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The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

tomordonez.com

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Re: The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

#41

Post by tomordonez »

ssafejava wrote: post #6

I've seen this before. I was involved in one where the winning team had been working for months beforehand (their website was registered > 6mo before the event), had prepared presentation materials far before the event including design mockups, and presented with nothing more than a pre-cooked video that was looked manipulated to show "working" code. None of us knew for sure, but it looked like they had just built st…

I am starting to see this trend where hackathons are more about investors bringing an undercover team to pretend they formed a team and code for 2 days, while in reality. The team was formed a while ago, product was pre-cooked, actually more like ready to be served. And just need it an event to get some PR. Hackathons should have a (literally) Code of Honor. Judges should be hackers and they need to make sure there is no code before the event and do a code review before the judging.

Re: The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

#42

Post by tomordonez »

calbear81 wrote: post #25
ssafejava wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, and I wish we had. Instead we were just sort of stunned by the underwhelming ending and the crowd filtered out very quickly (there was no "drinkathon", we were all too tired). It was Angelhack - I suppose, by the name, we should have known that investability comes first, hacking second. Our team was tired out after all-night coding and really didn't possess the mental finesse at the time to walk the fin…

Is it not normal to have a team made before the hackathon? We're registered for a few hackathons and a lot of them ask us to join a team ahead of time or join one when we get there but they do ask that teams put down their idea. The rule we adhered to was no prior coding or design work before the hackathon so build everything there but feel free to discuss the idea we want to go in with.

YES "no prior coding or design" although this is not followed. There is no transparency in the process and also not regulated. There are no code reviews or not way of knowing if somebody came with a "ready to serve" product. Even a less a code of honor.

Re: The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

#43

Post by tomordonez »

imaffett wrote: post #38

I worked at quite a few hackathon's at my previous job. Judging always had some ulterior motive. We'd see people walk into 48 hr hackathons at the very end and pitch their pre-built app they always took around. They could walk off with a macbook pro no problem...not bad for a few hours of work. It's sad, but most of them seem to run this way.

No problem if the walk off with a new macbook. Yes problem if the walk off with a chance to win $100K at a national event with investors.

Re: The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

#44

Post by tomordonez »

jarofgreen wrote: post #34

I just wanted to sound a note of caution not to tar all Hackathons with the same brush. "Hackathons" is a lose word which can mean many different things to many different people. A lot of the time I see Hackathons criticised, I read the argument and the person has set up one definition of a Hackathon then demolished it - a Straw Man, basically. And often it's deserved - there is some really shit behavior at some hack…

I agree and emphasize on "some" hackathons. I went to hackathons where the winner is well-deserved and there is code of honor. Fair game on judging. It makes me feel that the most over-produced over-sponsored over the top hackathons are the ones that have suspicious behavior.

Re: The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

#45

Post by jasonlotito »

brandall10 wrote: post #28

"Or startup weekends" Having been to a couple startup weekends, I feel like this behavior would be pretty atypical? I am aware of how Zaarly was started - Ashton Kutcher was a 'surprise' judge, happened to be a good friend of a co-founder, and subsequent investor. Both founders were Startup Weekend board members. It seemed like a staged event for a company launch. http://startupweekend.org/2011/03/09/from-zero-to-1mi…

Sorry, but if you are going to a SW to try and win, you are missing the point of SW. I appreciate that for some winning and losing might be the point, but it's been impressed upon me by everyone involved with SW that I've met that if you look at winning as the goal, you're going to have a bad time.

Hackathons and Startup Weekends are all about meeting new people, trying new things, and possibly making new friends. It's about trying to accomplish something and sharing it. At SW, it's about getting help in moving that idea forward, in qualifying the idea.

If you treat it like a win/lose scenario, you are going to lose regardless of the outcome.

Re: The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

#46

Post by wavefunction »

tomordonez wrote: post #39
ShellfishMeme wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was at the BattleHack in Berlin. The event itself was absolutely fantastic. It was definitely the best organized hackathon I've ever been part of. Still, the final results felt similarly weird. The winner was a (non-technical) dude who had been pitching his startup for months already and found himself an amazingly talented developer at the hackathon. They made use of most of the sponsor APIs and added PayPal as a p…

I agree that the BattleHack is a very well organized event. It even had massage chairs, tons of food, drinks. I have organized some events but never at this level. At the end all of that means nothing when there is not a fair game. I might as well go to a hackathon where I have to pay for my own lunch and there is a real chance of winning.

Hell yeah, nothing says hardcore hacking like massage chairs.

Re: The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

#47

Post by xradionut »

"Instead you spend your technical efforts going to meetups and helping others."

Do this indeed. One of the best ways to get better and encounter interesting people is to go to meet ups, user groups and "fun" hack events. You will encounter peers, newbies, gurus, recruiters, investors and all sorts of interesting people with ideas, needs and possibly money.

Re: The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

#48

Post by jerf »

jasonlotito wrote: post #45
brandall10 wrote: post #28

"Or startup weekends" Having been to a couple startup weekends, I feel like this behavior would be pretty atypical? I am aware of how Zaarly was started - Ashton Kutcher was a 'surprise' judge, happened to be a good friend of a co-founder, and subsequent investor. Both founders were Startup Weekend board members. It seemed like a staged event for a company launch. http://startupweekend.org/2011/03/09/from-zero-to-1mi…

Sorry, but if you are going to a SW to try and win, you are missing the point of SW. I appreciate that for some winning and losing might be the point, but it's been impressed upon me by everyone involved with SW that I've met that if you look at winning as the goal, you're going to have a bad time. Hackathons and Startup Weekends are all about meeting new people, trying new things, and possibly making new friends. It…

If winning is not the point, then why is a win state defined?

Re: The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

#49

Post by DanInTokyo »

jerf wrote: post #48
jasonlotito wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but if you are going to a SW to try and win, you are missing the point of SW. I appreciate that for some winning and losing might be the point, but it's been impressed upon me by everyone involved with SW that I've met that if you look at winning as the goal, you're going to have a bad time. Hackathons and Startup Weekends are all about meeting new people, trying new things, and possibly making new friends. It…

If winning is not the point, then why is a win state defined?

Same reason you give trophies to Little League participants - to provide context for the competition. To add something fun that hopefully underscores what is effectively a networking/show-off event.

Re: The Hackathon Experience Is a Hack

#50

Post by codygman »

a_soncodi wrote: post #22

The term hack and its derivatives are trite. People use them because they perk ears. In Dallas, I've attended events where first place won with a 'business plan' consisting of buzzword-laden management-speak and a clever whiteboard diagram. This is a product of the community; the culture here is business-oriented. A solution is to set expectations on having a good time and socializing, or not to attend. Instead, you…

The culture in Dallas is very sadly business oriented :/
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