If you are not already aware Hull is getting it's own Digital Innovation Centre and in true digital style there is currently a Beta in progress.
I signed up for C4DI Beta membership pretty early on and am already benefiting from the workspace and it's fantastic facilities.
So far, whilst working at C4DI Beta, I've mainly been concentrating on existing projects and working out plans for taking Incentive Maker forwards. I've especially enjoyed the ability to quickly bounce ideas off digital experts who have different backgrounds to myself, who may see things differently to me.
It's all been great, but today I had a different kind of C4DI experience and for me it shows the real strength of C4DI and bringing the digital community closer together, rather than working in silos. I was having a none work related chat with John Connolly, one of the co-founders of C4DI, during a coffee break, and there was a throw away "there's money to be made there" comment that we both picked up on. We ran with it a little bit, and within a few minutes we fleshed out a product idea, possible means of monetisation, ideas for funding prototype development and an ideal skeleton team.
As I went back to my desk to carry on working it really hit me that this was the reason to be involved in C4DI. Those random break time chats that could lead to all sorts of ideas, those unexpected moments that just might take something to the next step.
Who knows if this particular idea will work out or not, but the fact that the chat just happened and there is potential for a small idea like this to even get off the ground is just great. C4DI, and more importantly the C4DI members, are going to help turn those "I wonder if" moments to "let's build it and see what happens next" moments.