Everybody’s Hacking: Participation and the Mainstreaming of Hackathons
summary
Fieldwork across six hackathons finds organizers aiming for engagement and network building more often than working software; outcomes are low‑fi artifacts (videos, cardboard, knitting) used as props, plus transcribed datasets that feed others’ code. Events like CycleHack and a railway‑museum hack produce prototypes that spark discussion rather than deployable systems; a self‑harm event surfaces powerful lived‑experience contributions. Barriers include recruiting developers, selling the word “hackathon,” and managing expectations, so responsive facilitation and inclusive vocabularies prove decisive.
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chapters (6)
- 0:00Introduction to hackathons
- 1:26Research methodology and events
- 3:59Organizers' goals beyond coding
- 7:12Non-technical participation roles
- 11:02Challenges in adaptation
- 13:34Key takeaways and future design
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