or six people from the tech team. The most interesting part was the languages we used. I struggled with “.net”, and “jaytwo-ee” (J2EE) and “sequel servers” (I know it’s SQL but everyone says “sequel”) … only this time I got the chance to ask what that really meant. I got to ask what shape these strange words give someone’s working day; what they produce with these acronyms; what they do with “data”.

 And whilst I still struggle with “data” as an abstract concept (I always need to turn it in to something tangible in my head – a photo, an account number, a description, a code), someone drew me a useful diagram on the tablecloth to explain how it’s cleaned, transformed and loaded.

Of course, everyone had a different idea of what I do, strange creative-type that I am. So I deal with content – but it’s not about choosing the Content Management System. I’m a copywriter – but no, I don’t deal only in legal matters.  

I do deal in communication, language, dialogue. It would be great to build on what happened on Friday and develop better, more accessible ways to talk about the ever-growing array of amazing things we do – creative, business and technical. Fancy a chat?

Or should I say "color"? Seems colour war has broken out among the twitterari! Not content with the sky-ish blue default background, there's a rash of poster paint-coloured backgrounds happening all over...

There's an update of the latest winners and losers here: http://corvida.ilumine.net/boredom-strikes-on-twitter-with-color/

Seems the BlueTeam has a lot of followers bus has yet to say very much to convince me to join. The veryGreenTeam and OrangeTeam are pretty lively. I love the spontaneous and utterly random nature of it all. Now which team do I sign up to...?

In all the work I'm doing at the moment, the most important factor is looking at how people behave. The seemingly insignificant things that people (and brands, for that matter) do can give us incredible insights into our audiences or our customers which help us to create more meaningful experiences, whether that's in the physical or the digital world.

And I've just come across a TED talk by Paul Bennett, Creative Director at IDEO, which has some lovely examples, where designers literally stepped into the shoes of others to truly understand their challenge. They stripped away their preconceptions and looked at the problem with fresh eyes. Their solutions are so much better for it. So I won't spoil the moment and tell you what they are. They made me smile. Take a look for yourself.

Tonight I stood amongst my digital brethren as we all pointed our mobile devices towards the heavens to capture the fleeting moments as the sky was lit up by rockets and catherine wheels... a slightly surreal experience. You can see them all as they arrive on flickr.

If you're old enough, you may remember Tim Hunkin from The Rudiments of Wisdom cartoons in the Observer.

I had the wonderful experience last night of hearing him talk about his work - in particular, the amusement arcade he's installed at Southwold Pier in Suffolk. As soon as I have time, I'm off down there with the kids. There's an expressive photo booth that does things to provoke an expression. There's the Lifelong Learning class where you learn how to cross a busy 4 lane road with a Zimmer frame. You have to pick your age first. 80 (easy), 90 (hard) and 100 (extreme). You get a diploma if you make it across. Hunkin said that "all you need is to occupy enough of the brain" and the whole thing becomes really immersive. People don't need a lot to happen to "believe".

Every experience is designed to elicit a smile, a giggle, a belly laugh. Driven by really simple yet "lateral" ideas, the design of each arcade is well and truly focused on the audience's experience. I suspect, Hunkin's driving force is his own experience. The thrill of creation. "Basically I like spending time in my shed making things," he admitted. His passion, humour and creativity shape everyrhing he does.

Hunkin reminds me of my dad*. A maker of "handmade" things, inquisitive and with a sense of humour.

The Mobility Masterclass - you have to attempt to cross a 4 lane road with a zimmer frame.

First you have to choose your level: 100 is "Extreme"

If you fail - and get run over - the police arrive. The police and ambulance arrive. Your zimmer gets the white paint treatment.

The blueprint for the Dog Walker machine.

The Bathyscape video with illegal immigrants. And the blueprint for the Art Apocalypse

*More on that later. My dad has an exhibition at The Independent Photographers Gallery in Battle, East Sussex, starting tomorrow.