While some people think "building the software" is the goal, I don't think it is.
In my opinion, the real underlying goal is to get people out of their normal environment for a day or weekend, make everyone think differently, prioritize everything, and build connections within the local community. There are very few non-purely-social events that cross programming languages, tech communities, and geographies. Hackathons serve that purpose nicely.
When I close out a Hackathon, I always ask "who lives in this city or within 10 miles of here?" Nearly everyone raises their hand. Then I tell them:
"Regardless of how these demos go, you met a bunch of people who live, work, and make things happen right here in your area. While we'll see what you did today, I'm more interested in what you do going forward. There's no reason these relationships have to die tonight."
Disclosure:
* I'm a Developer Evangelist at Twilio and run, assist, etc Hackathons, Hackdays, etc all over the place.. the most recent was an API Hackday here in Austin yesterday. And I basically said the above.
* My coworking space - HubAustin - launched from Startup Weekend a year ago and after four months of operation, we're 2/3 of the way to being profitable.
In my opinion, the real underlying goal is to get people out of their normal environment for a day or weekend, make everyone think differently, prioritize everything, and build connections within the local community. There are very few non-purely-social events that cross programming languages, tech communities, and geographies. Hackathons serve that purpose nicely.
When I close out a Hackathon, I always ask "who lives in this city or within 10 miles of here?" Nearly everyone raises their hand. Then I tell them: "Regardless of how these demos go, you met a bunch of people who live, work, and make things happen right here in your area. While we'll see what you did today, I'm more interested in what you do going forward. There's no reason these relationships have to die tonight."
Disclosure:
* I'm a Developer Evangelist at Twilio and run, assist, etc Hackathons, Hackdays, etc all over the place.. the most recent was an API Hackday here in Austin yesterday. And I basically said the above.
* My coworking space - HubAustin - launched from Startup Weekend a year ago and after four months of operation, we're 2/3 of the way to being profitable.