A hackathon is a collaborative event where programmers, designers, and creative people meet to build programs and applications.
Not in this case. We aren’t breaking into systems or trying to steal information. We want to use our talents to build a better, smarter Reno. The hacking here refers to our having a “spirit of playful cleverness” while we make things.
We’ll be set up in front of the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. We want Open Data, right? So we thought it would be fun to have the event in the open. Tents, tables and chairs outside for the entire hackathon.
24 HOURS TO BUILD SOMETHING?!
Design and development of your apps will begin at noon on Saturday, October 15th and go through noon on Sunday. A solid 24 hours. It can be done! The trick? Build a minimum viable product and don’t get caught up in the details.
DEMO PRESENTATION: COMPETE FOR FAME & FORTUNE!
At the end of the 24 hours, you and your team will have an hour to prepare a demo presentation on the Hack4Reno stage.
What’s in it for you? Our sponsors are making sure we have prizes for the top applications and teams in various categories. That covers the fortune bit, what about Fame? Remember, you’ll be building a website or application that will be used by hunders, if not thousands of people in our community. What better way to showcase your skills and talent while providing a valuable (or fun) resource?
NEED AN IDEA?
Start talking to your friends, colleagues, family and neighbors. Identify an issue or problem in the community and build a new tool or service to help alleviate that issue! You will be surprised at how many people also share your concern!
We are working with the City of Reno and other government entities to create and publish existing datasets that include things like crime data, energy consumption and more. These datasets will be available for you to use in your apps or you can find your own datasets on web services like Twitter, Foursquare and Craigslist.
Some ideas to get you going:
WHERE DO I START?
