Anti-hackathon has been in full swing for a few years now, but I think it makes sense to recognize that for some people it has social - and some times professio

Anti-hackathon has been in full swing for a few years now, but I think it makes sense to recognize that for some people it has social - and some times professional - benefit. It's neither inherently good nor bad, it's a chance to create with some new individuals over a short time period. Yes, it gets co-opted by corporate marketing, yes you eat pizza for a day or so. But these are minor issues if you find other benefit like learning of new processes, tools, technologies, etc. More than anything, it just seems inherently "uncool" at this point, a proverbial pet rock for developers. Which is a shame, there is value there if you're willing to separate the concept from the aesthetic that surrounds the events themselves.