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Ask HN: How to create a successful Hackathon?

7 points by andyangelos ↗ HN
First time organizing a hackathon for the upcoming SocialDevCamp Chicago (http://socialdevcampchicago.com). Lots of interest expressed in the event but struggling to get pre-registration for the Hackathon itself (to prepare network and get server space if necessary). Any HN suggestions for encouraging attendees to bring ideas out of the woodshed for the weekend? We have prizes, experienced coders available for guidance, and flexible guidelines already...Thanks.

4 comments

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kadavy
Are these experienced coders Tweeting about this? Maybe there's a specific project or problem that is planned beforehand for everyone to collaborate on.
andyangelos
They have been promoting to their respective networks, but I like the idea of a community project. Makes "judging" for prizes more difficult but would rather have collaboration than winning. Thanks.
cpup22
You could try a direct approach if you know who is attending sending them a personal (or seemingly personal) note to tell them you're excited they're joining and what the prizes are. Might also be more specific. You could win $50,000 (not sure how specific you are being). You could win "a new mac pro" versus "a new computer" might entice the developers.
andyangelos
$50K would be nice. I would probably create an alter-identity and enter myself.