11–20 of 97 posts
Developers go to hackathons because they like to build things. What could be simpler to understand?
Dear Hackers,
Here is the challenge:
Please create the next killer app, and give all the rights to me so I can take all of your work and make a bundle of cash. I know you like building things, and I like making money. Seems like a good arrangement to me. I might even throw in a free T-shirt.
I appreciate the sentiment greatly, and I'm only in the valley about once a month or so (and not in the startup circles) so I can't speak to how intentional the exploitation is, but from the other side: At 34, I can hardly be considered the youthful optimist he casts us at. I have a life, and a family, but I really enjoy the occasional hackathon. In fact, I'd suspect that a lot of my best code is done without the dis…
Developers go to hackathons because they like to build things. What could be simpler to understand?
Kinda like this... Dear Hackers, Here is the challenge: Please create the next killer app, and give all the rights to me so I can take all of your work and make a bundle of cash. I know you like building things, and I like making money. Seems like a good arrangement to me. I might even throw in a free T-shirt.
Developers go to hackathons because they like to build things. What could be simpler to understand?
I understand that. It doesn't mean they're not being used though. If you want to build something, it's much better to get your friends together for a private session, then something put on by an events company or an incubator. As someone who used to put on events, I can speak with authority on motives: most Hackathons are just an attempt to sell more tickets to an event - not a genuine opportunity for Developers to b…
Its also expedient in terms of time we have to invest pursuing that position.
Developers go to hackathons because they like to build things. What could be simpler to understand?
I understand that. It doesn't mean they're not being used though. If you want to build something, it's much better to get your friends together for a private session, then something put on by an events company or an incubator. As someone who used to put on events, I can speak with authority on motives: most Hackathons are just an attempt to sell more tickets to an event - not a genuine opportunity for Developers to b…
I've run one hackathon myself and it most of the feedback I got was quite positive. Off the top of my head, the things that people liked were; the chance to meet/work with new folks in a low-risk way, to try out some new tech/language/framework that they'd never got round to, do something within a short deadline.
Overall, it went pretty well and it I don't think anyone was (or felt) 'used'.
Developers go to hackathons because they like to build things. What could be simpler to understand?
Kinda like this... Dear Hackers, Here is the challenge: Please create the next killer app, and give all the rights to me so I can take all of your work and make a bundle of cash. I know you like building things, and I like making money. Seems like a good arrangement to me. I might even throw in a free T-shirt.
I don't think you can tar and feather all hackathons. Some of the events I support are where groups unite to help charities or civic hacking that supports communities.
Developers go to hackathons because they like to build things. What could be simpler to understand?
Kinda like this... Dear Hackers, Here is the challenge: Please create the next killer app, and give all the rights to me so I can take all of your work and make a bundle of cash. I know you like building things, and I like making money. Seems like a good arrangement to me. I might even throw in a free T-shirt.
I would relish the opportunity to meet new people and work on something different.
The first was SuperHappyDevHouse, following Startup School in 2006. It was mostly hackers working on their own projects and occasionally collaborating. I saw no evidence of anybody attempting to exploit anybody else, especially not non-hackers trying to get free work from hackers.
This was the second: http://hackd.it/. I've gone a couple times now, and didn't feel like there was any exploitation going on there. The ratio of hackers to non-hackers was good and people seemed to mostly be working on things they had a stake in.
A similar event run by non-technical people looking to get their ideas built cheap/free wouldn't be enjoyable for hackers, I expect. If you know an event is like that, don't go.