
YC Hacks Recap - peter123
http://blog.ycombinator.com/yc-hacks-recap
======
sbuccini
This was by far the best hackathon I've ever attended. It was awesome seeing
the people you admire like sama and Justin Kan hacking away with you into the
early morning.

The event itself was well-managed as well. Big ups to Kat and Dave for their
hard work. Looking forward to next year!

------
eksurfus
As a YC Hacks participant, the most striking part of being there was just how
genuinely friendly and helpful everyone was. Really a great experience.

~~~
immy
Agreed, such a breath of fresh air from the feeling you get on the internets.
It felt like my school's ACM office during finals week!

------
minimaxir
While I understand that it's done with good intentions, I don't think that the
presence of a Bounce House and T-Shirt Cannon at the hackathon helps dispel
the perception that Silicon Valley hackers simply behave like teenagers all
the time.

~~~
krrishd
I think that kind of thing demonstrates less that Valley hackers act like
teenagers, and more that hacker culture is more open/informal than the typical
rigid tech corporation.

~~~
7Figures2Commas
So the best way to distinguish between "open" companies that are hip to
"hacker culture" (whatever that means) and "rigid" corporations is to look for
a bounce house or t-shirt cannon?

I guess you can't fool anyone with a foosball table these days?

~~~
krrishd
It's not necessarily the best/only way, but it adds a sense of fun and
informality that a larger corporation wouldn't want/need to have in order to
attract employees.

~~~
7Figures2Commas
I think I'm starting to understand. To attract desirable employees, startups
don't need to be working on challenging problems or serving interesting
markets, they just need to incorporate objects that you might find at a
birthday party for children.

------
wudf
Great hackathon. Really didn't like the expo style presentations though.

~~~
nicholasreed
I totally disagree; I absolutely loved the elementary school science fair
approach. You could actually engage with the teams behind every interesting
project, and skip past all the usual 2-3 minute bland, boring on-stage pitches
from bleary-eyed and brain-drained builders.

------
wslh
More women to men ratio that expected ;-)

~~~
wslh
Too many downvotes. Please be tolerant with other cultures.

~~~
lmartel
It was the winky face.

~~~
calbear81
Definitely was the creepy winky face.

