I was at the Sydney government data hackfest in the Powerhouse Museum yesterday. Everyone seemed pretty focused on the hacking and nobody as far as I could tell brought completed code.
I think you're right that the downside of having a high-profile hacking scene in the bay is that you get scenesters. I'm not convinced that's the source of the problem in this case, though.
You have to ask "what's the point of this event?" If, as Jorge said, it's a gathering of developers rather than a sprint to make an app, then that isn't what I would call a hackathon. The ones that I've been to had prizes, a strict time limit, and rules (well, guidelines) about prior code. Their point was to make applications under constraint, and when you have less than eight hours to make an app, there's no time for networking. That comes after. :)
That's not to say the Foursquare guys are doing anything wrong, just that the word hackathon can mean a lot of things. If they're thinking "cool developer melting pot" and you're thinking "fuck talking, I came here to code like crazy" then obviously you'll come away frustrated.
The answer in this case is that Foursquare could be more explicit with their expectations for the day, or the OP could be more mercenary with the hackfests they attend (eg, only ones with prizes, or where prior code is discouraged).
I think you're right that the downside of having a high-profile hacking scene in the bay is that you get scenesters. I'm not convinced that's the source of the problem in this case, though.
You have to ask "what's the point of this event?" If, as Jorge said, it's a gathering of developers rather than a sprint to make an app, then that isn't what I would call a hackathon. The ones that I've been to had prizes, a strict time limit, and rules (well, guidelines) about prior code. Their point was to make applications under constraint, and when you have less than eight hours to make an app, there's no time for networking. That comes after. :)
That's not to say the Foursquare guys are doing anything wrong, just that the word hackathon can mean a lot of things. If they're thinking "cool developer melting pot" and you're thinking "fuck talking, I came here to code like crazy" then obviously you'll come away frustrated.
The answer in this case is that Foursquare could be more explicit with their expectations for the day, or the OP could be more mercenary with the hackfests they attend (eg, only ones with prizes, or where prior code is discouraged).