Sociologists Examine Hackathons and See Exploitation
wired.com
wired.com
With that assumption, I always thought of hackathons as 'sprints', as in they are great in moderation but you should always run a marathon. If this is common knowledge then I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding by outsiders, where it appears as if the devs start and finish the software or feature at the hackathon.
My impression of hackathons is that they highlight the coder culture and improve morale and PR. I don't think any manager would consider hackathons as the primary way of getting things done, am I wrong?
Depends on the scale of the project, but yes. In fact, something like 70% of projects are over budget and late. FTA: "they rarely produce useful innovations that last beyond the event’s 36 hours"
"common knowledge then I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding by outsiders, where it appears as if the devs start and finish"
Im an insider, and that was my understanding.
"consider hackathons as the primary way of getting things done"
I wouldnt, but... The problem is there are internal hackathons, and public ones. Personally, I wouldnt see an internal hackathon as necessarily bad, as long as there was compensation/prizes, no pressure to participate(ie promises of promotion, or pressure to be part of the team), and the employees were given a few days before and after to rest. Still not sure I would use them. Sleep is important. I might do a regular, 40 hour week where we didnt work on the core product, everybody does what they want.
Public hackathons, are imo, a different beast. They are using the public to brainstorm, build prototypes, recruit, or market their product; for minimal costs. Sure there might be prizes, but the majority will go home empty handed, after 36-48 hours of free labor and donated ideas, with no sleep. I've seen a hackathon advertised that was just: "build our new product, maybe get a job". A friend of mine did a contract for that company, and he said they didn't even pay upon completion.
FTA:
"institutions use the allure of hackathons, with sponsors, prizes, snacks, and potential for career advancement, to get people to work for free"
"such events, in which employees may feel obligated to participate, are a form of labor control"
"everyone involved wanted something from the participants: Sponsors wanted to lay the groundwork for potential investments, hire the hackers, convince them to use particular software to build tools and apps, and boost their own reputations by offering cash, snacks and other prizes"