[aschwtzr]

I think there's a natural process similar to gentrification in which as technology matures the hackathons promoting it transition into marketing-led events. I got into hackathons in the early 2010s when IoT was the hot new thing and saw the crowds change from hardcore technologists to mostly students and idea people. The fact is the same thing that what drew me in is what attracted them - opportunity and optimism. Sponsors expect ROI and once a technology is no longer experimental, the same tired projects tend to win because they are tried and true.

I've been to a couple of good hackathons lately but they are more focused on vibe coding and tend to only run for 8-12 hours. These let you try out an idea or framework with little commitment but lack the depth of multi-day events. I've been attending an XR hackathon for almost a decade which still embodies the ethos, but it is a labor of love carried out by volunteers. These longer, challenging and intentional events can teach you more about teamwork and product in one weekend than a year of churning through tickets.