Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Saving the Hackathon

tokbox.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–19 of 19 posts

Re: Saving the Hackathon

#11

Post by thelarry »

rwanghacker wrote: post #9

I attended this hackathon. The biggest problem in these hackathons is that it's more about the pitching than the product. At this particular one, they even told us, worry about the UI and the pitch, don't worry about the backend. I've been to 5 hackthons total, including 2 Techcrunch disrupts, 2 angelhacks, 1 startup weekends. What I realize is that the winners aren't the best hacks, they are the best pitches, some p…

I've experienced that at other hackathons too. Fake click throughs using photoshop drawn screenshots beat out actual mobile applications with backends. I stopped going to hackathons after a powerpoint beat out my hack. It was a cool idea but the only execution was drawing some pictures. 24 hours to draw pictures. Yup.

Re: Saving the Hackathon

#12

Post by theyCallMeSwift »

dmor wrote: post #10

The #1 way to save hackathons is to stop offering cash prizes to winners. That way people who are coming to the events to make money will stop showing up, and people who show up won't worry too much about winning, and the people who are there for fun/exploration/friendship/camaraderie will be able to build and enjoy whatever they came for. Compare the quality of hackathons with massive prizes in cash or funding (i.e.…

I tend to agree that large cash prizes and thinking that hacks == startups is a recipe for trouble. That said, I sit on the more cynical side of the fence and I'm still not comfortable ruling out prizes all together. I'd like to see an event where people were rewarded for embracing the hacker spirit though (most helpful, best use of new tech, most common problem solved, etc).

Re: Saving the Hackathon

#13

Post by spin »

For the past few years, I've had this idea of creating some kind of hackerspace. The number one rule(s) would be: You must build something original. Or you must be learning how to build things. Software, hardware... whatever. If you don't make then you are not welcome.

I've never been to a hackathon, but I wonder if this is the problem when the author says "They exploit developers."

Re: Saving the Hackathon

#14

Post by affiliate777 »

I agree that it may be unrealistic to expect fully functioning products out of a three day hackathon, but I am continually impressed by the amount that people accomplish in such a short period of time. Extreme time constraints can often be a useful tool to break conventional thinking and prompt disruptive solutions.

Here's two suggestions that might produce a more focused outcome and reduce wasted effort:

1) Engage key stakeholders throughout the hackathon - so that a deeper understanding of their problems is reflected in the hacked solutions

2) Offer an "overtime" session for those who are interested in working with the stakeholder over an extended period (a few weeks or possibly months) to refine the solution

Re: Saving the Hackathon

#15

Post by veneratio »

What I like best about this post is the underlying message you can almost miss. Yeah the hackathons are important; we should save them; software engineers need a place to get collaborative together; and making "simply pretty" apps isn't all that awesome. The message getting to me, however, is that software engineers may not be all that great at requirements gathering. We work out improvements to almost every part of our workflow all of the time (e.g. new languages, ides, postures, etc.), but when was the last innovation for requirements gathering?

If there's a major bottleneck in the process, it's probably the disconnect between client and developer. Not that I'm saying this is an easy problem. It certainly isn't. Perhaps we need a bit more focus on this issue than how to create nicer interfaces, though.

Re: Saving the Hackathon

#16

Post by jarofgreen »

rwanghacker wrote: post #9

I attended this hackathon. The biggest problem in these hackathons is that it's more about the pitching than the product. At this particular one, they even told us, worry about the UI and the pitch, don't worry about the backend. I've been to 5 hackthons total, including 2 Techcrunch disrupts, 2 angelhacks, 1 startup weekends. What I realize is that the winners aren't the best hacks, they are the best pitches, some p…

This can be a problem with some, but I think it really depends on the goal of hackathon.

It sounds like the ones you attended were all startup and business focused, in which case the idea (and hence the pitch) does become more important.

But other hackathons I've seen are all about the tech, and they do give people time and space to set up a live demo at the end.

Re: Saving the Hackathon

#17

Post by jensnockert »

Music Hack Day and similar events are great way to meet people, no one expects a product (maybe sometimes there are?) but only a nice weekend to meet similar minded developers.

I am quite convinced that the companies who sponsor are more likely to be looking for recruitment opportunities than hacks that they can monetize. Don't underestimate a good party…

Re: Saving the Hackathon

#19

Post by tylermauthe »

I participated in a Hackathon this past weekend where the organizers had formed a panel of technology experts to interface with the charitable organizations that we were hacking for.

This was really excellent, because they met with 12 different charities many times over a period of time. By meeting so many times, the tech panel was able to tease out some really specific ideas and the hackathon ended up being pretty great.

It was my first hackathon and I learned a lot about what not to do. C'est la vie.

Post reply on HN