[myrryr]

I think they are a great way to have a break from regular development. I love 'em

I worked for a company which runs one a year, and I honestly look forward to it. Having a chance to cut loose and show what you can do is a welcome change from the daily grind.

It also lets you show stuff that honestly you are more interested in, and maybe, you can get a product out of it - which means, you get to work on what you actually enjoy. As a way to influence a business to show what is possible, there isn't a lot better.

I think they have their place. Just not as a BAU thing.

[jaChEWAg]

I totally see your point and understand that it's good to break away from work every now and then to work on a fun project idea. The problem I have with these hackathons though is that I feel companies get to promote the culture of working late hours and staying up to build an app. I know this is only 2-3 days most of the time but it often feels like companies treating developers as if we are machines and benchmarking us based on what we can produce and come up with in a short time. I know that not all hackathons are the same and it may be that I should try different ones first.

[myrryr]

I haven't been in a company which has done that, but, I could see it happening, and yeah, that would be pretty bad.

I think that is a company culture thing, and not a hackathon thing though.

I don't even expect to see much of a correlation between company culture like that and hackathons. Or even in which direction the correlation would be if there was one.

But, I'm in New Zealand, and we have a different culture. So, it could be just that.