Every commercial hackathon I've ever seen was basically been that.
The only good ones have ironically been government run. Like you need to use open data or a new government API or something but the rest is up to you.
Ask HN: Hackathons feel fake now
61–70 of 140 posts
Re: Ask HN: Hackathons feel fake now
#62When I was in college (over 20 years ago now), what we called “hackathons” was a bunch of us (4-6 max) holing up in an apartment for the weekend, and working on our personal projects while ordering pizza and sleeping on couches. It was really nice having a group of people you could demo what you were working on/ask for help or feedback within immediate range at all times. There was also something really peaceful abou…
> There was also something really peaceful about coding at 5a on Sunday while everyone else was fast asleep
Great times
Re: Ask HN: Hackathons feel fake now
#63All the stuff you can do just with software? It was done years ago. The easy stuff was done and the teams got acquired/acquihired. The hard stuff was done by VC backed companies. All the stuff that’s not done is even harder than that. Hackathon in 2025 is late to the party. But it’s still fun to spend a weekend making whatever you want and be fed - food and credits! - by VC-backed companies trying to juice numbers. P…
So what’s left for those who didn’t get in on the ground floor? A swift kick in the arse?
A weekend building whatever you want and getting fed food and credits by sponsors.
Pretty good deal to me!
Re: Ask HN: Hackathons feel fake now
#64I haven't attended one in a while, but I signed up for some on devpost and so far it seems on point. Also -- lots and lots of AI, which I guess is to be expected.
I remember attending a hackathon many years ago in my university's comp sci department. It was just a random weeknight, a smallish group of people coding and talking. Anyway, like 5 pizzas came, and I asked who I should give money to. I was told "don't worry, Google buys them". It was the first and last time I heard the company mentioned that night.
It was cool.
Re: Ask HN: Hackathons feel fake now
#65It's because they truly are fake.
I've been to several of them in Toronto, this year and last. Teams nowadays just `git clone` some repo, put in some crappy logo and then say "I made this", and they mean it.
This is a general trend I've observed to be prevalent with zoomers (but not Gen Alpha), they just lie to others as if it was nothing. No idea what are the social cues that led them to this, but I would find that interesting to study. I don't think they're ill intentioned, I think they don't consider lying to be bad and it's some sort of way of going through life.
Not long ago I was having dinner w/ some scammers (one of them is on the latest YC batch, btw) and this guy was telling everybody that you need to lie to get ahead, "if you don't lie to your investors they will invest in someone else who is lying to them". This guy was somewhere between milennial and zoomer by age, but with a mien and mind more akin to that of a zoomer (TikTok, etc...).
Very vulgar individual. That's SOTA these days.
Re: Ask HN: Hackathons feel fake now
#66When I was in college (over 20 years ago now), what we called “hackathons” was a bunch of us (4-6 max) holing up in an apartment for the weekend, and working on our personal projects while ordering pizza and sleeping on couches. It was really nice having a group of people you could demo what you were working on/ask for help or feedback within immediate range at all times. There was also something really peaceful abou…
I think those times are past us now. It's interesting how you usually only see what made some place and time special once it's no longer possible. Live in the now is the lesson, I guess!
Re: Ask HN: Hackathons feel fake now
#67Hack the hackathon. My follow-at-your-own-risk pro tip: Find a team not too much into wining and - connect with others. They’re primarily networking events and are still good for that. - Don’t bother checking the sponsors boxes too much. Have fun trying technical/product ideas that interest your for any _personal_ reason. Should fit with your team project obviously. If not, keep it for next time and instead: - peer w…
I think you meant pairing instead of peering
Re: Ask HN: Hackathons feel fake now
#68When I was in college (over 20 years ago now), what we called “hackathons” was a bunch of us (4-6 max) holing up in an apartment for the weekend, and working on our personal projects while ordering pizza and sleeping on couches. It was really nice having a group of people you could demo what you were working on/ask for help or feedback within immediate range at all times. There was also something really peaceful abou…
I think those times are past us now. It's interesting how you usually only see what made some place and time special once it's no longer possible. Live in the now is the lesson, I guess!
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Re: Ask HN: Hackathons feel fake now
#69Yes most hackathons are crap but I will say one I attend (or at least try to mostly due to how I work) is the HL7 FHIR Connectathons. Its for an altruistic purpose (making healthcare data easier to exchange) and there are always a slew of topics, vendors, visionaries, and options. You will have these 1-2 day sessions where people are trying out things hitting each others servers or clients. Its a worldwide consortium thing with both online and in person meetups. Its worth it if you are into the field.
Re: Ask HN: Hackathons feel fake now
#70Hack the hackathon. My follow-at-your-own-risk pro tip: Find a team not too much into wining and - connect with others. They’re primarily networking events and are still good for that. - Don’t bother checking the sponsors boxes too much. Have fun trying technical/product ideas that interest your for any _personal_ reason. Should fit with your team project obviously. If not, keep it for next time and instead: - peer w…
Love this. "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I don't mind the sponsors too much. Sponsored events aren't usually at someone's apartment / dorm and somebody's got to pay money for the venue, cleaning staff, food & drinks, etc.